Title: Her Second Chance
Summary: Never in a million years did he expect to find her on his doorstep. Her, of all people. And truth be told, she never expected that it would be him she was running to.
Disclaimer: Don't own the characters. Credit for that mess goes to AS-P and The WB.
Notes: I'm so sorry for the delay. Last weekend, I went on the lake trip from hell, and when I got back, I hauled ass to get this done.
So, I had this chapter all written...and it was good, and pretty, and good (which is saying a lot, because I never praise my own work). Basically, I was very proud of it. Then my computer killed it. Gone. Forever. (whaaaaaaaa). This is very traumatizing to me. And if this has ever happened to you, you know exactly how I feel. It's not a happy feeling, is it? Ugh. Anyhoo, I hope this re-write turns out to be close to the original.
Thank you everyone for your amazing reviews. You have no idea how much it means to me that you all like this!
Chapter Three: From Point A to Point B
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As soon as she pulled out of the driveway, her mind went into overdrive.
What was she doing?
Was she insane?
That was the only probable explanation.
She couldn't go to New York. Just to see him? No. No. It was crazy.
Well, she had gone once before.
But that was an entirely different situation!
He probably wouldn't even want to see her. She'd have to tell him what had happened. Then he definitely wouldn't want to see her. He would never forgive her. Or worse, he would.
Besides, she didn't even have his address. New York's a very big city. She had no idea where he would be. No way of finding him. She should just turn back now.
Then again, Luke would probably have the address. And he would probably give it to her.
Her mind raced for more reasons to turn back. And about a million came to mind. But she was able to disregard or excuse every single one of them. Her need to see him, to talk to him, to know what might have been...
It overwhelmed her.
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It was the afternoon when she reached the diner. She sighed as she killed the ignition.
So much for a stealthy exit.
She should just go home now. Every fiber of her being told her to do so. That this was a bad idea. She wasn't good with this whole spontaneity thing. Luke probably didn't even have his address. She hadn't thought this out. She hadn't made lists, she hadn't discussed it with her mother, she hadn't even packed rationally.
Screw it.
Time to throw rational out the window.
She exited the car and made her way across the street to Luke's.
The bell above the door announced her arrival. Luckily, the diner was sparsely filled with faces unfamiliar to her.
She suddenly became very self-conscious. Like everyone was watching her. Like they knew what she had done. They knew where she was going. They were judging her.
Of course, she realized, they weren't. These were faces that didn't know her. Faces that didn't even acknowledge her arrival.
She almost wished they would. She wished that these strangers would rise up and block the door. She wished that they would be able to see through her, to realize her plan (or lack thereof) and immediately talk her out of it. That they would tell her that, yes, she was crazy. That padded walls and straight jackets were necessary. Then the pretty men in white coats would appear and take her away. Away from this town, away from her life, away from him and her crazy thoughts forever.
She closed her eyes and wished.
"Rory? You okay?"
She opened her eyes. Nothing had changed. The exact same tourists were in the exact same seats. No straight jacket. No padded walls. No pretty men. Well, there was Luke. Luke?
"Yoo-hoo? Rory?" He waved his hand in front of her face in a futile attempt to shake her from her trance.
She briefly wondered if she had said that all aloud. Then another question entered her mind.
"Did you just say 'yoo-hoo'?" She inquired, genuinely curious to know if she heard correctly.
"You were kind of spacey there for a second," he replied, ignoring her question, much to her dismay. "Are you alright?"
"What? Me? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Perfectly fine. I'm a-okay."
It's official. Stealth was not her strong suit.
Luke nodded, unconvinced. "So, you want to sit and get some coffee? Or are you going to block the door all day?"
"I need to talk to you. In your apartment. Please."
And with that she passed him and disappeared behind the curtain, most likely beginning her ascent of the stairs. Luke stared after her dumbfounded. After a few moments, he decided he should probably follow her. After yelling some excuse to Caesar, he followed her path taking the stairs two at a time, intrigued to find out what was going on.
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He entered the apartment to find her sitting on the couch, holding a pillow. Well, she wasn't holding it. She was picking at it. A lone string dangled between her thumb and forefinger, and she was watching it intently. As if it held all the answers to some unknown question.
