Third Season: The Better Way Chapter 5: A Deep Fried Diner Thanksgiving, a gilmore girls fanfic

Chapter 5- A Deep-Fried Diner Thanksgiving

"Okay, now, practical question…how are we going to eat four Thanksgiving dinners?" Rory asked her Mom, walking down the street. It was the first day of break, and they were on their way to Luke's for their morning coffee.

"Let's see…first is the Kim's, but theirs is always really early, so we got that covered. Next would be Sookie's- apparently Jackson's inviting all his manly men, so we can just pop in and pop out; no one will miss us, especially since my bet is that Sookie will be a wee bit tipsy before the turkey's even started cookin'," explained Lorelai, using her fingers to count off.

"So, those are easy-peasy. We still have the Grandparents and Luke's; how are supposed to still be hungry enough?" Rory raised her eyebrows questioningly.

Lorelai scoffed, "What are we if not word-champion eaters? Besides, Mrs. Kim probably will load us down with Tof-urkey, which I'm guessin' ain't gonna cut it for us girls."

Rory nodded, and pulled open the door to the diner, "We're two for four now. Luke's is the next one, right."

"Uh-hmm." She sat down at her usual table, Rory following. "His will most likely be the best 'cause the food will be edible, we won't have to wear stuffy dresses, and the company's good-ish."

"What do you mean by '-ish'" Rory asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.

Lorelai waved it off, "No reason. And last, but not lea-… last we have Emily and Richard with their snooty French friends."

"You're changing the subject," Rory accused.

Lorelai assured her otherwise, "No I'm not, just simply getting back on track. You changed it in the first place."

"I thought you said you would be nicer about Jess," Rory said. "What has he done wrong?"

Lorelai was about to retort, when Luke arrived with an order pad, "What'll it be?"

"Saved by the diner-man," Rory mumbled, but turned to Luke, perking up, "Just some chocolate chip pancakes and bacon. And coffee." She paused, "Is Jess not working today?"

He shook his head, "I let him sleep in. I've been working him pretty hard recently, but," he looked at the lock on the back wall, "He should we getting up soon."

"Can I go…" she trailed off, pointing towards the curtain.

"You can try," Luke said, "But I don't think you'll be able to do it. He would sleep through World War III if given the chance."

"Thanks," she said, getting up. As she started walking away she heard Luke and her mom arguing about the healthiness of her diet, and smiled to herself, not understanding how they both could be so oblivious.

She pulled the curtain to the side and stepped through it, hearing the sounds of the diner become muffled as she started walking up the stairs. As she reached the top, she gently knocked on the door, thinking that Jess might have gotten up already and was reading or something.

Rory waited for a few seconds before deciding he wasn't up, and twisted the doorknob, pushing the door open.

She bit her lip, letting her gaze wander around the apartment. She'd never seen it before, and it really seemed like Luke and Jess. She went over to Jess' room and peeked inside the door, seeing if Jess was there. He was lying spread-out and shirtless, on his back, covers bunched round his waist, and a book laying on the side of the bed next to him.

Rory smiled at the sight, and the ever-present smirk on his face even in sleep. She wondered if he was dreaming, and if he was, what about. She shook her head, emptying herself of the thoughts, and went over to the bed, sitting down beside him.

She heard it creak gently, but he barely even stirred. She heard him snoring, and thought how cute it sounded, not at all bothered by it.

"Jess," she whispered quietly, not wanting to spook him out of his sleep, "Time to get up."

He must not have heard her, so she continued, "Jess, it's almost eleven and I wanna do something today." His nose wrinkled a little in annoyance, but still, he didn't wake.

Rory sighed, and bit her lip thinking of what she wanted to do to wake him up.

With her right hand, she softly shook him. Still nothing. 'Luke was right,' she thought, 'I don't think he'd wake up if someone came in to steal all of his Hemingway books.'

She decided to try a different tactic, and leaned over the bed and near his face.

She lightly kissed his forehead, then his nose, each eye, and finally his mouth. She felt him responding to the kiss, and smiled, happy she figured out a fun way to get up.

After a few moments she pulled back, and he sleepily opened his eyes, "Morning," he said, voice full of both confusion and drowsiness.

"Morning," she returned cheerfully.

He arched his eyebrows, "What are you doing here?"

She crawled up next to him, sitting up against the headboards and leaning against his shoulder, "Oh, Luke said I could wake you up. I wanted to do something today, unless, you know, you have something else planned, and in that case-"

He stopped her, "No plans. What is it you wanted to do?"

"I dunno," she shrugged, "Doesn't really matter. School's out, so no homework."

