"Rory," both Jess and Rory looked up to where the insane man in the old-fashioned sweater was walking hastily towards them. "Rory, I have to talk to you."
"Is there something wrong, Taylor?" Rory asked standing up.
"Oh, not really," he said hurriedly. "I just wanted you to know that you don't have to worry about missing the basket auction. It's been postponed to this afternoon."
"Thanks," she said slowly, trying not to chuckle at his sincerity. "I wasn't really worried about that at the moment..." a thought occurred to her, "...but I know Jess was horrified at the thought of not participating."
Jess shot her a look that said she would pay for it later, but otherwise kept silent.
"Well," Taylor continued. "I just wanted to assure you that we're all very grieved by what happened to your mom and wish her a quick recovery."
"Thank you, Taylor," Rory replied. "I appreciate that and so does Mom. She is okay, though. The doctors say she'll be out in a couple days. Oh, and could you spread the word that she likes yellow daisies and lavender roses?"
"Will do," he replied, turning to leave. "I'll see you both at the auction at three pm sharp?"
"Count on it," Rory smiled sweetly in Jess's direction.
As Taylor strided down the hall, Jess caught Rory by the arm, pulling her into his lap. "You know you will be punished, right?" he asked looking into her smiling face.
"Why am I being punished for something you agreed to in the first place?" she questioned innocently, making herself comfortable on his lap. "I mean, I didn't suggest to Taylor that it be held off for us or anything; he did that all on his own. Therefore, since you agreed to the previous event and the previous event just become the future event, you are still held to said event. And since I was not responsible for making said previous event into said future event, I am in no way responsible and am, therefore, not deserving of a punishment."
"You know that that was one screwed-up rant, right?" he chuckled.
"Very well aware," she replied smiling, cradling his face in her hands. "And very well right."
"And will be punished nonetheless," he smiled right back.
"Oh," she said dismissively, "you'll change your mind when you see how much hard work I put into that picnic basket. You'll be proud."
"We'll see," he said kissing her softly on the lips. "You know," he sighed, "as much as I hate to cut this short, I should probably go work a couple hours in the diner before the auction. With Luke in there...entertaining himself...I don't want to leave Caesar alone there too long."
"That's very nice of you," Rory smiled. "Be careful or someone might start thinking you're turning soft."
"Don't tell anyone," he said half-seriously. "They'd never believe it."
"Your secret's safe with me," she chuckled, standing up. "Anyway, I'll walk with you. I have to get a bag together for mom and bring it back. Then maybe I'll stop by the diner and keep you company, okay?"
"Sounds good," he nodded casually as they ambled down the hospital hallway.
"Mom," Rory knocked on her mother's hospital room an hour later. Looking through the window, she saw something that made her heart melt.
Pushing open the door gently, she pulled the bags she'd brought with her into the room. She carefully stowed them out of the way in the closet and then just stood there for a moment. Lorelai was asleep in her hospital bed her head resting on the shoulder of Luke, who was asleep next to her. They looked so cute, leaning against each other, twin smiles playing over their lips.
"Goodnight, Mom," Rory whispered, walking back to the door.
"Is it night, already?" Lorelai's quiet voice surprised her. "It's awfully light out for it to be night."
"Hey Mom," Rory said, turning back. "I thought you were asleep."
"Just resting my eyes," she replied. "What'd you bring me?"
Rory smiled, walking over to the closet and pulling out one of the bags. "Well," she said chuckling, "There's one bag for your clothes since I know you'd insist on a couple different choices. Then in this bag..." she opened the bag, "...we have your toiletries," she held each item up as if hosting a game show, "including shampoo, conditioner, toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, that inane and yet essential puffy thing that goes with the soap, face wash, razor, and moisturizer. Then we have your magazines..."
"Because who doesn't want to look at models when you're sitting in a hospital looking like crap?" Lorelai chimed in.
"...your cheesy romance novels..."
"Because we can't go without Reginald's quivering member."
