/sorry for the long wait!

'It starts at eight,' Luke called, looking dismally up the staircase.

'Got it, no problem,' Lorelai answered from above.

'It's already five to eight.'

'But this is Star's Hollow time we're talking about here.'

'What's Star's Hollow time?' Luke asked, exasperated.

'Aren't small towns meant to have a who-cares, the clock doesn't rule us attitude? Stick it to the big cities, we don't run on anybody's schedule but our own. Let's leave the harvest till next year.'

'What harvest? What kind of farmers are these?'

'Poor ones,' Lorelai said, popping around the corner so that Luke breathed a sigh of relief.

'How does this look? Too librarian? Oh, or is it too sexy librarian?'

'It looks fine,' Luke says, shrugging.

'Ah,' said Lorelai sagely, 'but is it fine fine, or is it just fine – like, sure, you don't look great but you can get away with going to the store kind of fine?'

'I dunno. The first one.'

'Really?' she asked, looking down at herself, 'I better go get changed then.'

'What? I thought that was the right answer!' Luke asked, starting to pace around the lounge.

'I don't want to look fine fine, we're going to the movies. At Kirk's.'

'You know Kirk is a stickler for punctuality.'

'Yeah, but he's also a push-over, so he'll start the movie over again if we miss a bit,' Lorelai called back downstairs.

'Here's an idea,' Luke began, 'Why don't we just leave now and not miss any of it?'

'Yeah, well, I've seen it anyway.'

'You have?'

Lorelai appeared again on the staircase:

'Of course I've seen it before, it's Psycho.'

'But you said you wanted to see it.'

'I do want to see it. Again.'

'This is a waste of time,' Luke said, frustrated.

'Hey,' she said, walking down the stairs, 'I'm ready, let's go. It'll only take a minute to get there and we'll barely have missed anything. I won't even stop for popcorn.'

'Really?'

'Not even that. Coffee, yes, but popcorn, no. I will go starving – destitute if you will. I will sacrifice the best part about going to the movies just so we don't miss a second.'

'We can get popcorn,' he said grudgingly.

'Oo and donuts?'

'Whatever.'

Lorelai got her bag, with Luke already standing by the door. Lorelai turned to him and smiled.

'Hey, I may have seen Psycho before – probably about fifteen times, but,' she said, touching his arm, 'I've never seen it with you.'

Luke smiled back, mollified.

'You know the film will be the same whether I'm there or not, right?' he said, teasing.

'Yes, but this way I get to see you freak out in the scary bits.'

'I'm not going to 'freak out'. When have I ever freaked out?'

'You freak out all the time!' Lorelai said, locking the door behind them.

'I do not. When was the last time?'

'Luke, you freak out every time I get my cellphone out at the diner.'

'But that's against the rules.'

'Rule freaker-outer,' Lorelai said, pointing at him.

'Get in the car,' Luke sighed.

Kirk's latest entrepreneurial venture was to project classic films on the side of his mother's house, and create a kind of drive-in cinema. To this end, he had converted their lawn into a makeshift carpark, and it was there that Lorelai finally pulled up the jeep, donuts and coffee in hand. There was no one else there, as Lorelai had predicted. In spite of this, the movie had already started.

'Play it from the beginning, Kirk,' Lorelai yelled, as she put down the window.

'The film started at 8 o'clock on the dot. It's now 8.08.'

'Kirk, there's nobody else here,' Luke said exasperated, and then turned to Lorelai and muttered, 'I told you this would happen.'

After a protracted argument, Kirk reluctantly started the film again and then sat off to the side of the screen in a garden chair, watching the proceedings impassively.

'Is he just going to sit there all night?' Luke asked.

'Probably.'

'It gives me the creeps.'

'You're missing the movie!' Lorelai protested.

'There's nothing happening anyway. She's just driving.'

'Can't you hear the music?'

'Yeah, so what?'

'So what? This is a classic soundtrack. This is like the thriller soundtrack. This is the something-bad-is-going-to-happen music.'

'Yeah, but right now she's just driving,' Luke said.

'It's building tension, Luke!'

'OK, OK, I'm watching.'

Luke committed to giving the film his whole attention, and managed it for a few minutes until he started looking over at Lorelai, who kept moving about in her seat, putting on and taking off her jumper, picking up a donut only to put it down again, uneaten.

'You alright?' He asked eventually.

'Huh? I'm fine.'

'What's wrong?'

She smiled at him weakly.

'I just keep thinking about Rory.'

'I figured.'

'It's not like her to run off like this. She says she's ok, but I don't know. I guess it's not like us to have a fight either. But to go to Jess? After sleeping with Dean? I think she's confused. I don't think she knows what she wants.'

'Maybe she wants Jess,' Luke said, a little hopefully.

'Maybe. I just –. I just want to talk to her about it.'

'She'll talk when she's ready. Jess'll take care of her.'

'You think?'

'Of course he will. He's not a bad kid.'

'I know.'

'He loves Rory,' Luke said.

'Still?'

'Every time I talk to him, he asks about her. She'll be OK, you'll see.'

'I guess you're right.'

Luke leaned over the seat and kissed her. Lorelai smiled, feeling a warm spread of happiness building inside her.

'Luke?'

'Yeah?'

'I really like you.'

He smiled, 'I really like you too.'

Luke reached across again to kiss her, but stopped when a beam of light struck in the face.

'Ergh! What the hell,' he said.

'No hanky panky,' said Kirk.

'Hanky panky!' Luke yelled.

'Right. Rule number 3' Kirk replied, a little shakily.

'Rule number 3! That's it, we're leaving,' Luke said and then ordered Lorelai, 'start up the car.'

'But the movie?'

'Scrap the movie. There's better things we can do with our evening.'

'Ooh, dirty,' Lorelai said, and turned the key.

It was only starting to get light when the phone rang and woke Lorelai. She sat up immediately, feeling intuitively that something was wrong. Beside her, Luke stirred but stayed deeply asleep. Lorelai went into the hall and picked up the phone.

'Rory?'

'Mom!'

'Rory, what's wrong?'

Lorelai could hear the tears in her voice and almost immediately they sprang up in her own.

'What's happened?' she asked again.

'It's Jess. I told him about Dean and ––. Mom, I…'

'I'm coming to get you.'

'No, Mom, you don't have to.'

'I'm coming. Message me your address.'

'OK. Mom, I'm sorry.'

'See you soon, honey. I love you.'

Lorelai hang up the phone. Her body was filled with adrenaline and anger. Jess had done something. He had made Rory cry, again.

'What happened?' Luke asked, as she walked back into the bedroom.

'I'm going to kill Jess,' she said, car keys in hand, pulling on a coat.

'Jess?'

'Yes, Jess. Your nephew.'

'What happened?'

'Rory's crying – I don't why, I don't know what happened. But something is going to happen to him.'

'I'm coming too.'

'I don't need you to come,' Lorelai said, brusquely.

'I'm his uncle. If he needs killing, I'm going to be the one to do it.'