A/N: Wow!! I asked and you guys responded! Thank you so much, let's make it a trend, please! Sorry this chapter has taken so long, but, today my 7-year-old sister is spending the night with my grandparents giving me….Drum Roll, please… uninterrupted time to work on this. Ha-ha-ha. Sorry, feeling a little evil right now. :- I have to be honest, I was BLOWN AWAY by those reviews, and then I realized that I didn't have a chapter ready, see this is what happens, you get tons of sweet reviews and then they turn around and bite you in the butt. LoL Anyway, this chapter takes place at the end of 'Like Mother, Like Daughter', I have taken bits and pieces of different episodes, so don't try to figure it out, it will hurt your head, trust me, ask mine. :- This chapter ends at the of ''.
Please review like you did last time!
Thanks,
Brianne
Dani came downstairs right as Lorelai walked in and sat at the counter. Dani pulled on an apron over her jeans and grabbed an order pad.
"Hey, good party yesterday." Luke commented to Lorelai.
"Yeah, not bad." Lorelai shrugged.
"Yeah, I like the new look. It was very high-class substitute teacher." Luke said, beckoning Dani over.
"Exactly what I was going for." Lorelai said, visibly exhausted.
"Coffee?" Dani asked, knowing what the answer would be.
"Oh, to go." Lorelai said, smiling gratefully and waving at Dani.
"Okay." Dani slid the take-out cup across the counter and taking a sip of her own coffee.
"Hey Luke, uh, I feel a little weird even mentioning this to you." Lorelai said hesitantly and uncomfortably. Dani escaped, flinging the apron down on the counter and hovered just out of sight, behind the curtain that hid the stairwell.
"What?" Luke asked, Dani was just able to see her uncle's head come up.
"Yesterday I saw you talking to Ava, you know, she's in my booster club?" Lorelai asked, not as hesitant now, Dani wasn't sure if that was good or not.
"Yeah, I know who she is." Luke answered warily.
"Oh, good. Well, good. So anyhow, I saw you guys talking alone and it seemed kind of private, and she mentioned earlier that you didn't make her, you know, gag, so I just figured you guys were making some sort of plans to hang out. And see, the thing is, I just think it would be a little weird if you started dating a Chilton mom. Look, I know I have no right to say anything to you, but it's just, um, if you did date her, well, I'm in the Booster Club with her, which means that I'll hear things, and I don't know, it's just, I'd like to keep that Chilton life separate from my Stars Hollow life, so if there's any way that you could not date her, that would be really great." Lorelai started to ramble, Dani winced at her rant, it was never good to ask a Danes man about their love life, she'd learned that the hard way with Jess.
"Boy, I tell you, you've got nerve." Luke said angrily.
Lorelai tried to save herself, very weakly. "Okay. Well, I know this is your private business."
"It is my private business." Luke snapped, scrubbing the counter with barely controlled rage.
"You don't see any validity to my side at all?" Lorelai asked desperately.
"I am a grown man. You cannot tell me who to date." Luke growled, still attacking the counter.
"I'm not telling you who to date, I'm telling you who not to date." Lorelai tried to reason.
"You can't tell me that either." Luke said.
"Look…" Lorelai started.
Luke interrupted. "I will date who I like, and if that screws with your plans, then sorry. And if you don't wanna hear things, then don't listen."
Lorelai tried again to speak, "But…"
Luke again interrupted. "If you don't like it, you can just deal with it."
Lorelai threw her hands up in defeat. "Okay, I'll just deal with it."
"Good." Luke snapped.
Lorelai started to get up from the counter. "I just thought that if something was going to affect our friendship in some way that you might care about that, because if the situation was reversed, then I would care, but hey, that's me, and so…go ahead, date her, marry her, make her Mrs. Backwards Baseball Cap, live happily ever after, see if I care."
"And by the way, I wasn't asking her out. I was giving her directions for the quickest way back to Hartford. It was very romantic. I said you take a right at Deerfield, and you catch the I-5 and you take it south. Oh man, hot stuff." Dani shook her head at her uncle's attempted sarcasm.
"That is so typical of you." Lorelai snapped, starting to lose it.
"What?" Luke asked, taken by surprise.
"That is not the quickest way back to Hartford. Everybody knows that you take Maine to Cherry to Lynwood and then grab the I-11. Everybody knows that, Luke. Everybody, apparently, but you!" She turned and left, leaving Luke to take the finish off the counter. Their conversation over, Dani escaped to the apartment. She flopped down on the bed that she had taken from Jess, recruiting him to the couch. She hadn't gotten any more threatening messages from Paul since the one almost a week ago. She eventually fell to sleep, tossing and turning and occasionally crying out, to be woken by a concerned Jess.
The first thing Dani saw in the morning was Luke and Lorelai sitting at a table, talking. She seized an apron and order pad and wandered over.
"So, the first thing you and Sookie would do is incorporate." Luke explained.
"Wow. Sounds so big time." Lorelai said, looking at the notes.
Luke glanced at the notes. "Not really. It just means you're a single business entity. You'll both be officers and shareholders, and you'll get to make up a name for your company and everything."
"Mmm, I'm terrible at coming up with names. When we first bought out house, Rory and I wanted to name it, you know, like Jefferson named his place Monticello, but all we could come up with is The Crap Shack." Lorelai laughed, smiling at Dani as she came over.
"Sounds perfect." Dani teased,
Jess came over. "Coffee?"
"Duh!" Dani held up her hands in the shape of a cup then, shrieked and pulled them to her as Jess made to pour hot coffee on her.
"You don't look like a paying customer." He informed her as he gave Lorelai coffee.