"...and your little black book for calling people to fawn over you."
"Can't have too many of those," Lorelai smiled.
"I also stopped by Doose's on the way here and bought you some chocolate kisses since I know you didn't eat this morning and are probably dying from sugar withdrawal." Rory tossed the bag to her mom, who caught it and then cringed as Luke shifted on her shoulder.
"Angel child," she whispered. "The only thing I could possibly still want is a cup of coffee."
"The doctor said no," Rory said apologetically. "She said you need to rest and after you get a couple hours of sleep, then you can have a cup."
"Evil doctors," Lorelai pouted. "Oh well, I guess I'll just have to pass a few hours sleeping."
"Yeah," Rory smiled. "I'm sure that won't be a problem with that oh-so-comfortable pillow you have there."
Lorelai looked affectionately at Luke. "Yeah, he's such a big teddy bear when you get right down to it. Works great as a pillow."
"Hey, I heard that," Luke grumbled, shifting next to Lorelai.
"Morning sunshine," Rory laughed. "How was your nap?"
"Who can sleep with two Gilmores in the room?" he asked dryly.
"Aw, that's the spirit," Lorelai smiled snuggling up to him as he put his arm around her.
"So anyway," Rory said smirking a little at Luke's uncharacteristic show of affection. "I'm going to head over to the diner. Jess is taking care of it for a few hours before the auction, so I thought I'd go keep him company."
"The auction?" Lorelai asked. "I thought we missed it."
"Taylor postponed it on account of nobody cared about the auction after you collapsed," Rory explained. "So it starts at three."
"You still dragging Jess?" Luke asked.
"Kicking and screaming," she smiled.
"Well," he said getting slowly to his feet, with much resistance from Lorelai, "I guess that means I should get back to the diner. With Jess taking the afternoon off, I don't want to leave Caesar swamped."
"But nobody's going to be in the diner with the auction going on," Lorelai pouted childishly. "Come on, can't you just stay here and keep me company for a little longer?"
"I'll be by later," he promised, smiling at her puppy dog eyes. "You just get some sleep and I'll be back before you know it, okay?"
"Fine," she sighed, "but I won't sleep nearly as well without my pillow to keep me company."
"I think you'll live," he assured her, leaning down to kiss her gently on the forehead and then again on the lips. "I'll see you later."
"Bye," Lorelai waved as he left. Then she turned to her daughter. "I have a Luke," she said grinning like an idiot.
"You have a Luke," Rory echoed happily. "So are you guys official?"
"Yeah," Lorelai almost giggled. "We kissed, and then we talked, and then we kissed some more, and now we're together."
"Well it's about time," Rory smiled. "I'm happy for you."
"I'm happy for me too," Lorelai sighed deeply. "Now, you go be sickeningly cute with your boyfriend so mommy can get some beauty rest."
"Sure thing," Rory chuckled. "Bye Mom."
"Bye babe. Love you."
"Love you too."
Rory closed the door gently behind her, then ran down the hall in the direction she thought Luke had gone. She caught up to him as he was exiting the hospital doors into the parking lot.
"You know," she said falling into step beside him, "you can stay here with my mom. Jess and I can take care of the diner or close it even. It's no big deal."
"Relax, Rory," he said with a hint of a smile. "I'm closing the diner for the day in a few hours."
"But..." she stammered, confused, "...I thought...I thought you said...Why did you..."
"Just trust me, okay?" he said as they reached his truck. "You need a ride?"
"No, I brought the Jeep," she replied, still a little puzzled. "What are you planning, Luke?"
"Nothing," he replied getting into the truck and starting the engine. "I'll see you later."
Staring after the truck in complete confusion, she just shook her head and walked over to where she'd parked the jeep.
Jess picked up the order from Caesar, running it to the table in the corner.
"There's your eggs, and your waffles," he said putting each plate down in front of its respective owner.
"Hey, Jess," Babette said as he put her food down, "do you know how Lorelai is doing? I saw her collapse so I went to the hospital, but they wouldn't let me see her. They said she couldn't have too many visitors."