He nodded, "I see. We can catch a movie or something."

She beamed, Really? I haven't been in ages. Dean and I could never agree on something, so we just never went," she told him, frowning. "Promise me you'll never drag me into see Lord of The Rings twenty times."

"I can definitely promise you that," he assured her, pulling a face. "I could barely sit through it the first time."

"Oh, it wasn't that bad, but this conversation is getting a little boring; let's talk about something else."

He casually rolled his eyes, "What do we talk about then?"

"Um, oh! I heard you got a car…" she said, trailing off expectantly.

"Yep."

Rory frowned, and poked him in the side, "Well, where'd you get it? How'd you pay for it? Why'd you need it? Does my Mom know you got it, 'cause I think she'll have a major freak out if she finds out you're behind the wheel again."

"Slow down. It's not a big deal, Rory. Really," he told her, wrapping his arm around her shoulder.

She looked at him skeptically, "Come on, if it's not a big deal, tell me."

Jess sighed, resigned, "Whatever." He ran a hand through his messy, gel-less hair, "I bought it from Gypsy a couple of weeks ago. She gave me a good deal."

"Where'd you get the money?"

"I have…For the last few months I've been going to a place that gives me money for my services," he cryptically explained, exhaling deeply.

She arched a perplexed eyebrow, "What, are you a gigolo or something?"

His eyes widened, "What? No."

Rory laughed at the thought, "Then what do you do? It sounds like you got a job other than Luke's."

He nodded, "Yeah, it would seem so." He pointed to a pair of jeans laying on the back of a chair, "Go get the jeans over there for me."

She looked at him, puzzled, but complied. Scooting her legs off the bed, she walked the few feet to his pants and brought them over to him, a light bluish rising on her cheeks.

Jess smirked at her when she sat back down, this time across from him at the foot of the bed. He reached into the back pocket of the jeans a pulled out a small plastic card. He handed it over to her, and she took it, a bewildered look on her face.

"What's this," she asked, pulling it towards her face.

"Turn it over," Jess instructed.

She narrowed her eyes to get a better look, while the corners of her lips turned upwards in amusement, "Is this what I think it is?" she asked.

"Yep," he replied simply.

"You work at Wal-Mart. You work at Wal-Mart. You work at Wal-Mart." She was taunting him disbelievingly.

He shook his head and made to grab his name tag back, "I already told you- it's not that big of a deal. Just drop it."

She finally stopped giggling and handed the card to him, "Sorry. I'm done. But Wal-Mart?"

"Rory," he warned. "It's nothing. Just some extra cash to do whatever with."

She nodded, "Yeah. Okay." She brightened, "Hey, get up, get dressed, and get out. We were planning on seeing a movie, right?"

"Yeah. I'll meet you downstairs in twenty minutes."

"Okay," she said, leaning forward on her knees. "Hurry."

She kissed him gently, and after a few seconds, pulled away softly, "Go."

He nodded grudgingly, but lifted off the covers and slung his feet to the floor, "I'm going, I'm going."

"Good," she replied. "I'm going to get some coffee and tell Mom the plans."

"Okay," he called from already in the bathroom. "I'm getting in the shower right now."

She smiled, satisfied, and went back down the stairs, a happy spring in her step.

"How'd you like the movie?" asked Rory, coming out of the theater, arm linked with Jess'.

His brow furrowed, "It was okay. I've seen better, I've seen worse."

"Vague, are we?" she said, unhooking her arm and pivoting around to face him.

"What can I say? Vague is my middle name," he retorted.

"Of course. So, Jess Vague Mariano, what's next?" she asked, sitting on a bench and pulling him down next to her.

"Nothing planned. What time are you guys coming over for Thanksgiving tomorrow?" he asked, withdrawing a book from his back pocket.

She leaned against him casually, "Um, somewhere in between Sookie and the Grandparents. Truthfully, the diner's the only meal I'm really looking forward to. Lane's is going to be too, um 'Korean', Sookie's too masculine, and Emily and Richard's will be very French. And let me tell you, French was not my best subject."

"That's a lot of dinners," he stated, leaning back.

"We'll skip the rolls," she told him. "Besides, yours is the main event."

He nodded, content, "Good to know."

They sat quietly for a few minutes until Rory started talking again. "I'm hungry," she said, pretty much out of the blue.

He gave up on reading, "Let's go get some food, then."

She got up and smiled down at him, "Thank you."

He sighed and rolled his eyes, but let Rory drag him towards the diner for some much needed lunch.

