PAIRING: Finn/Rory.

RATING: PG and edging upwards

SPOILERS: Everything that has aired so far is fair game.

DISCLAIMER: Not mine. All characters are property of ASP and the WB.

NOTES: Yes, I am an evil non-updater. Sorry. But thank you to all those that have reviewed this and all my other stories. Getting that little 'review notification' always prods me towards my computer. Interesting fact: Microsoft Word recognizes 'Tinkerbelle' as a legitimate word but not 'Dumbo.' Weird, no? Chapter title stolen from The Magic Numbers.

Five: She Don't Care What You Say

True to his word, Finn directed the driver to find them the nearest drive-thru window when he got in the limo. If the driver found this request odd he was well aid enough not comment. "That was… interesting," Rory commented.

"And those were just the ones the asylum let out on day passes," Finn joked. "I'm sorry."

"What for?"

"Olivia. Sometimes she confuses 'older sister' with 'high inquisitor.'"

"You don't have to apologize. She's protective of you. That's nice."

"Still. I will be ratting her out about the lamp thing."

"It's okay, really. You might want to keep that as leverage for another time."

"Oh, don't worry. There's plenty more where that came from."

Rory slipped off her heels and tucked her legs underneath her so she was facing him and rested her head on the seat, "It wasn't all bad."

"Oh?"

"I rather enjoyed your doppelganger," she teased, referring to Jasper.

Finn groaned, "I was never that cheesy."

"Rose colored glasses, dear." Rory smiled at him fondly and he found himself smiling back.

"Sir? We've arrived," the driver announced.

Finn rolled down his window just in time to catch the garbled voice bleat out, "Welcome to McDonald's. Can I take your order?"

They'd opened the sunroof, blasted the heat, and taken the scenic route back to Rory's apartment. They sat in an easy silence, eating McFlurries and watching the sky. They'd also been sampling the well stocked bar that the limo held. "Finn?" Rory asked softly.

"Mmm?"

"I'm driving to Stars Hollow the tomorrow afternoon."

"Yeah. I know."

"Do you want to…? I mean I know you have a lot going on, but if you wanted to…" Rory took a deep breath and cursed the sudden onslaught of nerves, "Do you want to come down? To Stars Hollow. Just for a day or two. I mean, you don't have to or anything but…"

"Rory?"

"Yeah?"

"I'd love to."

"Really?"

"I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it. But I can't, unfortunately."

"Oh."

"The parental figures insisted on a good old fashioned family Christmas this year. I heard a murmur about caroling. There will be hell to pay if I ditch it, much as I'd like to."

"I understand."

"How about I come down for New Years? That is if you think you'll be able to wrangle me an invite to Emily's soiree?"

"Ooh," Rory grimaced exaggeratedly, "I don't know, Finn. It's a hot ticket."

"You've got connections."

"I'll try to pull some strings. Just look for the girl in the dress that looks exactly like this one."

Due, in part to the champagne she'd had at the party and the rum she'd had with her coke in the limo, Rory was feeling drowsy by the time they'd meandered their way back to her building. The driver opened the door and both she and Finn slid out. She waited while he instructed the driver to wait; he'd walk her to her door and be down shortly. She swayed gently on her feet and burrowed deeper into her coat to ward off the night's chill. He wrapped an arm around her and she snuggled closer. They made their way past her doorman, who watched her with mild interest and up to her apartment in silence. She dug her keys out of her tiny evening bag and turned to him and, in a hushed tone said, "Thanks, Finn."

"Really, there's no need. You've had a better time at the dentist's, I'm sure. I know I have."

"Actually, all things considered, tonight will definitively go down in history as more good than bad."

"Has anyone ever told you you're an odd duck, love?"

"Many, many times."

"To clarify, I actually like that about you."

She smiled up at him, dimly aware that he'd moved closer, "I'm glad."

He leaned down and brushed his lips over hers, once, twice. Rory's eyes fluttered closed and her hands reached out to him just as he pulled away. "'Night Rory."

"Goodnight," she echoed faintly, fingers coming up to touch her lips, watching as he strolled around the corner to the bank of elevators. She let herself into her apartment, no longer tired. Her heart was racing and he hadn't even properly kissed her.

Rory was in that place between sleep and consciousness, where everything was warm and comfortable and edged in light, when the buzzer sounded, jarring her awake. She was less than pleased. She stumbled over to the intercom, "Yeah?"