"She's doing fine," he told her, tired of telling the same story over and over. "She'll be out in a couple days."
Without another word, he walked back behind the counter and picked up his book. When the bell rang above the door, he didn't look up not wanting another questioning customer.
"Hey," he heard a sweet voice in his ear.
"Hey," he said grateful for the distraction. "How are you?"
"Good," Rory replied. "How about you?"
"Tired," he sighed. "Every two minutes I have to answer questions about Lorelai. I feel like a broken record."
"Hey Rory," they heard a voice behind them.
"Yes, Kirk?" she asked turning around.
"I was wondering how your mother was," he replied. "The nurse at the hospital wouldn't let me see her. I guess they thought I looked suspicious."
"Kirk," Jess piped up, "I told you five minutes ago that she was fine."
"But I wanted to hear it from Rory," he said. "You could have been lying to me."
"Why would I be lying?" Jess asked a little indignantly.
"I don't know," Kirk said simply. "Don't ask me to explain your motives."
"Rory..." Jess said with exasperation, warning her that he might hurt the man if she didn't get him out of there.
"I'll handle it," she assured him, trying to hide an amused smile. "Don't do anything rash."
Using a stool, she stepped up onto the counter, doing her best to avoid people's dishes. Jess looked at her as if she was crazy, but she just smiled and turned to the rest of the room.
"Attention!" she said loudly, and the room went dead silent, all eyes on her. "I would just like announce that my mother, who, if you haven't heard, collapsed in the street this morning, is doing fine. She suffered from an attack of anemia, but she's already feeling better. She'll be home in a few days, and she asks that if you want to buy her flowers, she likes yellow daisies and lavender roses. That is all. Spread the word."
Everyone was quiet for a moment before going back to their previous conversations. Rory, pleased with herself, took the hands Jess offered her and jumped down.
"Happy?" she asked him smiling.
"That was one of the strangest things I've ever seen you do," Jess smirked. "Do you often stand on countertops? Table dance as a hobby?"
"Sh!" she whispered jokingly. "No one's supposed to know about that!"
"Don't tease me Rory," he warned playfully. "I might ask you to do a demonstration."
"Keep dreaming," she replied. "The day you get me to give you a table dance is the day you see me drink a Red Bull and sprout wings."
"Anything's possible," he smiled.
"Anyway," she said hiding a shy smile, "how much longer before you can get off work?"
"Well," he replied, "It's one now so I'll be off in about an hour and a half. Caesar will cover after that or we'll just shut down altogether for the night."
"Do you want any help around here while we wait?" she asked.
"You're offering to help me wait tables?" he asked, amused. "Little Miss Rory is going to wait tables?"
"I guess that's a no," she said turning to leave with mock offense.
"I didn't say that," he said catching her by the hand. "Just a little surprised at the offer. You've always just sat there and watched me do all the work."
"Yeah," she replied, "but I feel like being useful today. So sue me. And don't expect such benevolence on a regular basis. This is a one-time phenomenon."
"Duly noted," Jess smiled. "Grab an apron and you can take that table's order, okay?"
"Whatever you say, boss," she answered in a fake New York accent.
Rory took the apron that Jess held out to her, wrapping it around her waist. Then, as if posing her a camera, she walked with emphasis over to the table to take Miss Patty's order.
Jess just watched as she smiled politely and scribbled on the pad she took out of one of the apron pockets. He watched as she smiled at what the flamboyant woman was saying, tucking her hair behind her ear as she always did. It had probably started as a nervous habit and then just became plain old habit. He loved those little tics about her.
"I did it," Rory's voice broke through his reverie and he looked up into happy eyes as she bounced toward him to put the order in. "I took Miss Patty's order."
"Congratulations," he said with a smirk. "That will be your job from now on. 'Cause I have a feeling she'd eat me alive if I did it."
"That's a very plausible possibility," Rory chuckled. "She has been suspected in the disappearance of several local boys, all complete hotties. Watch out or you might end up at the end of that list."