Lorelai sneaked quietly to her daughter's bedroom the next morning, planning to wake her up for some Thanksgiving shopping, but when she got close to the door, she heard talking. Pausing, she listened in to Rory's side of the apparent phone conversation:

"…But Yale is so much closer and is just of good as a school."

"My grandpa went there, actually."

"No, I don't think so. It's just that all my life, it's been Harvard, Harvard, Harvard, you know?"

"Jess…Yeah, it's still most likely going to be Harvard, but I applied to Princeton and Yale anyways, along with some other schools..."

Lorelai gently ducked away from the bedroom and into the kitchen, where she plopped down on a chair, digesting what she just heard. It sounded like Rory was considering colleges other than Harvard, but that was crazy, right? She shook her head, deciding to talk to Rory as soon as she was done with the phone.

She got up and poured herself a fresh cup of coffee, leaning against the counter while still nursing the mug, the hot coffee warming her hands. She brought it up to her lips, taking a generous sip, when she heard Rory hang the phone back on the receiver.

She lifted her eyes above the rim of the cup, "Hey."

Rory smiled at her mom, going for her own mug of coffee, "Morning. What's planned for the day?"

"Oh, we need to get flowers and some cranberry sauce for Mrs. Kim. But I was wondering; who were you talking on the phone to this early?" Lorelai asked with a stab at flippancy.

Rory answered obliviously, "Jess, and it's really not that early. Only what, nine or ten o' clock?"

"I guess." She paused, drinking the last of her coffee. "Talk about anything interesting? Maybe schools?" Lorelai hinted.

"Um, not really anything important, Mom. What's up?" Rory asked with a lifted eyebrow.

Lorelai let out a breath, her hair blowing out of her eyes in the process, "I heard you saying something about college and the possibility of not going to Harvard."

The younger Gilmore stalled, "I, uh…I guess that might have been mentioned in our conversation. See, I was telling him that maybe another college would be just as good. Chilton basically forces you to apply to many different schools, and Harvard's not the only good college."

"So, we're you going to tell me this ever?" asked Lorelai. "Or were you just planning on lying to me for the next four years?"

"Mom! Quit freaking out. I'm probably going to choose to go to Harvard, but backups are important. Some might be even better choices. For instance, there's Yale. It's close to Stars Hollow and Grandpa is alumni, so I have a pretty high chance of getting in. It's still a great school, maybe even better than Harvard," Rory explained calmly.

Lorelai sighed again, "Yeah. Just a little worried there. And this is for you, right? Not the grandparents?"

"Definitely. And nothing's for sure. I'm not even accepted into anywhere yet," Rory pointed out.

"You're right, yet again," said Lorelai dramatically. "What do you say we get to shopping, then?"

"Seems like an excellent plan."

"What's on the list?" Rory asked, following her Mom down the street an hour later.

"Flowers for everyone we're visiting and cranberry sauce for the Kims," Lorelai said, stopping in front of the town square.

Rory thought for a second, "Tums."

"You mean amateur pills?" Lorelai scoffed.

"Just in case."

Lorelai gave in. "Okay, Tums."

Rory looked at the window in front of her and saw Dean working in Doose's. Lorelai noticed her daughter's gaze, and offered, "I'll do Doose's."

"I'll do the flowers," Rory responded, relieved. "Thanks."

She walked over to the displays of flowers and picked out a few dozen. She paid for them, and was just browsing, when she felt someone behind her.

"Hey there," came Jess' voice.

She turned around, "Hey."

He leaned in to kiss her, and she readily responded, wrapping her arms around his neck. A little while later, they both pulled a way, and smiled at one another.

"Hey."

"Hey." She grinned back at him, and pulled him in for a hug, feeling comfortable in his tight embrace. She buried her head in the crook of his neck, and just relished in the 'Jess smell.'

They stayed like that for a few minutes, until Rory heard a light cough. She turned to the source of the interruption, and blushed, seeing it was her Mom's smirking face, "Hello Jess."

He nodded and backed away, shoving his hands into his pockets awkwardly, "Lorelai."

"We've got to get heading to Mrs. Kim's soon, so say your good-byes and catch up. Okay?" she asked for confirmation, rotating towards Rory.

"That's fine. It'll be just a minute."

Lorelai nodded and headed down the street in the direction of the Kim's house, her bags slung unceremoniously over her shoulder.

Rory turned back to Jess, "I'll see you later, alright?"

"Yeah." He kissed her on the cheek before going the opposite way she was going. "Later."

She smiled, and ran to catch up with her Mom, taking a bag of stuff and showing off the flowers, both girls laughing and talking excitedly all the way to Lane's house.

