Incoming

Disclaimer: I don't own any of it. Not even the computer I wrote it on.

Summary: Jess shows up at Richard and Emily's vow renewal. Luke has something to say about it. Rory is less than happy. Lorelai has to deal with Christopher. And the day is definitely not everything Emily hoped it would be.

Feedback: Reviews are fun. Like a barrel of monkeys. Why anyone would put monkeys in a barrel…I don't know, but it's supposedly a lot of fun.

A/N: Just for the sake of my sanity, let's say Rory already talked to Chris about the first time Lorelai kissed him, but Lorelai doesn't know yet that he's there.

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BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! Jess rolled over swatted at the clock on his nightstand a few times, before he remembered that he set Luke's clock last night so he wouldn't hit the snooze button and go back to sleep. He groaned as he got out of bed and walked over to Luke's nightstand. He looked at the time, 4:45, before he yanked the cord out of the wall and threw the clock on the bed. He glared at it for a minute then started towards the bathroom, stopping when he saw his bag on the floor in front of his bed. "Huh." He grabbed it and shrugged, figuring Lorelai brought it in after he went to bed. He still didn't understand why the 'Luke Speech', as she so fondly called it was grounds for her to be nice to him, but he wasn't about to question it. He just shook his head and went to take a shower.

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He pushed the curtain aside and paused at the bottom of the stairs when he saw Lorelai asleep at one of the tables. He frowned, wondering what had happened between her and Luke that would make him walk out on her then not come home all night, but he shoved the thought to the back of his mind as he walked towards Lorelai. "Hey." He said softly. "Lorelai."

She sat up quickly. "What? What's wrong?" She looked around the diner, then up at Jess. "What time is it?"

"A little after five."

"Ugh." She stood up and stretched. "Remind me to never sleep like that again."

"Why were you sleeping there anyway?"

"I was waiting for Luke, and I guess I fell asleep."

Noticing the frown that appeared on her face when she said Luke's name, he decided to change the subject. "Hey, thanks for bringing my bag in."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." A small grin graced her lips. "Lorelai Gilmore doesn't do nice things for Jess Mariano. Ever. Got it?"

"Okay, well if you happen to come across the person that brought my bag in, thank her for me."

She nodded. "Will do." She got her purse and shoes off the chair beside her. "Now if you don't mind, I need to go home and sleep for twelve more hours." She put her coat on and pulled the door open. "See you later, Jess." The bell above the door rang as it closed behind her.

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Lorelai fumbled with her key for a minute, since she couldn't actually see anything in the dark, before successfully opening the door. She walked inside and right into someone. Before she could scream, a hand clasped over her mouth.

"Shhh." Luke whispered. "Rory's sleeping."

She pushed his hand away. "All sane people are sleeping right now."

"Well, that would explain why you're awake."

"Yea…so do you want to hear my explanations, 'cause I've got 'em. Explanations, perspective, apologies, I've got 'em all, and I'm dying to share them with you."

He frowned. "I just…I need some time."

"Time –"

"A little time, to think."

"And to process."

He nodded. "Right."

"I get that. I get that. I just have so much I want to say to you."

"Not right now. I need to clear my head."

"You'll call me when you're ready?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. Good. Okay."

"Okay"

She nodded. "So I'll see you later."

He didn't say anything as he stepped around her and walked out the door.

Lorelai sighed as she dropped her purse and shoes on the floor. She ran a hand through her hair as she tossed her coat onto the couch and walked towards Rory's room. She eased the door open and saw her daughter asleep amidst a large pile of books. She just stood in the doorway and looked at Rory, knowing that everyone of the books on her bed was filled with Jess's handwriting. And though she'd never admit it, she was kinda glad he came back. Whether it was because she believed in Jess now, or because she thought his being back would get rid of Logan, she wasn't sure.

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Jess looked up when he heard the bell above the door ring. "Hey." He said to Luke. "Where the hell have you been? It's already after eight."

Luke ignored him and went straight through the curtain and upstairs.

"Right." Jess grabbed a coffee pot and started around the room giving refills as he listened to the whispering that started as soon as Luke was out of sight.