"Are you calling me a hottie?" he questioned, and smiled as she blushed a light tinge of pink high in her cheeks.
"So what if I am?" she asked raising her chin defiantly. "What are you going to do about it?"
"Don't tempt me," Jess warned teasingly. "I'll tickle you to the floor right here and now."
"You wouldn't," she challenged. "There are too many customers here for us to take care of. Luke would kill you if you neglected customers just to get into a tickle fight with me behind the counter."
"Who says he needs to know?" he whispered leaning in close to her, and she shivered at the way his breath brushed against her ear.
"Okay," she said stepping back from him, and he looked worried for a moment, "now that has to stop before we get too distracted."
"Understood," he replied backing away as well, but not before brushing a soft kiss over her lips. "I'm going to go refill coffees," he told her picking up the coffee pot and walking away.
"Order's up." Rory turned to where Caesar had set down a couple plates of food and took them to their respective tables, trying hard to get her mind focused on anything but her boyfriend.
"Where did everyone go?" Jess asked an hour later. There were six people left in the diner including them, and all of the remaining customers were doing nothing but taking advantage of the free coffee refills.
"Nobody's going to be eating now," Rory pointed out. "The auction starts in an hour and people want to save room."
"Ah, the dreaded auction," he said dryly. "Am I still going to that?"
"Don't even joke about that," she said hitting him with her apron before throwing it on the counter. "All you have to do is pay 10 or 15 dollars for a stupid basket and then we can spend the day together. Don't you think it's worth it?"
"Yeah," he said coming up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. "It's worth it."
"Smart boy," she smiled, leaning back against him.
"That's enough of that," they turned as Luke entered the diner. "You guys are going to gross out what few customers there are left."
"Thanks for that, Luke," Rory said dryly, kissing Jess softly on the cheek before stepping out of his arms. "Remind me to return the favor the next time I see you and my mom being sickening."
"So what are you doing with the afternoon?" Jess asked arching an eyebrow. "Rory said you were closing the diner early."
"I am," Luke replied.
"I don't think I've ever seen you close early," Jess said skeptically.
"Me neither," Rory chimed in with a smirk.
"Well, today I am," Luke replied gruffly. "Now get out of here before I change my mind and decide to make you stay until close."
"See ya," he said pulling Rory after him as he left. "What's gotten into him?" he asked Rory as they walked down the street.
"My mother, apparently," she smiled. "I don't know what he's planning, but I know it has something to do with her."
"Well, whatever it is, remind me to thank your mom for the afternoon off," he said.
"Oh, she'll remind you herself, as much as she can," she chuckled.
For a while they just walked along in companionable silence. It had become somewhat of a trademark for them, a cliché. They didn't need to talk, nor did they want to break the silence in a superfluous act to try to fill the void. There was no void. There was only them.
"Hey," they stopped when they heard a voice behind them. "What's up?"
"Nothing much," Rory answered quickly because she didn't want Jess to. "Just going for a walk before the auction. You?"
"Just got off work," Dean replied. "I saw you walking here and just thought I'd say hi."
"Mission accomplished," Jess chimed in with false civility.
"And I was wondering if I could talk to you?" Dean continued, pointedly ignoring Jess and looking into Rory's eyes.
"About what?" Rory questioned, her tone guarded.
Dean glanced at Jess and back to Rory. "Can we just take a walk?" he asked. "It'll take five minutes tops."
Rory glanced at Jess, seeing the tension in his jaw. She hated when those two were around each other. It was like two lions circling each other, vying over the last scrap of meat. She hated to be the meat.
"Okay," she said reluctantly. She turned to Jess. "I'll be right back. I just want to hear him out, so you can stop showing your teeth."
"Fine," he sighed, looking away from her. "I'll be around."
"There's the ambiguous man I know," she smiled, giving him a quick kiss on the lips before backing away and falling into step next to Dean.