"So, which do you think was more amusing, Mrs. Kim's 'Tof-urkey' dinner or Jackson's 'deep-fried' assembly of food?" Lorelai asked, walking towards the diner with Rory hot on her heals.

"Ah, that's a hard one. It was a little funny to see Sookie so drunk, and watching Lane and Dave try to hide their knowing each other from Mrs. Kim was also entertaining, so I guess it would be a tie," Rory told her. "But Luke's will be my favorite, I think."

The elder Gilmore nodded, "Yeah. I can't wait for Luke's famous turkey dinner. I am saddened every year to think it will be another three hundred sixty-five days for another stuffed turkey, cranberry sauce, and the perfect apple pie he only makes during the holidays."

Rory agreed, opening the door to the diner, "I know. Can you believe we're still hungry?"

"Actually I can. We've eaten more than this, and don't forget; there's always room for Luke's," Lorelai said, following into the diner.

"Hey everybody," she announced, turning toward Babette and Morey. Rory just smiled.

"Oh, hey there doll-faces. Happy Thanksgiving," Babette addressed happily.

Morey greeted them as well, "Yeah, Happy Thanksgiving."

"Hey," Rory said to the couple, grinning. She handed over a bouquet of flowers to Luke, who just walked up to the girls.

"What's this?" Luke asked, motioning at the flowers in his hands.

Rory looked at him slightly exasperatedly, "Flowers."

"What do I do with them?"

"Ugh, not this again," groaned Lorelai dramatically.

Rory stood in, "Put them in a vase with water."

Luke protested, "I don't have a vase." He was still holding the flowers awkwardly in his hands.

"You do this every year," Lorelai reminded him, pseudo-annoyed.

Luke sighed exaggeratedly, "I don't have vases."

Lorelai rolled her eyes, "Buy a vase."

"But I don't need a vase 'cause I never have flowers," he argued.

"Except when we bring you flowers every year on Thanksgiving. Buy a vase." Lorelai pointed this out, while Rory watched in amusement.

"Stop bringing me flowers," Luke stated simply.

"Stop bringing me flowers," she repeated mockingly. "I knew you were gonna say that because you say the same thing. We have this same exact conversation every year."

"And every year you point that out."

Rory interrupted, "And then every year we put the flowers on the counter and forget the ugliness ever happened."

Lorelai sighed, resigned, but smiling, "Well, at least we have a tradition."

"Good." He paused, looking towards the counter, "I'll be right back. That's our table over there." He pointed to an empty table near the middle of the diner, and the girls walked over to it, hanging their coats on the back if the chairs.

Sitting down, they started talking about their Christmas plans.

"This year's Christmas is going to be the best yet," Lorelai announced excitedly. "Richard and Emily Gilmore are away all break and won't be back 'till next year."

Rory rolled her eyes, "What about the apple tarts?"

Lorelai's brow furrowed, "It's a tough trade in. No grandparents for no yummy tarts? But, it'll be worth it," she assured her daughter.

"Fine. If you say so." Rory looked up to where Luke and Jess were talking behind the counter and caught Jess' eye. He shot her a barely perceptible smile-like smirk before turning his attention back to Luke, who was gesturing widely with his arms.

"I do," Lorelai responded, pointedly ignoring her daughter's flirting.

Rory peered over the counter at Jess, again, and he motioned for her to come over. She wrinkled her brow and tucked her hair behind her ear, confused, but got up, telling Lorelai she'd be right back.

"What's up-?" she started, but Jess put a finger over her lips and grabbed her by the arm gently pulling her towards the storage room. Neither noticed the stares and strange looks they were getting from the townspeople, but Rory was still a little puzzled.

As soon as he shut the door, she asked him what he was doing.

He smirked at her, and took a step closer, "There are too many people out there," he said casually.

"For what?" she asked, wetting her lips timidly.

"This," was all he said before backing her up against the wall and kissing her. She smiled against his mouth, bringing a hand up his chest and around his neck, playing with his hair at the back of his head. His hands went to her waist while his mouth moved towards her neck. They continued like that for a few minutes before she noticed his hand edging its way up the back of her shirt.

She pulled back breathlessly. "We can't do this here. We should stop."

He shot her a look, "It's completely private. What are the chances of someone walking in?"

Rory shrugged and relented, "Fine, but just for a few more min-"

He cut her off with his mouth, and she happily complied, continuing to let mouths and hands wander.

"Ah, jeez!" Luke shouted, opening the door to the storeroom. Rory and Jess jumped apart while Luke backed away, arm over his eyes. Rory's blushed and ducked her head.

"You can open your eyes now, Uncle Luke…we're both decent," he said, smirking. Rory mumbled something quietly, while straightening out her clothes and hair as best she could.

