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.

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"Oh my God." Rory drew the words out then let a content smile settle on her face. "If I died right now, I would die a happy woman."

Jess looked down at her from where he was standing on the other side of the bed. "Well, I'd be a little upset. The owners of this place probably would be too. Profits are bound to go down if someone dies in your store."

She opened her eyes to look at him. "You should write that down."

"I think I can remember it."

She patted the space next to her on the bed. "Seriously, lay down. You have got to feel this. It's amazing. I want to live here."

He smiled then laid next to her on the mattress, letting out a contented sigh as stretched out. "Ohh, this is nice." He let his eyes drift closed for a second then looked over at her. "It's definitely coming home with us."

"Yay!" She rolled to her side and kissed him quickly before climbing off the bed. "I'm gonna go tell the guy which one we want."

"Okay." He closed his eyes again. "I'll be there in a minute."

He waited until he heard her soft murmurs on the other side of the store before reaching to the side of the bed to pick up the price tag. He stared at the numbers for a minute then dropped his arm to the side with a sigh.

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"Is this what I ordered?" Kirk asked, pointing at his plate.

Luke didn't even look from the tickets he was adding. "Yes, Kirk."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Kirk."

"I thought I ordered waffles."

"Those are waffles, Kirk."

He looked down at his breakfast. "Oh. Can I have some syrup?"

"There's syrup on your table, Kirk."

Satisfied, he picked up his plate and went back to his table.

Luke shook his head and turned to guy in front of him. "What can I get you?"

"Just a cup of coffee." Luke nodded and turned around to get the coffee pot. "Actually I'm looking for Jess Mariano."

"He's not here."

"Oh, do you know how soon he'll be back?"

"He's in Hartford." He set a mug of coffee in front of him. "He won't be back till Monday night."

"Okay," Both men looked towards the door at the sound of Lorelai's voice. "I have a proposition to make and I know you'll probably think I'm insane, of course that's not untrue, but bear with me. I haven't had any coffee today." She plopped down on her stool and smiled at Luke.

"Okay." He said hesitantly.

"How would you like to spend the weekend with my father?"

He stared at her for a minute. "Have you been drinking?"

"No. Well, a little last night. But I am completely sober right now."

He poured a cup of coffee and set it in front of her. "Drink that." He watched her take a sip then leaned on the counter. "What do you want to do this weekend?"

She rolled her eyes. "Luke."

"I'm just checking. So do you want to fill me in on how you decided spending two days with your father would be a good idea?"

"Okay, so you know how I went to my parents' house for dinner last night?"

"Yea."

"Well, they found out about Jess's club. Don't ask me how. I think my mother has a crystal ball hidden somewhere, or a big cauldron or something. But anyway, when they figured out that Rory would be moving there when school gets out they decided it was their responsibility to furnish the apartment. So this morning my dad called and he wants us to go shopping with him, and then tomorrow and Monday, we're gonna set all the furniture up. What do you think?"

"I think your parents are really overcompensating."

"Who cares? Let them overcompensate. It means we get free stuff. So are you in?"

"I can't. I have to work. I can't get someone in here on such short notice."

"I can do it."

Lorelai turned to her right. "Who the hell are you?"

"Oh," Luke said. "This is Jess's…" He trailed off, not knowing how to finish.

"Future bartender." He supplied, holding his hand out to Lorelai. "Simon Wells."

She shook his hand. "Lorelai Gilmore." She turned to Luke. "Simon can cover for you."

He was hesitant. "I don't know. I don't even know his qualifications…"

She looked at Simon, "Can you flip a burger?"

"I did nine weeks at the Culinary Institute of America."

"So you can flip a burger?"

"Yes."

She turned back to Luke. "Simon can cover for you."

He sighed. "Fine."

She smiled happily. "Great. And, Luke, it's safer this way. Because if Jess found out you let me pick out all the furniture in his apartment, he would kill you."

