A/N- Sorry about the long wait between updates, but this is a story updated as the inspiration hits and it hasn't hit for a while. So, instead of updating once recently, I wrote three chapters and waited a little longer to update all together. Don't be shy about reviewing all three :). Lol. I'm glad you all thought the last chapter was cute. :)

Dedicated to: My papa, who says "Latifah" the best of anyone.

Disclaimer: I only own Jack, Ava, and Ella, and even them I'm just using for a bit.

A 'F'antastic Affair

"That's bad."

"I know."

"That's really bad."

"I really know."

"That's really, really bad."

"Ava! I really, really know!"

"What are you going to do about it?"

"That I don't know." Ella stared down at the big red mark glaring at her. F. Ella Mariano, daughter of Jess and Rory, granddaughter of Luke and Lorelai, had gotten an F on a History test.

"When are you going to tell Rory and Jess?"

"Never."

"What?"

"Never. I'm never telling my mom and dad."

"Don't you have to get it signed?"

"Yes."

"Well, I'm not sure how you're gonna get around telling your mom and dad if you have to get it signed."

"I'll tell them we're learning about the letter F."

"You're too old for 'Sesame Street.'"

"I'll figure something out."

"Good luck."

"Just... Ave?" Ella looked hopefully at Ava, who shook her head,

"Oh, no. Don't ask me to lie to Rory for you. She's your mom. You can lie to her. But she's my sister- I can't do it."

"I wasn't going to ask you to lie to my mom. I was just going to ask you to not tell Jack."

"Why?"

"Because he'll tell Grandma and Papa and they'll tell mom, and then I'll be in trouble. Big trouble."

"Fine. I won't tell my tattletale of a big brother, but you need to tell Rory."

"I will," Ella said, averting her eyes, "Just... when I'm eighteen and going off to college."

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Later that night, Ella held the phone lazily against her ear.

"You could draw a line and make it look like an 'A,' like on 'Full House.'" The ten-year-old rolled her eyes,

"Ava! I'm being serious!"

"So am I. It worked for DJ until Jesse saw it, and that was only cuz he'd done it when he was a kid. Just fake it and show it to Rory- she's never done that before in her life. I can promise you that. She won't know the difference and everyone will be happy."

"Ok, A, the 'A' on 'Full House' did not look like an 'A.' It looked like an 'F' with a line. B, those things never work in real life. And C, I thought you didn't want to lie to my mom."

"I never said I'd be lying to Rory. You will be."

"Won't work, Ave," Ella held out the paper and stared at it, "I think it's gotten bigger."

"It's growing?"

"I think so." Luke's gruff voice came muffled through the phone,

"Ava! Let's go!"

"Dinner. I gotta go. You're coming over tomorrow, right?"

"If I'm still alive, I'll be there with bells on."

"Jingle, jingle."

"See ya."

"Good luck," Ella clicked off the phone, put it down next to her, and studied the paper in the light. Maybe she'd just go live on a boat.

Mom, Dad-

I'm sorry I had to go, but I'm a fugitive now. I'm gonna live on a boat by the bay. Send my love to Grandma and Papa.

Love, Ella.

No, that would never work. She got motion sickness on the swings, let alone on a boat.

Ella snapped her head around and shoved the paper under the keyboard at the sound of a knock on the door.

"Ella, baby," Rory peeked her head in, "We're meeting Daddy at Al's in fifteen minutes. Go wash your hands before we go."

"Ok," Ella breathed, standing up, "I'll be done in a minute."

"I'm just gonna check my e-mail before we go." Relieved, Ella ducked out of her bedroom, confident that the paper was hidden.

As Rory typed, she noticed the keyboard slipping, sliding, and making noises from beneath. She lifted it and picked up the paper she found underneath.

"Ella Mariano," she whispered, "F?" She called out the door, "Ella, can you come in here, please?"

"Sure, mom. What's..." She strolled in to find Rory clutching the 'F' paper, "Oh... Look, mom, I can..."

