Chapter from Richie's POV during a trip to Stars Hollow! Enjoy!

"Calling it!"

"No, I am!"

Richie and Charlotte both take a flying leap onto the bed at the same time, causing their parents to burst out laughing.

"You had it last time," Richie accuses, glaring at his sister who sticks her tongue out.

"I'm the oldest!"

"That's not fair!"

"Is too!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Guys," Jess says firmly, going and sitting beside them. "You know you take turns, right? It's Richie's turn for the bed."

"Told you," Richie says smugly and Charlotte whines, "But I hate sleeping on the floor!"

"Too bad. You'll have it next time and besides, you have a mattress. Both of you had better get used to this, because next year you'll have to take turns with Annie too."

"It's big enough for both of you to share right now," Rory remarks and her son and daughter shudder.

"I'm not sleeping next to him! I bet he wets himself in the night!"

"Do not!" Richie says, stung. He hasn't had an accident since Kindergarten. "You're going to talk all night about that guy on TV and say he's dreamy!"

"I am not!" Charlotte has gone bright red and before Richie can retort their younger sister, Annie, starts crying.

"That's enough," Jess says, picking Annie up. "I think the tearful two-year-old is the most mature out of the three of you right now."

Charlotte and Richie cross their arms, scowling, and Rory adds, "Hey, we're here on vacation. Don't spend the whole time in a fight."

"Some vacation," Charlotte mumbles under her breath. Richie sees his father raise an eyebrow and look at their mother. Rory sighs but neither say anything, and Charlotte guiltily stares at her arms. Richie's heard his parents tell her she's gotten a bit of attitude lately.

"Mom and Luke are letting us stay here for a whole week," Rory says eventually. "And we were going to get icecream from the Soda Shoppe and maybe hit the bookstore, but if you'd rather just go back home..."

"No!" Charlotte says desperately. "I don't want to go home!"

"Good," Jess says sternly. "Now both of you go wash up."

Charlotte and Richie linger, comfortable on the bed, and Jess comments, "Unless you'd rather change your sister's diaper."

Richie hears his parents laugh loudly as he fights Charlotte to get to the door first. Fifteen minutes later and the family are walking to the diner, as Rory says she needs fries as well as icecream. Luke and Lorelai have gone to stay with Emily and said the place is theirs while they're gone. They go stay in Stars Hollow all the time, but it feels cool being in the house by themselves. Richie can pretend he lives here although, after Miss Patty starts threatening them with a summer dance class, that urge drops a little. Once safely inside the diner, everyone has a burger and, as Richie finishes his, his gaze goes around the room. Caeser is behind the counter, the only person Luke just about trusts to run in his place, and irritably he talks into the phone whilst trying to hand someone their order at the same time. The phone is attached to the wall, the cord long and twisted, and just as Jess starts to get up to help out Caeser finishes the call, hanging it up with a loud sigh.

"Everyone hates that phone," Richie remarks and his father turns to smile at him as he sits back down.

"Yeah? I don't think your grandpa does."

"Everyone else hates it," Richie says confidently and Jess starts laughing, tousling his son's dark hair.

"You're probably right."

"Why doesn't Grandpa Luke get a real phone?"

"It is a real phone," Jess tells him. "It's oldschool, bud. When your grandpa was a kid there were no such thing as cellphones - there were hardly any when I was a kid either. Anyway, when Grandpa was growing up, most people had phones like those, and I guess he didn't see the need to change it. He likes that phone."

"How come?"

"He thinks modern life is kind of busy," Jess says thoughtfully. "That people spend too much time staring at their cellphone or computer instead of actually paying attention, you know?"

Richie doesn't totally, but he nods, and his father goes on, "I get it - I really do. I never even had a cellphone when I was a teenager, and your mom didn't have one for a long time. I liked not being contactable."

"Why?"

His father pauses, looking sad.

"I guess I liked being alone., or thought I did. I didn't think I needed a connection."

Richie frowns and his father hugs him to his side, sounding brighter as he says, "I got one in the end - figured there were a few people I liked talking to."

"Sometimes you leave your phone at home," Richie points out and Jess grins.

"That's right. I don't need it all the time. Hell, your mom and I didn't need them when we at school. We just called each other at home and it worked fine. I don't see what the problem was."

"Daddy, you sound like Grandpa Luke," Richie states and his father laughs loudly, saying proudly, "Well, there's worse things to be. Guess living with the guy rubbed off on me."

"Did you like living with Grandpa?"

"Not always," Jess says honestly, "but I'm glad I did. First time someone asked where I was going and when I was coming back."