"Miss Gilmore, you have a visitor."

She pressed the talk button again, puzzled, "Who?"

A female voice answered, "Rory? It's Olivia. Finn's sister from…"

Rory cut off her explanation and instructed Maurice to let her in. She wrestled her hair into an approximation of a ponytail and splashed her face with water a couple of times, rubbing away the mascara smudges, before going into the kitchen to make some coffee. Mr. Coffee was dripping merrily when Olivia knocked at the door. Rory opened it and said, "Good morning," in a way that was neither welcoming nor angry, but mostly curious.

"Hello. Sorry to bother you early, like this," Olivia smoothed a non-existent wrinkle on her navy pencil skirt.

"It's no trouble," Rory held the door open, "would you like to come in? I'm making coffee."

"Thank you. That would be nice," she stepped inside and removed her gloves.

Rory was puzzled but forced herself to refrain from commenting on the stark contrast between Olivia's attitude today and the one she'd displayed last night.

"Kitchen's through here," Rory gestured and Olivia dutifully followed her, laying her coat and gloves upon one chair and seating herself in another.

"Your apartment's very nice."

"Thank you. I'm afraid I can't take much credit for the décor. My grandmother did most of it as a birthday present the year I moved in and then my mother blew through a few weeks later with a some prints and knickknacks and a rug to 'funkify the joint.' Her words, not mine." Rory poured two cups of coffee as she spoke. "Cream and sugar?"

"Black is fine."

"Okay." Rory set a mug down in front of Olivia and seated herself across from her, content to allow the other woman to make the point of her visit clear in due time.

Olivia allowed herself a few sips before doing just that, "I assume you're wondering how I got your address?"

"Not really. At Yale, Finn and the others were quite adept at getting their hands on private information. I learned it's better not to ponder the how's and why's."

"Oh. Well, I didn't do anything illegal."

"The thought didn't cross my mind."

"I came to… I owe you an apology."

"I can't say I disagree," Rory's tone lacked bite, which made her comment all the more pointed.

"Finn's always been, well, a bit reckless."

Rory hid a grin behind her cup, "I know. You should probably substitute 'a bit' for 'really, really.'"

"Probably," they shared a smile, "anyway, I've cleaned up more than a few of his messes and I try to take preventative measures whenever possible."

"So last night was you trying to prevent a mess?"

"Exactly. Finn's reckless with money and things and he's reckless with his body. But he's especially reckless with his heart. And, truthfully, he's reckless with the hearts of others as well.

"I see." Rory thought about trotting out the 'we're just old friends, really' line but something told her Olivia wouldn't be buying it. The fact that she'd tossed and turned last night, obsessing over a ghost of a kiss, told Rory that she didn't buy it herself.

"I know I shouldn't meddle, he's twenty-eight years old, for heaven's sake. But in my head he's still the kid who jumped off the roof of the greenhouse, thinking that he could fly."

"That sounds like Finn," one long knock followed by three short ones sounded at her door, Finn's knock. "Speak of the devil," Rory said. Maurice had begun to let Finn in on sight days ago.

"And he instantly appears," Olivia finished. She got up to follow Rory to the door, collecting her things along the way, knowing that her presence was no longer necessary.

Rory threw open the door to find Finn, brandishing a bouquet of lilies. "For you, milady," his eyes traveled past Rory to land on the other, unexpected, person currently standing in Rory's apartment. "Ollie, what are you doing here?"

Rory and Olivia shared a look that he didn't particularly feel comfortable with,"I was filling Rory in on some of your more embarrassing moments."

"It seems I wasn't mistaken in calling you Peter Pan. Where was Tinkerbelle with the pixie dust?"

Finn groaned, "I was seven years old. And inspired by Dumbo, actually."

"He did have unusually large ears as a child," Olivia confided.

"You were just leaving, then, weren't you Ollie?"

"Yes. And relax. You managed, somehow, to grow into them." She pinched his cheek as she passed, "See you, Rory. Thanks for the coffee."

"Anytime," Olivia left with a wave and Finn shut the door behind her, eyeing Rory suspiciously. "What?"

"Double, double toil and trouble."

"Nothing bad happened. Your sister came by to apologize for what happened yesterday."

"And?"

"I accepted."

"And?"

"And nothing."

"Hmm."

"Oh, just give me those flowers, already."