Chapter Two – California's A Long Way From Home

"Sit down sit down? You want a drink? Food? I'll get you food. coffee? No wait your way to young for that. Juice, is that what young kids drink these days? Soda? No that'll rot your teeth. Anything you want. On the house.." Luke stopped to take a breath smiling at his niece.

She looked good, if a little thin. He hadn't seen her for four years, and she had changed so much gotten taller. Looked a lot like Jess. Luke cocked his head to the side, Jess? Maybe that wasn't a bad thing though. Just because she looked like him didn't mean she was gonna be like him right?

"Uncle Luke? Are you okay? Do I have something in my hair or something?" Liza asked feeling her hair.

Luke shook himself out of his daze. "No. Yeah. I mean I'm fine. No your hair looks great. Ummm, did you want anything to eat?"

"A piece of pie, maybe a glass of water please."

"What? Is that all he's gonna say?" Lorelai whispered to Rory. "I mean where is Liz or TJ? Or whoever Liz is with these days?"

Luke came back over with some pie and a glass of water, he placed it on the table and took a seat opposite her. "So how did you get here?"

"Bus." Liza replied tucking into the pie.

"The bus? Liza that is no place for a thirteen year old girl." Luke started. "If you wanted to come you should have called me, you know I would have come and got you."

"Uncle Luke I wanted it to be a surprise." Liza said with a mouthful of food. "And it wouldn't have been much of a surprise if I'd have called you and asked you to pick me up."

"Bus stations are dirty, filthy places. With all kinds of weirdo's walking around, I mean come on, Kirk gets the bus for Christ sake."

"I live in New York, I see weirdo's every day. And what the hell's a Kirk?" Liza asked confused.

"Ummm Luke, I have a question." Kirk shouted out from the other side of the diner.

Luke pointed to Kirk. "That's a Kirk."

Liza turned to see, then quickly turned back round and finished her pie.

"Well Liz is still with T.J." Rory said quietly, going back to the conversation she and her mother were just having.

Lorelai raised an eyebrow, giving her an 'oh yeah and how do you know' look.'

"Well I bumped into Jess out in California, and naturally I asked him how everyone was." Rory said quickly defending herself.

"California's a mighty big place and yet you just happen to bump into him?" Lorelai said.

"Yes." Rory answered not looking her mother in the eyes.

The two of them both sat there each content with their own thoughts as they watched Luke and Liza.

"Honey, I'm home." Lorelai shouted out as she came in through the front door. "Hello? Anybody home?"

"In here." Luke called from Scarlett's bedroom.

Lorelai peered her head around the corner. "What are you doing?"

"Getting a bed ready for Liza." Luke was on his knees blowing up the inflatable bed with his mouth. "Have you seen the pump for this?"

"Excuse me?"

"The pump, to blow up the bed."

Lorelai shook her head. "No I meant about getting a bed ready for Liza. We didn't discuss this."

"Lorelai she's my niece. Our niece. Where else is she supposed to stay?"

"Well maybe she should have thought about that before she hopped on a bus from New York. I mean do you even know the reason why she's here?"

"No, but I'm gonna find out tonight."

Lorelai placed her hands on her hips. "So for all you know she could be running from the police, and we're going to be getting a knock on the door at three in the morning."

Luke stood up. "She's thirteen, why would she be running from the police?"

"I don't know, she is Jess's sister after all. Plus have you even asked your daughter about having a room mate."

"It'll be like a slumber party. Kids still do those today don't they? And just because she and Jess share chromosomes doesn't mean that she's going to turn out like him."

Lorelai sighed and went into the kitchen, and started to make some coffee.

"Is there something wrong?" Luke asked following her out.

"No." Lorelai said keeping her back to him. "Well yeah….No. Its okay."

"Huh?" Luke was confused.

"No there's nothing wrong. I'm good. Just make sure you ask Scarlett before Liza gets here."

"Hey Sookie. Is mom here?" Scarlett asked, as she and Dana walked into the kitchen at the Dragonfly.

"I haven't seen her for a while now sweetie, is there something wrong?" Sookie turned around knocking a bowl off the side, which Scarlett caught just before it hit the floor.

"No, I was just wondering if she was here. I called home earlier and no one was in." Scarlett said her goodbyes and went out into the lobby.

She and Dana sat opposite the sign in desk, playing truth or dare.

"Okay dare." Scarlett said.

Dana sat up on her knees. "Okay I dare you to go over to Michel and stick a kick me sticker on his back?"

Scarlett smiled and got up, she went over to the desk and wrote on a post-it 'KICK ME'.

"Hey Michel." Scarlett said as she went past him, brushing his back. "You have a white mark on your jacket, let me get that off for you." She stuck the post-it on him.

"I always knew you were nicer than your mother." Michel smiled, thinking Scarlett had done him a favor.

Just as she was going back to the desk the phone rang.

"Hello Dragonfly inn Scarlett speaking, how can I help you."

"What a very pleasant greeting."

"Hey Grandma." Scarlett said.

"Is your Mother there?" Emily asked.

"No, I don't know where she is. Did you wanna leave a message?"

"I just wanted to know whether or not Rory was coming to dinner this Friday?"

Scarlett didn't know whether to lie to her or tell the truth. Did she know Rory was back? "Ummm, I'm not sure Grandma. I'll get her to call you when I see her. Anyway I've got to go, so I'll see you Friday. Bye."

"Goodbye Scarlett."

"Oh my god Rory. No!" Lane exclaimed as she and Rory were sat at Lane's house. "After what he did to you last time and your going back to him."

"We figured all of that out. He's changed." Rory smiled. "I really think we can make a go of it this time."

"Does Lorelai know?"

Rory looked down at her shoes. "I couldn't tell her. She'd flip."

"Well she's going to find out sooner or later, and you said Liza's here too?"

Rory nodded. "That's another reason I can't tell her, she's not exactly over the moon that Liza's here either. She thinks their just as bad as one another. Anyway I'd better get going, I'll see you tomorrow."

She knew it was wrong to keep things from her mother. It was something that only happened on rare occasions, you know…when the time called for it. Well maybe it did this time. Yes it did. She was convinced. Anything to not cause a problem. She would tell Lorelai when the time was right, when there wasn't friction between Luke and her. When she wouldn't be that mad. She had all the time in the world. He was in California, she wouldn't find out. So what harm could it do to keep it a secret just that while longer?

Scarlett had just said goodbye to Dana, and they had gone their separate ways. Scarlett decided to make her way over to the diner, she really couldn't be bothered to walk home so thought she'd wait for her Dad to finish up and get a lift home with him.

As she walked closer towards Luke's her eyes opened wide in horror. She could see her Dad with his arm around some young girl. Some young girl who she had no idea who it was.

She watched as Luke led this girl into the store room. Just as she was about to run over find out what the hell was going on, someone familiar almost knocked her down as he rushed past heading straight towards the Diner.

He stormed over to the diner and reached above the door. "How does he know? Wait…. Is that? Oooooo wait till Mom hears about this!"