Richie drinks some soda, looking over at the stairs leading up to the old apartment. Luke uses it as a kind of office now, but there's still a bed in it. Onetime he and Charlotte were allowed to sleep up there and it seemed like the biggest adventure in the world. Their dad came with them, sleeping on the couch, but it still seemed exciting. Charlotte used to like doing stuff with Richie. They've always teased each other a little but she used to hang out with him, and now she thinks she's too cool. Like Charlotte is cool! Richie teases her for that too but he misses her sometimes, and the burger sags in his hands.

"You okay, bud?" Richie looks up to see his father examining him, concern in his eyes, and Richie nods, quickly finishing his burger.

"Can we have icecream now?"

The family head next door to the icecream parlour, where Charlotte smugly eats her Princess Charlotte sundae. Richie scoffs his own sundae in practically three gulps but Charlotte deliberately eats hers slowly. She always likes talking about how the sunade was made especially for her when she was a baby, needling Richie over no one being excited for a boy, and Jess tells her to cut it out. Pouting, she finishes her icecream, wiping at her mouth with a napkin. Richie is suddenly infuriated. What makes her think she's so great, just because she's eleven and starting middle school in the fall? Stupid bossy Princess Charlotte, blabbing on about being the oldest and a girl and having her own sundae and Richie blurts out, "At least Logan's not my dad!"

Everyone stops. A terrible, tight expression is spreading across Charlotte's face, one Richie has never seen before, and he's suddenly scared. Before he can say anything she's running across the street, Rory at her heels and Jess is gripping Richie's shoulders.

"Don't you ever say that again!"

His father's voice is low and furious. Richie can't speak and Jess says again, "You never say that - I'm ashamed of you. How could you hurt your sister like that?"

"I'm sorry," Richie gasps and then a slew of tears is pouring down his cheeks, into his mouth and splattering the sidewalk. Jess's eyes soften and he pulls Richie into a tight hug.

"I'm sorry," his son sobs. "I didn't mean it - I'm sorry."

Jess kisses the top of Richie's head, wiping his cheeks and kneels down to look him in the eye.

"It's okay," he says gently. "I know. But you can't say that to Charlotte. You can tease each other, drive each other nuts, but it's not okay to say that. It's cruel."

Charlotte can be pretty cruel to him, Richie wants to say, but he knows this is different. Without meaning to, he knows he hurt his sister in a different way and he sniffles, a big lump growing in his throat.

"I know she has Logan as well as me," Jess goes on. "It's not secret, and it's not bad, but it's not something to tease Charlotte with - anyone with. I'm her dad, just like I'm yours and just like I'm Annie's, and when you tease her about Logan it's like saying I'm not. And that hurts me too, and your mom, as well as Charlotte."

"I didn't mean that!"

"I know," Jess says, wiping the last of Richie's tears away. "But it sounds that way."

Richie swallows, looking over to where Charlotte ran away.

"Is she okay?"

"She will be," Jess says, straightening up. "Go say you're sorry. Lay off winding her up."

Annie starts crying in her stroller and Jess turns to lift her into his arms.

"Kid three is demanding some attention, huh?" he says fondly. "What's up, Annie-girl?"

Annie squawks a few times before settling and Jess laughs, placing her back in the stroller.

"Guess she was just feeling kind of left out. Go on - I'll wait here."

Richie hesitates, tracing a line on the pavement with his toe.

"Daddy..."

"Yeah, bud?"

"Charlotte's not that fun now," Richie says slowly. "I didn't mean to make her cry but she can be a real jerk. And it's all the time and I don't know why."

When Annie was born Richie was glad Charlotte was there. He didn't mind Annie as much as Charlotte seemed to, but it was a little scary at first. It helped knowing Charlotte was there. When Annie wouldn't stop crying or their parents were too tired to talk, Richie and Charlotte would hang out in their bedrooms or the backyard, sharing the strangeness of a new baby sister. Sometimes they'd sit for hours. Richie misses Charlotte wanting to talk.

Jess sighs, bending back down to see his son.

"She's at a bad age," he says. "She's eleven...you don't know right now, but that age sucks, and Rory tells me it sucks even more for girls. I can't tell you if that's true or not, but I can tell you it's a crappy time - Damn, didn't mean to swear. Damn, sorry!"

Richie giggles and Jess continues, "She's nearly a teenager."

"Charlotte's not a teenager!"Richie says indignantly and Jess says gently, "Nearly, Richie. It's not that far away. And she's too young to be one, and she's too old to do kid stuff. Or Charlotte feels that way, anyway. She's feeling mixed up and confused and sometimes - okay, a lot - she can be kind of frustrating. It's not okay for her to be a jerk to you, but she's going to want to do her own thing more. That's just how it is."

Richie stares down at the scuffed sidewalk, throat tight again.

"I don't want Charlotte to grow up and go away."

"Bud, she's not going to move away for a very long time," Jess says, putting a hand on Richie's arm. "But she's going to want her space, and someday you will too. You'll feel just as mixed up."