They walked in an uncomfortable silence for a few minutes, neither really wanting to start the conversation. It seemed strange to Rory that silence could have a personality, but she knew all too well that it did. When she was with Jess, it was never awkward, never how it was at that moment. They just didn't need to talk. With Dean, as she was well aware, she couldn't stand the silence. It had always been something bad between them, like a fight or a disappointment or an expectation she didn't know how to fill. It was never them just being together.
"So what is it Dean?" she asked when she couldn't stand it anymore. She had always been the first to break the silence. "What did you want to talk to me about?"
"I just wanted to know how you're doing," he replied shoving his hands in his pockets. "I haven't seen you in a while."
"I'm good," she replied honestly. "I mean, the thing this morning with my mom was scary to say the least, but she's doing better now."
"Her surgery is next week, right?" he asked.
"Yeah," she replied, her voice quieting just a little. "One week from today, actually. I don't know if I'm going to be ready for it."
"You know you can talk to me if you need someone to listen," he told her. "I mean, just because we're not seeing each other anymore doesn't mean you can't come to me."
"Thanks," she replied, "but I'm really okay. Jess has been there with me every step of the way."
"Yeah," Dean said, sounding a little less than enthusiastic, "I'll bet he has."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Rory asked defensively.
"Nothing," he told her. "It means nothing. Let's just change the subject."
"No," she argued, her voice more than a little annoyed. "If you have a problem, just say it. I'm tired of stepping on egg-shells so you guys won't get upset. So what is it you'd like to say?"
"I just don't like him," he replied finally. "You know that I don't. He just doesn't seem good enough for you."
"Dean, you have to get over this need you have to protect me," she said softly. "I don't need you to watch my back. I have enough people to do that who aren't quite as biased."
"Yeah," he sighed, still not happy. "But can I at least be your friend? I miss you, Rory."
"That's what you said last time," she pointed out. "You said you wanted to be friends, and then you tried to kiss me. And then you started harassing Jess and I."
"I know," he looked down, embarrassed. "I already apologized for that. I just want another chance."
Rory was torn. On one hand, she didn't want to say no to Dean. He'd been her boyfriend for a year. He'd been so sweet in the beginning. She didn't want to just throw any chance of friendship away.
One the other hand, she'd been through all this before. She'd given him a chance, and he'd thrown it in her face. He'd called her fast. He'd tried to get Jess to fight him. She didn't want that to happen again. She didn't trust him.
At a loss for words, she fidgeted with her hands, looking down at them as she twined her fingers over and over. "Oh wow," she said suddenly as she glanced at her watch. "Dean, I have to go. The auction is going to start in five minutes and I have to find Jess."
"Just answer me," he said grabbing her arm to make her stop. "Please, just tell me, can we be friends?"
"I'll think about it," she said softly, pulling her arm from his hand. "That's all I can give you right now."
"Wait!" she heard him calling after her as she walked hurriedly away.
"Okay, everybody," Taylor said banging his gavel on his podium, obviously enjoying the position of power he had. "The basket auction is now...finally...underway!"
There was clapping through the crowd, but Rory didn't really hear it through the fog in her head. Too many thoughts. She just looked around, trying to find Jess. He wasn't there. She knew before she even began to look. He wasn't waiting for her there. But she knew where he was.
Luke looked uncomfortably around at the crowd surrounding the gazebo, wishing he could be anywhere else but knowing that he was where he should be.
"Do I hear 25?" Taylor was saying. "Going once...going twice...sold to the man in the red coat for $20. Congratulations."
Finally, a big basket with zebra stripes and a letter L cursively drawn in glitter was held up.
"Now," Taylor said in a cheesy game show host voice, "this looks like a wonderful basket, though I'm afraid its owner is temporarily unavailable. Still, do I hear $5?"
"Five," a man in the back said immediately.
"Ten," another man countered.
"Fifteen," a third man joined the bidding.
Luke waited for an opening, but it all just looked so absurd. Why wouldn't you just buy your own damned lunch for much cheaper? It's not even like the guys got a lunch with Lorelai.