"Save it, Ella."

"But, mom, I..."

"Ella, no. I don't want to hear it. I don't want excuses."

"Then what do you want?" Rory shook her head,

"I want you in here the rest of the week. You're grounded through Monday."

"I what?"

"You're grounded. That means no special dinner with dad tonight, no TV, no computer, and no hanging out with Ava and Jack after school tomorrow."

"But that's not fair!"

"Lorelai Hannah Mariano, I saw you before this test. You did everything but study for it. You watched TV, you were IMing everyone, you played The Sims. You did everything to make you happy before schoolwork. And now you're paying the price."

"Mom!"

"Do your homework, Ella. I'm going to call dad to tell him to come home," Rory announced, tears threatening to spill over.

As the door to Ella's bedroom shut, she collapsed onto her bed,

"Ella Mariano, fugitive in her own home."

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By nine that night, Ella was going stir crazy. She'd kept herself secluded in her room (not by mandate, but by choice), only leaving to go to the bathroom, had finished her homework an hour earlier, and was now rereading Harry Potter upside down, hoping to find hidden meaning.

Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. She had to get out of the house. According to her brain, she needed to leave before it oozed out of her ears from boredom, and according to her emotions, her parents were being unreasonable. She could hear them watching Friends reruns in their bedroom, and she felt a surge of sadness. This was their nightly ritual. Every night, at nine pm, she'd crawl into bed with her parents, freshly showered and in pajamas, and lay with them, watching old sitcoms until ten, when it was time for Ella to go to bed.

She stood up silently and grabbed her biggest bookbag, haphazardly throwing in her favorite picture of her family, her cd player, an extra pair of pajama bottoms, the miniature quilt her grandmother had made for her, and the Sour Patch Kids she had stored in her top drawer. Pulling the door open slowly, she tip-toed down the stairs, careful not to make a sound as she left the house.

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"Ella?" Rory knocked on the door to her daughter's room, clutching a mug of hot chocolate, "Ella, baby? You awake?" When she didn't receive any answer, she pushed the door open.

It was pitch black and she tripped over Ella's schoolbag.

"Ow! Ella, move that when you get a chance, please... Ella, I know you're mad at me, but could you answer, please?... Ella, baby, I love you and I don't want you to go to bed mad. I'm turning on the light now, so shield your eyes if you have to." She flipped the light on and turned around.

"Ella?" Rory called to the empty room, "Ella, if you're hiding, come out right now... Ella?"

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Luke groaned as he reached over the arm of the couch to grab the phone, checking the caller ID.

Mariano, Jess.

"Hello?" he clicked the 'talk' button.

"Dad?"

"Hey, Rory. How are you?"

"Daddy, is Ella with you?" Luke sat up at the panic in his daughter's voice,

"What? I haven't seen her. What's the matter, baby?"

"She's... she's missing, dad. I grounded her tonight and then I went in to go see if she was ok a few hours later and... and she was gone. I don't know where she is."

"Rory, sweetheart, listen to me," Luke heard Rory choke back a sob, "I'm going upstairs; I'm going to get Ava to help me look. Your mom is out with Jack getting new cleats. Call her; she'll come home as soon as possible. I'm gonna take Ava and we'll scout out our street," he bound up the stairs towards his daughter's bedroom, "You and Jess search the town square. Send your mother and Jack to the diner and to the neighbors' houses. We'll all meet..." he paused when he thought he heard a coughing noise come from the bedroom on his left- the spare bedroom designated Ella's. He whispered, "Rory? Hold on a sec."

"Dad, what's going on?"

"Just wait, Rory." He picked up a stray baseball bat left by Jack on the stairs and gently pushed open the door to his granddaughter's bedroom. He exhaled as he saw long brown curls peeking over the covers, a tiny form curled up underneath.

"Dad?" He stepped back out,

"I found her."

"You what?"