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When Rory woke up the first thing she noticed was the uncomfortable weight on her legs, but the post-it on her forehead was running a close second. She pulled the post-it off her head and looked down at the pile of books on her bed. Well that explained the lack of comfort. She made a mental note to not sleep with a drawerful of books on her lap ever again before looking at the note she had in her hands. Call me tonight after your classes. Love ya. Mom. She looked over at her clock. It was only quarter after nine. Her class wasn't until noon so she had time to kill. She decided after she'd put all her books away, she'd head over to Luke's for breakfast.

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Jess was starting a new pot of coffee when he heard the bell above the door ring. He would have just continued what he was doing, but right after he heard the bell, the diner went silent. He slowly turned around, knowing full well who it was.

"Jess?"

"Hey." He flipped the mug in front of him. "Coffee?"

"Uhh, yea. Of course." She sat at the counter as he poured the coffee. "Thanks."

Everyone's conversations started back up after that, easing Jess's discomfort slightly. "You want something to eat?"

"Chocolate chip pancakes?"

"Caesar's cooking."

"Then definitely a ham and cheese omelet and rye toast."

"Bacon on the side?"

"Umm, onion rings."

"Okay." He gave the order to Caesar, and grabbed three plates from the kitchen.

Rory watched him give people their food, clean tables, and argue with Kirk for about ten minutes before he made his way back to the counter. "So, where's Luke?"

He ran to the kitchen to get her plate before answering. "Upstairs."

She took a bite of the omelet, and looked pleased. "This is really good. What's he doing?

"Luke?"

"Yea."

He shrugged. "Don't know. He came in around 8:30, went straight upstairs, and I haven't seen him since. He looked like hell when he got here so hopefully something along the lines of a shower is in his plans."

"He slept on our kitchen table."

"Yea, Lorelai slept over there." He gestured to the table Kirk was sitting at.

"Geeze. I woke up with a post-it on my forehead and a pile of books on my legs. And let me tell you, that was in no way comfortable."

"Well, the four hours of sleep I got were very nice...you slept with a pile of books?"

"Yea I was reading your…" She trailed off when she realized what she was saying and blushed.

"Oh, that had to be uncomfortable. Most of those books were hardcover."

She silently thanked him for not commenting on her reading all his margin notes. "Yea. I you wrote all your notes on a bunch of copies of Howl, it wouldn't have been a problem." She smiled.

He smiled back, glad to be back in this rhythm with her, even if it was only over books. It wasn't much, but for the moment it was enough.

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"Figure as your little girls arrive, we'll have them here in the living room. We'll have the pocket doors to the dining room closed. Then, when it's time for breakfast, we'll open the doors, and voila, the full, beautiful effect." Lorelai was showing a guest around the Dragonfly.

"Wonderful."

"We'll have music with a nice little fanfare. You like Yanni?"

"Hate him with every fiber of my being."

Lorelai smiled. "Oh, good, we're in perfect sync." She gestured towards the dining room. "And then, we'll have small-scale tables set with china, a silver tea service, little plates, little cups, and twelve little chairs for all of them to sit on."

"That's so cute."

"Yeah."

Michel, who had been walking with them, stopped. "Wait, twelve? I thought there were six. Six little girls."

"Six girls and their six dolls." Lorelai told him.

"I beg your pardon?"

"This is a pancake breakfast for the girls and their dolls."

"Get out of town."

"I thought you knew that."

"Dolls, as in they don't have stomachs, lungs or spleens? And we are serving them breakfast?"

"That's right."

"Teeth? Throat? Colons? They don't have these things either? Unless they are Brides of Chucky."

"I'm not paying attention to you anymore." She turned back to the customer. "All right, well, I'll order everything, and all you have to do is show up."

"The girls are looking forward to this. So are the dolls!"

"Aw, love that."

"Bye."

"Okay, bye."

Michel watched her leave then looked at Lorelai. "Is she psychotic?"

"Shh." Lorelai scolded as they headed into the kitchen.

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Sookie looked up from her stuffed peppers when Lorelai and Michel walked in.

"It's silly fun, Michel, girls love dolls. Chill." Lorelai said, trying to get away from him.

"I'm making little pancakes for the dolls, and I found these little forks they can use." Sookie told Lorelai gleefully.

"They do not have opposable thumbs!" Michel yelled.

"Who, the girls? Oh, this is a handicapped group!" Sookie said sympathetically. "Poor things."