"Do I hear forty-two?" Taylor's voice brought Luke back to attention. "Anybody?"
"Forty-two," he said finally, and cringed at the pleased smile on Taylor's face. He could imagine the gloating he would have to listen to later. Oh well, he'd just have to drop a gum wrapper in the street and call it even.
"Do I hear 42.50?"
"Forty-two fifty."
"Forty-three," Luke chimed in.
"Forty-three fifty."
Luke opened his wallet, checking the amount of money in it. "Fifty-two fifty," he said with some irritation.
"What?" one of the guys argued, "We're just supposed to go to fifty."
"I have a life," Luke said impatiently.
"Fifty-two fifty going once," Taylor said. "Fifty-two fifty going twice...sold, to the disgruntled diner man for fifty-two fifty."
Luke walked up to the podium, grabbed his basket, and walked straight back to his truck. It was going to be an interesting afternoon.
"So how'd it go?" Jess asked, not looking up from the water.
"Okay," Rory replied quietly, sitting down next to him on the bridge. "He wanted to know if we could be friends."
"And you said?" he said, his voice uncomfortable.
"I said that I didn't know," she replied. "I said that I had to think about it."
"Oh," he almost whispered.
"Anyway," she said standing up, "I don't want to talk about that right now. The auction has already started. You still coming?"
"Yeah," he said, still kicking his feet as he stared at the water. After a few moments, he took the hand she offered him and they began their walk back to the gazebo.
When they reached the square, Taylor was congratulating Lane's cousin on a five dollar basket of homemade granola, wheat grass juice, and soy chicken tacos. He dutifully walked up and took the basket, nodding furtively at Lane. Rory smiled, knowing that Lane would be sharing another basket with a certain guitarist she'd been secretly seeing.
"Moving along," Taylor said holding up Rory's basket, decorated with blue felt stars and white coffee logos. "This looks like a wonderful basket, certainly very interestingly decorated. We'll start the bidding at five dollars."
"Five dollars," Jess bids, his voice reluctant.
"Ten," they both turned as they heard another voice behind them.
Rory saw how Jess's jaw clenched and heard him whisper lividly, "He did not just do that." Then louder, "Fifteen."
"Twenty," Dean countered again, walking towards them, his eyes pleading with Rory as he reached them. "Rory, I need to talk to you, and if this is the only way it's going to happen, so be it."
"Twenty-five," Jess yelled, stepping between Dean and his girlfriend. "Why can't you learn when to back off?"
"Because we weren't finished with our conversation," Dean replied. "Thirty."
"I told you I had to think about it," Rory cut in as Jess yelled out, "Thirty-five."
"You mean you had to ask permission," Dean said sarcastically. "Forty."
"That is not what I meant," she argued. "And that's not fair."
"Forty-five."
At this point, the rest of the crowd was just watching in utter amazement, waiting to see who would throw the first punch. Both men seemed to be seething. Taylor was wondering if he should call in extra security.
"Fifty," Dean countered. "Give me a break, Rory. Tell me you didn't tell him every detail of our conversation the moment you saw him. He has you so totally under control."
"And you wonder why she doesn't trust you," Jess marveled. "Fifty-five."
"Jess, you don't have the money for this," Rory whispered to him urgently. She didn't want him spending all of his hard-earned cash on some stupid picnic lunch.
"Sixty," Dean said, and Jess hesitated, knowing that Rory was right.
"We have sixty," Taylor said, happy that this bidding war seemed to be waning. "Do we have sixty-five? Sixty going once..."
Rory looked sympathetically at Jess, trying to make him calm down.
"Sixty going twice..."
Dean smiled a triumphant smile that made Rory want to hit him.
"I bid $100," they all turned as a voice in the back spoke up.
"Wow, um," Taylor said dumbfounded as Rory tried to see who it was who'd saved her from the company of Dean. "One hundred dollars going once... one hundred dollars going twice..."