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"Jess." Rory sang, turning in her seat to face him.

He looked at her for a second then shifted his eyes back to the road.

She took that as a sign to continue. "You're pretty."

He grinned knowingly. "What do you want?"

She brought her hand to her chest in mock insult. "Am I not allowed to compliment my boyfriend without motive?"

He laughed. "No."

"Well, we can't go back to Stars Hollow tonight."

"Why not?"

"We have to meet Jackson in an hour and a half for your tuxedo fittings."

He pulled the car onto the side of the road and shifted it into park. "Excuse me?"

"Well, the tuxedo place is in Hartford and I thought that since we were gonna be here you guys could go today."

He groaned. "What about Luke?"

"Grandpa's taking him for his tux next week."

He realized something and narrowed his eyes at her. "That still doesn't explain why we can't go back to Stars Hollow."

"I'm working up to it. It's suspenseful."

"Rory…"

She cringed then took a deep breath. "After your fitting we're having dinner with my grandmother. And we're kind of spending the night there."

"Huh." He said, staring out the front windshield.

"Ohh," She reached out to take his hand. "Don't do that."

"What?"

"Go all monosyllabic on me."

"I'm not."

"Every word you have said since I told you has been one syllable."

"Antidisestablishmentarianism."

She smiled. "Funny."

He squeezed her hand once then let go to reach for the gear shift. "So what do you want to do for an hour?"

Her jaw dropped. "You're not gonna try to get out of it?"

"No."

This time it was her eyes that narrowed. "Who are you and what have you done with Jess Mariano?"

"Hey, I'm on to you Gilmore. You just want me to think I have a chance to get out of it, but we both know in the end, no matter how much arguing I do, I'll be going to your grandparents' house."

She smiled. "I have you wrapped around my little finger." She held up her pinkie to emphasize her point.

"Lorelai would be so proud."

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"Lane. Psst. Lane." A loud whisper drifted across the diner.

She raised her eyebrows and walked over to the table Babette, Miss Patty, Taylor, and Kirk were sitting at. "Yea?" She whispered back, leaning down a little so they could hear her.

"Honey, who is that gorgeous man behind the counter?" Patty asked.

"Looking for another husband, Patty?" Babette asked.

"Always, dear."

Lane stood back up, realizing what this was about and rolled her eyes. "That's Simon. He's helping out because Luke had to go out of town."

"Is he living in town?" Taylor asked. "No one told me someone had moved into town."

"He doesn't live here Taylor. He's just helping out Luke."

"He makes good grilled cheese. Way better than Luke's." Kirk told them.

"He's got a nice butt." Babette added.

Lane nodded. "Okay. Well, I have to get back to work. You guys enjoy your oogling." She had to stop on her way back to the counter and shake her head when she heard Kirk say "You're right. He does have a nice butt."

"Do you think they know everyone in the place can hear them?" Simon asked, leaning against the back counter.

Lane shrugged. "Subtle has never been their forte. Though I have to give Taylor credit for his checkout. Very covert."

"Well, this ass is recommended by three out of four diner patrons."

"Don't get too excited. It's very rare that Babette or Miss Patty see an ass they don't like. And, well, Kirk is Kirk."

He stood up straight and headed for the kitchen upon seeing a few customers walk in. "You just wait. By the end of the day, they'll all want a piece of this."

She just laughed as she made her way to the recently occupied table to get drink orders.

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Jess was surprised when Emily had put him and Rory in the same room for the night. He figured she want them as far away from each other as possible. But he pushed it to the back of his mind when he saw Rory was dead asleep.

He climbed out of bed, making sure to grab his cell phone off the nightstand then quietly made his way to the adjoining bathroom. He scrolled through his address book, skipping past the numbers Rory had added, before finding the one he was looking for.

He made sure the door was locked then sat on the edge of the tub and hit send. The phone rang a few times before someone picked up.

"Hey, uh, Jimmy. It's me."