"No, the dolls."

"The dolls? How can a doll be handicapped?"

"My point exactly! They are plastic and made in Bangalore!"

"We're doing this." Lorelai said. "So hop on board, or hop off."

"Okay! You don't need to snap my nose off!" Michel huffed as he walked out.

"He's getting on your nerves, huh?" Sookie went back to her peppers.

Lorelai nodded. "Completely." She walked towards the fridge. "I'm starving."

"Didn't you have anything at Luke's today?"

"Not today." She closed the refrigerator door "There's no food in this fridge."

"It's stuffed with food."

"Food that's edible. Food to consume. Everything in here you have to cook."

"I'm a cook."

"Oh, forget it."

Sookie looked up at her friend. "What's wrong?"

Lorelai shook her head. "Nothing. Luke and I had a little disagreement last night."

"At the wedding? What happened?'

"Christopher showed up."

"Oh, no."

"My mother invited him."

"Oh, no!"

"And I hadn't exactly told Luke about that tequila night with Chris after his dad died, so I told him and there was a big blow-up. Chris went nuts, Luke went nuts, and he got mad, and he left. And now he says he needs time to think."

"How much time?"

"He just said, 'Time'."

"Ooh, I hate when men do that. It's so vague."

"I should have told him when it happened. But I blew it. Now, if he'd just give me ten minutes we could hash it out and be back on our way, and not waste time. What's enough time?"

"I don't know."

"It's been eight hours. That enough?"

"I'd say no."

"I'll be distracted until we fix this."

"Well, don't worry, because when a relationship is right, things work out."

"I hope so."

"I heard about this couple on one of those morning show, similar to you guys - all lovey-dovey, perfect for each other, you know, headed for marriage - and something happened, and they broke up in their senior year of college, even though they were madly in love with each other. They moved to different parts of the country. They married different people."

"They married different people?"

"Oh, had kids, grandkids. Then their spouses died, oh, and they were available again, and they talked and they hooked up, and now they're together and they're happily in love after forty years apart. Uh!"

Lorelai gasped. "That's a horrible story!"

"No, it's not!"

"What morning show was that on? I hate that story!"

"But they ended up together!"

"Was it Katie Couric? She seems very dark to me."

"The point is that even if it takes forty years to figure it out, there's still a chance for a happy ending!"

"But that's all they had! An ending! I don't want to have just an ending with Luke!"

"I know, but-"

"I don't want to have those stupid kids or those ugly grandkids with that loser other guy!"

"You don't know, he could be a nice guy."

"Even if he's a nice, guy, he's not the guy I want to be with!" Lorelai yelled.

"You're right. It's not fair to him."

"It's not fair to him, it's dishonest."

"We should name the other guy. I feel like he'd be a Larry."

She gaped. "We're not naming the other guy."

"Okay. I guess it was a bad example. Sorry."

"Oh, it's okay."

"But you know, I read a story about another guy that had a fight with his girlfriend, and he said he needed like a week to think it over, and he only needed a day. And he and the girl were back together and were happy forever. No Larry, or loser kids, or anything."

"Uh-huh."

"They don't put stuff like that in the newspapers, 'cause it's not as sexy as the forty year story, but it happens all the time, really."

"Thanks for making that up."

"You're welcome."

"I'm going to go take a walk. I've got some errands to run.'

"Good. Clear your head. And it was Katie Couric."

"I knew it." Lorelai said pointedly, as she left.

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Paris was sitting on the couch watching CNN when Rory walked into their dorm room. "Rory, nice of you to grace us with your presence."

"Us?"

"Fine, me. Just me. I'm all alone. No need to rub it in."

"What's wrong with you?" Rory threw her stuff onto the table, then sat next to Paris."

She sighed. "Sorry. I'm just stressed. I'm waiting for Doyle to call. I expected a call yesterday to set something up for last night, but it never came. So I ate a family-sized bag of salt and vinegar potato chips and went to bed at seven-thirty."

"And then forgot to shower? You smell like grease and vinegar."

Paris looked over at Rory. "What's up with you?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You have guy face."

"Oh, thanks."

"You know what I mean." Her eyes widened. "Please tell me it's not Huntzberger."

"I just had a good morning." She smiled.

"Oh my God. You slept with him."