There was dead silence.
"...Sold to the young man in the back," Taylor said banging his gavel.
The young man who'd bought her basket pushed through the crowd to reach the front where Taylor handed it to him, but Rory couldn't see through the mass of people surrounding him enough to identify him.
"Well, this was interesting," Jess whispered in Rory's ear as he pulled her away from a seething Dean and out the back of the crowd.
"At least I don't have to have lunch with Dean," she tried to comfort him.
"But who outbid him?" Jess asked, looking around. "I mean, who knows? You could be having lunch with Kirk."
"Don't even joke," Rory smiled, looking around as well.
Then she spotted him, watching her from over Jess's shoulder. For a moment, she was frozen, not believing who she was seeing. He was leaning against a lamppost, holding her basket with a mischievous smile on his face.
"No way," she said with disbelief, a slow smile spreading over her lips.
"What?" Jess asked, looking around panicked. "What is it?"
"No freaking way," she repeated, stepping around her boyfriend and running toward her surprise hero.
"Hey little cuz," John smiled lifting her into his arms and spinning her around before setting her down again. "Hope you don't mind me butting in here."
"Who's that?" Jess heard Dean's voice as he walked up behind him. "Another boyfriend?"
"Jeez, man," Jess replied, not looking away from his friend with a smile on his face, "you really need to get a life."
Leaving Dean to stare after him, he strided toward his friend and girlfriend. "What's up, Patterson?" he asked approaching the two. "What brings you to this neurotic little neck of the woods?"
"Well," he replied still holding on to Rory, "Mom and I thought we'd make a weekend visit before school starts. When we got here, someone told us Lorelai was in the hospital so mom headed that way, but I decided to stick around here and see what all this was about."
"And I'm so glad you did," Rory practically giggled. "Do you have any idea how much I missed you?"
"About as much as I miss you guys," he replied.
"And that, ladies and gentlemen, concludes the basket bidding for today," Taylor's voice could be heard above all. "Victors come claim your prizes and your dates. Let the lunching begin!"
"Well," John said smiling, "it seems that Rory and I have a picnic to get to."
"You are not stealing my girlfriend," Jess said jokingly.
"I'll give her back when I'm done," he promised.
"I'll see you later," Rory said, kissing Jess softly on the mouth before taking the arm John offered.
Lorelai opened her eyes, breathing in a scent that almost propelled her to her feet. Looking up, she smiled at the sight in front of her. Luke was standing next to her bed preparing two plates of food and two cups. One of those cups, she noticed, held something that looked suspiciously like coffee.
"Morning sunshine," he greeted her as she sat up. "Have a nice nap?"
"Heavenly," she replied, "but I think the wake-up was the best part. Is that coffee?"
"Fresh from the diner," he replied handing her the cup.
"And what's all this food?" she asked, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.
"This," he said reaching under the mobile table he was working on, "is your picnic basket."
"You bought my picnic basket?" she asked trying not to laugh.
"Yes," he replied patiently.
"You actually stood there and bid money in one of Taylor's crazy events?"
"Yes," he repeated.
"And you managed not to kill him when he put on his gloaty face?" she asked with disbelief.
"You'll just have to find out when you get out of here," he said with a smirk. "So how are you feeling?"
"A little tired," she replied with a shrug, "but it happens when you sleep too much. However, I am incredibly starving."
"Well," he said putting a plate down in front of her, "by all means, eat up. This food looks pretty good for Gilmore cooking, so I'm guessing you ordered out?"
"I'm insulted!" she said taking a bite. Then quieter, "Rory made it."
"Wow," he said, visibly surprised as he took a bite and it didn't taste terrible. "She didn't inherit the burn-everything-you-touch gene?"
"Blame your nephew," she said taking another huge bite. "He's the one who taught her to cook."
"I'll make sure to flog him later," he replied taking a bite and just enjoying the company.
"So how have you been?" John asked Rory as they began walking. "Holding up okay?"