"I found her. She's in her room here." He heard Rory begin to cry,

"Thank you, daddy. I'll be over in a minute to get her."

"Rory, wait."

"What?"

"You coming over right now is just gonna make this worse. You're upset and she's upset and believe it or not, she's ten. She's a preteen. If you come over here now without giving her time away from you, she won't listen and you'll only wind up making matters worse. Give me time to talk to her. She'll respond differently to me. Just... please, Rory."

"Dad..."

"Rory..." Rory sighed,

"Fine. I'll be over in ten minutes, then."

"Rory..."

"A half hour."

"That's my girl. I'm gonna go talk to her. I'll see you in a bit."

"Bye, dad."

Luke strolled in quietly and sat on the bed next to his semi-hidden granddaughter. After a moment of silence, he leaned over,

"Ella?"

"Ella's not here right now. Please leave a message." Luke grinned,

"That was cute when you were five, but it never fooled me," No response, "Ok, Miss Mariano. I can wait. I can stay here all night, but that means tomorrow morning, your grandmother is cooking for Jack and Ava and the house will either burn down or melt."

"Cereal," came Ella's muffled voice.

"Lorelai Danes can burn cereal." There was a pause before Ella poked her head out,

"Why, hello, grandfather! What a pleasant surprise."

"Hello, granddaughter. You wanna tell me what you're doing here?"

"Weeeelll..." she dragged out, sitting up, "Ava borrowed my book from me..."

"Uh-huh. What book?" he asked, unconvinced.

"The Nanny Diaries."

"Uh-huh," he nodded skeptically.

"Right. So I came and came up to her room, but she said she left it in my room. So I came in here and I sat down on the bed and next thing I know, I'm asleep."

"Uh... huh. Well, ok, Ella Mariano, that's a terrific bedtime story you just told me. But I never heard the doorbell ring."

"I used my key."

"And you got in without me seeing you?"

"You were out working on your new boat."

"What time?"

"7:30," she shot back; she was used to these verbal spars with her grandfather, and she knew that he worked on his newest boat every night from 7:15-8.

"You tell your mother you were coming over?"

"Yes."

"Ok, Ella. Terrific story. Main problem? I got a call from your mom. She told me you'd gotten mad at each other and when she went into your room, you weren't there."

"I was hiding?"

"Ella..."

"Or I wasn't."

"You wanna tell me what happened?"

"That was a 'you wanna' I don't have a choice in, wasn't it?"

"You bet." Ella sighed,

"Ifailedatest."

"In English, please." She paused,

"I failed a test."

"You what?"

"I didn't study and... I bombed. Fifty-two. Mom found out and got mad at me. She grounded me, Papa!"

"I would've done the same if it was Jack or Ava."

"But it's me, Papa! I'm trustworthy! I'll bounce back!"

"So would Jack and Ava," she fell silent, "Ella?"

"I screwed up, Papa. The mighty Lorelai Hannah Mariano has struck out."

"Good. First step is to admit it. Now, the next thing to ask yourself is: so?"

"What?"

"So what? So you screwed up on one test and got in trouble. Big deal. Tomorrow will come, all will be forgotten, and you'll still be you."

"I guess..."

"No. You know. You need to go home, apologize to your mother, and all will be well."

"I dunno, Papa, she was pretty mad."

"Ella, you were upset, your mom was upset. If I know my daughter, she'll come, you'll hug, you'll kiss, you'll be grounded probably for the weekend, and you'll all get over it."

"What about my dad?"

"He'll lecture you, but you knew that." She looked down,

"Thank you, Papa."

"Anytime, kid," he hugged her and kissed her temple, "C'mon, let's get you some hot chocolate before your mom shows up."

"Sure... Hey, Papa?"

"Yeah?"

"If I drew an F and put a line down the side of it- the right side, what would that look like?"

"An F with a line."

"That's what I said! Ava said it'd look like an A."

"No."

"I'm getting her a letter chart for her birthday."