She didn't notice him enter, so he spoke first.
"So, you wanted to talk?"
He stopped when she jumped about three feet off the cushions. Like she wasn't expecting him to be there. Shaking his head, he sat in the chair across from her. He would wait for her to speak this time.
Realizing it was going to be her responsibility to explain herself, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes, willing the situation to go away once more.
But of course, things don't work like that.
"I need to ask you something," she ventured unsteadily, unsure of how to broach the subject.
When Luke didn't respond, she went on, "This is probably going to sound completely crazy, but then again, I think I may have gone completely crazy, so you need to bear with me here."
"Rory, are you alright?" he asked, sincerely concerned.
"I need Jess's address." Great. Blurt it out. Just lovely.
Luke's eyes went wide and his face went pale. In any other given situation, she would have found it funny.
"You what?"
"If you have it, and...if you don't mind giving it to me."
"Do you want to go see him? Does your mom know about this?"
"Luke, I just...I...please, Luke. I really need to do this." She looked him in the eyes now, pleading.
This sure as hell wasn't going to help further his relationship with Lorelai.
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It was getting late. The sun was starting to go down. Rory should have been home by now.
Lorelai checked her watch for the third time in five minutes.
Maybe she stopped back in when Lorelai went back to the inn.
Of course!
After Rory went to see Lane, she went back to the inn for a while. Rory must have come home when she was gone.
But where was she now?
Luke's!
It was about dinner time. She was probably there right now, waiting for Lorelai to join her.
And here she was watching reruns of The Sopranos.
Sure, she was getting lots of good ideas on ways to dismember Dean.
But that could wait.
With that she switched off the television and picked up the phone. Might as well try Lane's first.
Lord knows enough has happened in the past few days to warrant a day-long sit down. She could still be explaining the situation to her best friend.
After a brief conversation, Lorelai hung up the phone with the very confused young woman.
"No, Rory and I didn't have plans to meet today."
Well, it was just a spontaneous thing.
"No, I haven't seen her for days."
She decided to come over at the last minute. Maybe she was just out, and Rory happened to miss her.
"No, she couldn't have missed me. I've been here all day."
Hmm. Well, that doesn't make much sense, does it.
Why would she lie about where she was going? Why would she lie period?
Oh no.
She was going to see Dean.
She left right after she told her about the trophy wife and bean pole incident. Why hadn't she thought of this sooner? Was there a change in her attitude? In her demeanor?
She made that joke!
Oh, why hadn't she noticed? She shouldn't have even told her about it. She was obviously hurting. So, being the stellar mother that she is, she went and told her daughter that, yes, her first love, who coincidentally took her virginity, had gone back to his wife.
Dear god, her life was starting to sound like a soap opera. All she needed was a clone and a bastard child she had no recollection of giving birth to.
But that wasn't the point. Rory, upon hearing all of these things, had gone to talk to him...to see him.
Had he and Lindsay already left for their trip? What if Lindsay was there when Rory showed up? Or worse, what if she wasn't?
Ah. Mental image.
Her daughter had taken off to find her married ex-boyfriend to par-take in round two.
Yep. Welcome to The Young and the Shameless. Starring...
Ugh. Focus, Lorelai.
She abruptly stood up, but didn't move. Where should she go? To their house? That would sound great.
"Hey Lindsay. I was wondering if Rory was here. I think she came by for a quickie with your husband. Have you seen her?"
Right. How 'bout we call that 'Plan B'.
Where else could she look?
Her room.
There had to be something in her room. A note. A strand of hair. A finger print. Something!
Where were those cute guys from CSI when you need them?
She slowly made her way across the living room to the kitchen. She paused momentarily before opening the door.
She knew immediately that something was wrong.
She went over to her closet and threw open the doors. It was virtually empty.
Her bookshelf had holes where her daughter's favorite copies should have been.
And on the bed....
On the neatly made bed....
On the neatly made bed was a neatly folded note.
A neatly folded note in her daughter's neatly scripted handwriting.
A note that briefly described her daughter's whereabouts.
"...needed to get away..."