"I did not sleep with him."

"Then what the hell are you so happy about?"

"Jess is in town, and-"

"Ohh, you slept with him."

"Paris! I didn't sleep with anyone. We talked for a while this morning and it was just…nice."

"That's it?"

"Yea."

"We're pathetic."

Rory got off the couch. "Speak for yourself. You sit here and be pathetic, I need to get to class. I'll see you later."

"Yea, maybe I'll go find an ex-boyfriend and have a 'conversation' with him."

"I didn't sleep with him Paris."

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Lorelai walked down the street in Stars Hollow, looking around. A chef at Antonioli's was putting a large pink bow on his door, and also had a smaller one on his shirt. He gave Lorelai a big 'thumbs up' as Gypsy walked towards her, also wearing a pink ribbon.

"I'm on your side, Lorelai." Gypsy told her.

Lorelai stopped in front of her. "Whoa, yo, Gypsy. What are you talking about?"

"The breakup."

"What breakup?"

"Yours and Luke's."

"We're not broken up."

"Break up, split up, separated - whatever you want to call it."

"I'd like to call it nothing. We're fine. What is with these ribbons?"

"Pink for you, blue for Luke. Taylor's idea. That way we all know whose side we're on without having to talk to each other. He's a freak, but I like pink.

"Oh my God."

"Look out, blue incoming." She pulled Lorelai out of the way of a man walking by.

"Oh, Gypsy, please. Take that ribbon off. I don't want anyone encouraging Taylor on this."

"Oh, it's way too late. He's passed out hundreds."

"Hundreds?"

Gypsy nodded. "It was no choice for me. Luke fixes his own truck, so I make bumpkins off him. But you, you don't know a piston from a pepperoni. Lots of money in ignorance. I'm with you.

Lorelai sees Luke going into Doose's market. "Okay, great. I'll catch up with you later." She walked away.

"Pink power, baby. We chicks gotta stick together." Gypsy called after her.

When Lorelai entered, Taylor was tying ribbons.

"Lorelai." Taylor said, stopping what he was doing.

"I'll deal with you later." She headed towards the back of the store, where Luke went. "Luke?" He turned around to look at her. "Hi." She continued. "I'm sorry to sneak up on you like this, but please, just give me a minute. We need to talk. I have so much to say. I should have told you about that night with Christopher. I know that now."

"Yeah, okay. I'm-"

"But I swear, the visit we had was so innocent." She cut him off. "It was about his dad, and nothing happened. Less than nothing happened."

"But you hid it."

"I know, and I shouldn't have. And I am so, so sorry. But all that talk from Christopher, at the wedding. I didn't see that coming. He was drunk. He was stupid. He's never not stupid, but I didn't see it coming."

"You should have."

"I know. Rory warned me and I ignored her, but believe me. I am never seeing him again. Never."

"What are you talking about? He's Rory's father. He'll always be in your life."

"In her life."

"Her life is your life."

"Not when it comes to this."

"This is going to happen again and again."

"No, it won't, Luke. I promise. God, if you care anything for me at all, just please trust me on this."

"I've got to go." He pushed past her, and started towards the door.

"Luke. No, wait. Wait." She followed him. "Luke, it was my mother, you know, who did all this. She was the one. She caused all this hateful stuff because Christopher is weak and she knows that and I am never talking to her again."

"They're always going to be in your life too."

"No."

"Your mother, your father. The Gilmores will always be in your life."

"I can cut them off."

"No, you just can't cut them off. It doesn't work that way, and they'll never feel differently about me, ever."

"It doesn't matter, because they're gone. That's it. They are gone. I can do that."

Like shook his head. "I can't have this out right now."

"Okay, when? Where?"

"I need more time! I told you that."

"I'm afraid of this 'more time' stuff. I'm afraid it'll take forty years and that's not good."

"Lorelai."

"We'll miss our middle. I want a middle. And the town is dividing us up. I need that to stop."

"Don't."

"Luke. I am all in. I'm all in. Please trust me. Let me show you what a great girlfriend I can be. But I can't wait. We can't wait. I need to know what you're thinking right now."

"Fine. You want to know what I'm thinking right now? That I can't be in this relationship. It's too much." He turned and walked out.

Lorelai felt tears sting her eyes. "No."