Richie doesn't know what to say. He's eight years old and only this morning growing up felt as far away as the moon.

"Daddy...I don't know how to be a grown-up."

"You don't have to," Jess says, wincing slightly as he straightens back up. "Getting too old for this crap - I mean junk. Richie, it's okay. You don't have to worry about that for a very long time. All you have to do right now is make up with your sister."

Annie starts grumbling again and Jess turns his focus back to her. Richie takes that as his cue and walks slowly down the sidewalk. His mother is sitting with his sister on the gazebo and, as he approaches, Rory carefully gets up and says she's going to check on Annie. Richie waits for her to go before looking at Charlotte. She still has streaks of tears on her face, cheeks angry and red, and Richie hesitates. He doesn't know if she wants him to sit down or not so he doesn't.

"I'm sorry," he says finally. Charlotte gives him a dirty look.

"I don't care. Go away."

"I didn't mean...I just wanted to make you mad."

"Congratulations," Charlotte sniffles and Richie bites his lip.

"I didn't mean to make you cry."

"I'm crying because I hate you," Charlotte chokes. She's trying to sound angry but her voice is wobbling. "I'm crying because I have you for my brother! Do you think I'm crying because of what you said? I don't care! I don't!"

"I was a jerk," Richie says steadily. "And I never meant your dad wasn't my dad - I mean, we have the same dad. I'm stuck with you for my sister."

The last part wasn't totally apologetic but a tiny smile forms on Charlotte's face.

"I know that," she says, her voice sounding normal again. "Worst luck for me - I've a little brother and a little sister and have to deal with looking after both of you."

Richie snorts and, encouraged, sits on the bench beside her.

"Like I want you to look after me!"

Charlotte gives him a gentle punch, and Richie retaliates, but they laugh, relaxing, and are smiling by the time their parents come over with Annie.

"I'm really sorry," Richie says again. "If you want, you can have the bed."

"Thanks," Charlotte says brightly and Richie sighs inwardly. The last part was an olive branch too far.

That night, all five of them go the Black-White-Red bookstore, and are able to claim the couch.

"Big Red given to the Gilmore-Mariano family," Kirk says importantly. "And you're just in time for Pippi Longstocking."

"Pippi!" Rory shouts in glee. "An classic of surrealism!"

"A horror movie," Jess corrects and Rory clutches his arm.

"That's why you love it."

She sings loudly along, prompting Jess to sing with her and Richie and Charlotte giggle in embarrassment. The film starts, Rory complaining about how if Lorelai were there she'd be singing louder than anyone, but then they settle into the story. Richie is in the middle of the couch, Charlotte beside him and his parents are on either side, Annie in his father's lap. A warm happiness fills Richie's chest. The horribleness from earlier has been wiped away. A big bag of popcorn is being passed around, Annie wriggling until her father feeds her a piece, and Charlotte and Richie share the dregs. Annie has fallen asleep and Jess grins over at Rory, who smiles across her children's heads to him. They're here, on this soft summer night, and nothing else is a big deal right now. Even the film isn't so bad. By the time they go home Richie is falling asleep himself and yawns loudly as they depart.

"Not a fan of Pippi?" Rory asks in amusement and Richie shrugs.

"I liked it. It was kind of weird."

"It's very weird."

"The weird parts were cool," Richie remarks and Rory puts an arm around him.

"Good - my son has taste."

"You're all crazy," Jess says, pushing Annie's stroller. "That was an experiment in horror."

"Dad, you just need to refine your taste," Charlotte says haughtily, making her parents burst into loud laughter. Charlotte smiles, not seeming annoyed for once, and hugs onto Jess's arm as they walk back. She and Richie get ready for bed almost instantly and fall asleep almost as fast. Richie has a bad dream, a dream where he's lost and alone, and wakes up with a start. For a second he doesn't know where he is, but then he hears Charlotte's steady breathing. He's in his mother's old bedroom. Richie relaxes but, unable to sleep, gets up and carefully climbs onto the bed.

"Hey," Charlotte mumbles. "What are you doing?"

"I had a bad dream."

Richie expects his sister to tell him to leave him alone but instead she shifts over, saying in a sleepy voice, "It's okay. I'm here."

Carefully, Richie pulls the cover back and gets in beside her. Charlotte is quiet, her breathing soft, and Richie closes his eyes. In the morning they probably won't be able to stand each other, but right now she's here, just like when Annie was born. Richie remembers the story about how Charlotte stopped him crying with her bear when he was a baby. He's glad she's here, he thinks. He's happy she's his sister, and he doesn't care who their fathers are. Charlotte's his sister and Richie relaxes into sleep. She'll look after him like she always has. They belong to each other.