"Yeah," Rory smiled. "Mom's doing okay, and everything with Jess is going great. I'm not looking forward to school starting Monday, but I'll live. Besides that, everything's been blissfully normal."
"Sounds good," John said. "Pretty much the same back in New York. Mom got a new job. I went to a couple parties with Steve. Normal stuff."
"Cool," she replied as they came into view of the bridge. "Hey," she said pulling him in that direction, "let's eat over here."
"On a bridge that looks like it won't even hold me?" he questioned.
"It's perfectly safe," she told him. "This is one of my favorite spots in the world."
"Why?" he asked.
"It's had a lot of good moments of late," she replied smiling with amusement. "This was where I saw Jess when he first came into town. It's where he was teaching me self-defense, and where I pushed him in."
"Wait," John cut in, "you pushed Jess in the river?"
"Yes, I did," she said proudly. "He challenged me, so I had to prove him wrong."
"Oh, I am going to give him so much crap about that later," he laughed.
"And he will, in turn, kill me later," she said sheepishly.
"No," he replied, "just torture you mercilessly."
"Thank you very much," Rory said dryly. "That's very encouraging."
"Tell me you wouldn't enjoy every single minute of it," John pointed out. "I dare you."
Rory just smiled guiltily, staring out over the water instead of meeting his eyes.
"That's what I thought," he smirked. "You two are so sweet on each other, it's sickening. You know that?"
"Well what about you?" she countered. "What's been up with your love life, if you have one?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked incredulously.
"I was at your place three weeks and I never saw you talk to a girl besides me, never mind date," she pointed out. "So have there been any new developments since we left?"
John didn't reply, deciding instead to take a large bite of fruit salad and turn his gaze to the water as well.
"Have there been?" Rory asked with wide eyes. When he still didn't answer, she began to screech. "John-John has a girlfriend!"
"Okay, okay," he said standing up and wiping his hands on his jeans. "Before we start getting into detail, I'm going to go and find Jess. Then you guys can sit here and be sickeningly cute and forget all about my social life. See ya later."
"You're not getting away with this," she called to his retreating back. "I will find out! You can't hide forever!" Then, after he had already disappeared around a corner. "Oh, and by the way, thank you!"
She smiled, lying back on the bridge, and waited patiently for her dining partner.
"Rory," she looked up and was instantly on her feet.
"What do you want now?" she asked Dean. "You really don't want to talk to me right now."
"I want an answer," he replied softly. "A simple yes or no is all I need. Can we be friends?"
"Are you freaking kidding me?" she demanded incredulously, beginning to pace. "Tell me you're not seriously standing there after the stunt you just pulled asking me if we can be friends. 'Cause that seems a little far-fetched for me to believe, even for you."
"I told you I needed to talk to you," he argued. "You won't give me a straight answer, so I had to get you to talk to me, one way or another."
"I told you I needed to think about it!" she almost yelled. "You couldn't wait three hours for an answer?!"
"I'm not asking you to move to California! It's not something you really have to think too hard about."
"Usually it's not," she chuckled dryly, "but you have to make it so much harder."
"Why was it so hard?" he asked, seemingly desperate to understand.
"Because I didn't know if I could trust you," she told him flat out, stopping right in front of him so they were face to face. "I didn't know if I could trust you enough to be my friend and not the overprotective jerk I dated."
"So now I'm a jerk?" he asked angrily.
"Well look what you did!" she exclaimed. "You insulted me while picking a fight with my boyfriend in the middle of town...again!"
"I just—"
"Just leave, Dean," she cut in. "My answer is no, there's no way I can be friends with you without wanting to scream every five seconds, so it's time for you to leave now."
"Fine," he scoffed irately. "Go, be with Jess. Just don't call me when he drops you the second he gets bored. I won't be here."
Rory watched as Dean walked away, sighing deeply as he disappeared and she could finally breathe again. Then, slowly, she sat down on the bridge and lay back, closing her eyes to the world around her and vowing only to open them again for Jess.