"...don't worry...
"...I'll call..."
She....she ran away? She was gone?
No.
No.
Lorelai refused to believe it.
It just couldn't be true.
Rory was at the diner. Waiting for her.
And she was going to prove it.
She exited the room quickly, leaving the now crumpled note on the still neatly made bed.
After locating her keys, she exited her house with one destination in mind.
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She had been driving for hours. She actually didn't mind. The monotony of the pavement, the trees, the lines, the cars, it calmed her. It helped to keep her mind off of...things. Focus on the task at hand. The task at hand being to get from Point A to Point B. Don't think about what Point A was or what Point B may be. Just get to Point B. That's your mission, your quest, your purpose in life. Just get to Point B.
The only problem was, what does she do once she gets to Point B?
She had to push that question out of her mind at least a dozen times throughout the trip.
It was later now. Not still day, but not quite night. Dusk. That's what it was. Such a pretty word. Such a pretty concept. Not light, not dark. The in-between.
That's where she was now.
Not Point A, but not quite Point B. The in-between.
The in-between that just happened to lie in front of his apartment building.
The mission is over.
The quest complete.
It's time for a new purpose in life.
Getting out of the car would be a good start.
Maybe she should go get some coffee.
Or drive around a little more...to clear her head.
No!
She would not chicken out here. For once in her life, she wasn't going to be rational. She was going to take a chance. She hadn't come this far for nothing.
She had a new mission.
A new quest.
A new purpose in life.
To get out of the damn car.
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The closer that she got to the diner, the more her hope faded.
The note was clear. She had left. To where, she didn't specify. But her clothes were gone. Her books were gone. Her car was gone.
Rory was gone.
It all made sense. Why would she want to stay here all summer? Rory had encountered a problem, so Rory was going to run from it.
She was beginning to think she hadn't raised her daughter very well at all.
She told herself to stay calm. That it was probably a big misunderstanding. That she read the note wrong. That Rory was at the diner.
She was.
She didn't break her stride as she approached the diner door - instead, she thrust it open with force and entered in a frenzied panic.
She surveyed the area. Counter. Tables. Chairs. Booths.
No Rory.
That was okay.
She was probably just here. They had just missed each other.
Of course!
She had just been here waiting for her. Or perhaps she had just finished a meal.
She was on her way home at this very second.
They had probably even crossed paths a few moments before, but both were too caught up in their own troubles to notice the other.
That made perfect sense.
It was then that she noticed Luke exit the kitchen with two plates in tow.
All she had to do was ask him how long ago it was that Rory left.
Ah, Luke. The Luke. Her Luke.
Something else she had to deal with.
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It was then he noticed Lorelai in the diner.
Did she know yet? Was that why she was here? He was going to have to tell her sooner or later. He was hoping it was going to be the latter, but fate had never been kind to Luke. Knowing his luck, this was going to end any semblance of a relationship he had going with Lorelai.
Something else he had to deal with.
He carelessly gave the tourists their meals, receiving a scorn and perhaps losing his tip.
She stayed standing in the middle of the diner as if she didn't even notice he was there. She made no attempt to approach him. No attempt to speak.
Once again, he was forced to take the initiative.
"Lorelai. Hey." Yeah. Real smooth, Luke.
"Hi," she smiled shyly. A flirty technique she used in an attempt to hopefully lighten the mood. Or the mood to come, as it may be.
"So, you want to sit and get some coffee?" he offered, desperately trying to put off what he knew he had to tell her.
"Oh, no. I'm not staying. I just have a quick question."
The second Gilmore in one day to refuse coffee. He could've swore the world was ending. Hell, his world probably was ending. Stupid fate.
"Oh, okay."
"And this is probably going to sound completely crazy, but then again, lately I feel like I've gone completely crazy, so-"
How many conversations had started like that for him today? Oh, that's right. Two too many.
"-so I'm just going to come out and say it, I guess. I just haven't seen Rory for a while...well, she wasn't home when I got back from the inn earlier, so I was just wondering if she had been here earlier. Has she been here?" She looked at him hopefully.
Crap.
"Yeah, actually she was here earlier."