Luke lowered his arm, but barely squinted an eye open. Finally seeing that nothing was amiss, he sighed and let his arms rest at his sides, looking at the two teens; one guilty and the other…not. "Rory, your Mom's waiting for you. Jess, start refilling some coffee. And the turkey's ready as soon as you guys sit down."

Rory nodded, still embarrassed and followed Luke into the dinner, Jess trailing behind her. She tried to ignore the stares of the patrons, but they were getting to her. She sat down across from her Mom who had an eyebrow raised questioningly.

"Don't ask," Rory grumbled, letting her head drop to the table. "Just don't ask a thing."

Lorelai grinned innocently, "Wasn't going to. I was just going to say that your earring is attached to your sweater."

Rory groaned and looked down, hastily reaching for the piece of jewelry and quickly stuffing it into her pocket, quickly followed by the removal of the other one.

Luke and Jess came over to the table a few seconds later and sat down, both bringing over platters of food. "Mmmm…" Lorelai said as she smelt the food, "Look's delicious. And I'm starved."

Rory put on a smile, still avoiding Luke's eyes, "Me too."

"Not exactly hungry for the food, though, is she?" Lorelai muttered under her breath.

Luke shifted uncomfortably in his chair while Rory shot her a glare. "Thanks for that, oh so, appropriate comment," she said.

Jess just shook his head and spooned some stuffing onto his plate. If boys will be boys, you can always count on Gilmores being Gilmores.

"Get more trash cans," Jess said, irritated. He and Luke were arguing, Jess with a garbage bag slung over his shoulder.

"I don't need more," Luke protested, arms crossed in front of his chest.

Jess sighed, annoyed, "You make me run around town for a place to dump this."

"Just dump it in one of Taylor's bins. It gets it out of here and it'll drive Taylor crazy. It's a win-win," he pointed out. They noticed Lorelai and Rory walking towards them, and turned to the girls.

"Hi guys," Lorelai greeted, waving.

"We're out of food," Luke told her firmly.

Lorelai gestured with her hand exaggeratedly, "Oh, please, we're not eating for a year."

Rory chimed in, "Or 'til tomorrow morning."

"Whichever comes first," Lorelai said, nodding. She swiveled towards Jess, "Hi Saint Nick."

He rolled his eyes, "Tell him he needs to get more trash cans."

"Just go," Luke said, sighing.

Jess shook his head and walked in the direction of the trash bins, Rory following behind him.

"I still say you should get more tra…" Jess started, thinking it was Luke.

Rory smiled and kissed him hard. "Hi," she said, pulling back.

"Hi," Jess repeated, trying to control his breathing. He looked down and noticed the trash bag dumped out on the floor.

"Later," Rory waved, grinning. She headed back in the direction of the dinner.

Jess bent down to pick up the garbage strewn on the sidewalk, when he felt someone come near him. He looked up and tightened his jaw, seeing it was Dean.

"Nothing to say?" Dean asked, taunting.

"Nope. Guess I'm all talked out." He picked up a few more pieces of trash lying around, trying to ignore him.

"You know, when all this happened with you and me and Rory, I figured I'd just stay out of everyone's way, that that would be easiest. But now, I'm looking at you and I'm thinking, I'm gonna run from him? The Glad Man. This is my town, I'm not hiding. And I don't have be remotely calm around you anymore, and I like that feeling. I like it a lot. Happy Thanksgiving, Jess." Dean walked away, a satisfied smile on his face, while Jess just watched him go.

He turned back around, intending to get the bag and dump it, when he saw Rory, standing a few feet away.

"I can't believe he would say something like that," Rory said, shocked.

Jess exhaled deeply, "It's no big deal. Go back to the diner- I'll be there in just a second."

Rory shook her head fiercely, "No. Right now I wanna go after Dean and yell at him. I can't believe how big of a jerk he is. I mean, I thought he was a nice guy. When we broke up, I thought, 'Hey, maybe we can still be friends. Make it work…' but now, now I don't think I even want to be acquaintances." She closed her eyes, "C'mon…I'll keep you company while you dump the bag."

She marched up to him and hooked her arm with his, almost dragging him down the street. He was speechless, and somewhat happy that he didn't have to worry about Dean anymore, but also a little worried for Rory. She looked pissed.

A/N: Sorry it took so long to get out. I had most of the story done, but couldn't quite seem to get the ending. I don't think I did too well, either, but- oh well. Please tell me what you think. Feedback is like oxygen to a writer. Reviews are the thing that makes us giddy and excited. Thanks for reading...