He saw her face instantly light up, and he cursed himself for having to break this to her.
"She was? I knew it. We just missed each other, right? She was just in here for dinner, wasn't she? Oh, I can't believe I got myself so worked up about this." She sighed in relief and placed a hand on her chest, as if it would help steady her breathing.
Upon noticing the frown on his face, she continued, not as enthusiastically. "She was just here, right?"
"No. Um, actually, she was here a few hours ago."
Her face contorted with complete confusion. "A few hours ago? But where is she now? She's not at home. She's not at Lane's. Oh god, she is with Dean."
"Dean?" Now Luke was confused.
"Yes, Dean." She was furious. Absolutely furious. How dare she! Not only did she worry Lorelai half to death, but she was off with a married man again!
Luke noticed the change in disposition, and put his hand on her arm in an attempt to pull her away from the prying ears of Patty and Gypsy, who happened to be at the corner table.
"Lorelai, lets go upstairs and talk about this."
If she even heard him, she didn't acknowledge his request. "I raised her better than this. At least, I thought I did. There are three fundamentals of life you need to teach your child, and I thought I covered them pretty well: always say 'please' and 'thank you', don't take candy from strangers, and never, under any circumstances, have sex with your married ex-boyfriend. Maybe I just didn't review that last one as thoroughly as I thought I did."
The diner was completely silent now, but Lorelai showed no sign of stopping.
"I mean, god Luke, she just took off. Just like that. She told me she was going to Lane's. Lane knew nothing about that, by the way. This last week had been....I don't even know who she is anymore. She doing things that I raised her not to do. I can't believe she-"
"Lorelai." He had a feeling that he had already let her say too much. Way too much. "When she came in here earlier, well...she..."
"What Luke?" She sounded restless. And angry. She was ready to hit something, and he had a feeling it was going to be him.
He tried again, "When she came in here earlier, she asked me for Jess's address."
She froze. He froze. The diner froze.
He felt the earth stop turning.
"Jess? Why...why Jess?" He voice was quieter now. Surprised. Confused. Scared. Jess always scared her. Even more than Dean.
"I don't know."
"Is she going....does she want to see him?"
"I'm assuming so. I don't know Lorelai. She didn't say, but she seemed pretty determined."
So Rory was gone.
She ran away.
To him.
Not the him she thought, but a him nonetheless.
It didn't make any sense.
Regardless, the earth started spinning again.
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Caesar came out of the kitchen carrying a few plates to find Lorelai standing the middle of the diner, completely at a loss for words. He shook his head. Little did she know that just hours before, her daughter stood in the exact same position.
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She did it!
She, Rory Gilmore, had made it to Point B!
All by herself!
No lists or sanity or rational thought whatsoever played into it. For once she just...went. No late night heart-to-heart with her mom...no stop at Lane's to make sure she was doing the right thing.
Here she was! In front of his apartment door. Less the thirty feet away from him.
She surveyed her surroundings once more.
The paint on the walls was chipped. She carpet stained. The air musty.
But none of that mattered.
She had made it out of the car. She had made it into the apartment building. She had made it to the stairwell, then consequently up the stairs. She had made it down the hallway. To the apartment.
Her latest purpose in life: knock on the door.
She checked the number on the paper to the number on the door once more, just as Luke had done weeks before. With a deep breath, she closed her eyes and knocked on the door.
Forcefully.
Three times.
There was no way he couldn't have heard that. There was no turning back now.
And before she could blink once more, there he was.
Less than three feet away from her now.
She had made it!
The look on his face was one of total amazement.
His hair was shorter again. It didn't seem to be as 'gelled-up' as it used to be though. It was more unruly. He hadn't shaved in a few days either. She briefly wondered if it was because he didn't have the time, or if he simply no longer cared.
It didn't really matter.
He looked amazing.
But she couldn't say that. She couldn't say anything.
So he spoke first.
"Holy shit."
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Notes: So. How was that? I know, not near enough Jess, but the big conversation will be next. And that should be out sooner than this chapter. Please review. Please. Especially since I've been traumatized. I need to know if this turned out any good...I had to do it from memory! Pity me people. And then review.