"Oh, yeah, thanks. How are you Jess?"
Jess shifted back into 'slacker' mode. "Well, I'm not bleeding or anything."
"Well, then it's gonna be a good day, huh?" Lorelai tried to make conversation.
"Yeah. It's 7:45." Jess rolled his eyes.
"So?" Luke broke into the conversation.
"So do you want me to go to school or do you want to openly defy child labor laws?" Jess asked sarcastically.
"Go. Stay out of trouble." Luke shooed the two teens away.
"Guess that means calling off the chickie run down at the salt flax." Dani said, her blue eyes sparkling.
"Out." Luke pointed to the door, which Jess took gladly.
Lorelai watched the 17-year-old go. "Wow, so much love." She commented.
"Everyone's accounted for Taylor. It looks like this is just an elaborate prank." Was all Dani could hear of the policewoman's comment across the street.
"But it looks so real. Where'd they get the police tape?" Taylor complained, the next sentence inaudible to Dani.
"Who'd be depraved enough to pull a stupid prank like this?" Dani heard this sentence, she shared a smirk with her brother who stood next to her, also surveying the fake murder. Jess slung his arm over her shoulders after catching Rory Gilmore's gaze.
Dani and Jess entered the diner after school to see Luke walk over and hug a woman standing with Lorelai and Rory.
"Mia, hey!" Luke smiled.
"Nice to see you Lucas." The woman, Mia, said, holding Luke at arm's length to look at him.
"You're the only person in the world who can call me that, Mia." Luke teased, leading her over to a table.
"I know this." Mia said confused.
"I'm saying it for others who plan to try it later." Luke caught Lorelai and Dani's eye, silently pleading.
"Whatever Lucas." Lorelai waved a hand in dismissal.
"Mia, you know anything about toasters?" Luke asked hopefully.
"Not a damn thing." Mia said cheerfully.
"Well, then sit down and let me get you some coffee." Luke said.
"Do I get some coffee too?" Dani asked, trailing behind him, backpack still over her shoulder.
"No, Dani." Luke said, pouring the coffee.
"But, don't you want a helper who's quick and cheerful?" Dani asked, "I can't be that without coffee." She batted her eyes at him, turning on the full charm. "Coffee loves me, Uncle Luke."
"You know it'll kill you right?" He growled, sliding a cup across the counter to her.
"How could something so sweet and perfect, kill me?" Dani asked, holding the cup to eye level.
"Hear, hear!" Lorelai called across the room. Dani smiled and went upstairs, still nursing the coffee cheerfully.
Dani returned downstairs to hear Lorelai beg for the 'vintagey blue coat'. She refilled customer's coffees in time to hear Mia say that she was not getting it. "Dirty!" Dani gasped as she refilled their coffees, stealing Lorelai's line. She took the coffee pot next to the counter and stared over Luke's shoulder with Jess looking over her at Luke fixing the toaster.
"You're making that worse." Jess said, taking the toaster away from him.
"Big help, thanks." Luke said.
Mia called across the diner, "Luke, that's your nephew?" Luke and Dani walk over to their table.
"It's Liz's kid. Jess, this is Mia, she owns the Independence Inn." Luke explained. "And this is my niece, Jess's sister, Dani."
"Huh." Was all Jess said.
"That's 'Hello, nice to meet you' in slacker." Luke explained.
"And this is 'Hello, nice to meet you' in English." Dani grinned, shaking Mia's hand.
"You don't need me down here, do you?" Jess left, without waiting for an answer.
"I'm sorry Mia. He's just…" Luke started.
"Screwed up?" Dani interjected.
"Oh please, forget it. You weren't exactly a talkative boy yourself when you were his age." Mia said.
"Luke, I'm going upstairs." Dani said. "Bye, everyone." Mia and the others waved as Lorelai grilled Mia on Luke as a boy.
Dani checked messages before pulling out her homework. Paul's chilling voice once again entered the apartment. "You can run, but you can't hide. I'm coming to get you." Dani laid her head on her homework, knowing that there was no way she was going to concentrate now. She took her homework downstairs into the diner, hoping that the noise and the crowd would keep her mind off of things. She grinned as she walked into an infamous, Luke and Taylor argument. She slipped into a seat beside Lorelai.
"So what is it now?" Dani asked.
"The fake murder." Lorelai whispered. Dani could feel herself start to blush, she ducked her head, her hair hiding her face.
"I have conducted a thorough investigation of all the people who may have inadvertently been witness to the phony murder at my store last night." Taylor said pompously.
"There was a phony murder?" Mia asked.
"Yeah, the town's too dull to work up a real murder." Lorelai said, concentrating on the argument.
"But you're one 'beam me up Scotty' reference away from being the victim of one." Rory advised.
"Three people have reported seeing Jess in that area late last night, skulking, lurking." Taylor reported.
"There were a lot of people out late last night. I know because I fed some of them. I'll give you their names so you can add them to your suspect list." Luke snapped.
"Another person witnessed Dani walking out of an arts and crafts store two days ago with what appeared to be chalk." Taylor added, watching Luke's reaction carefully.
"You appear to be bugging me Taylor." Luke groaned.
"What are you going to do about it, Luke?" Taylor asked.
"About what?" Luke said.
"About the results of my investigation." Taylor said impatiently.
"Absolutely nothing, but thanks for the info." Luke said, going behind the counter.
"You have to do something. People want action." Taylor cried, following Luke.
"People, meaning you." Luke said, looking Taylor in the eye.
"Not just me. I speak for the Stars Hollow Business Association, the Stars Hollow Tourist Board, the Stars Hollow Neighborhood Watch Organization, and the Stars Hollow Citizens for a Clean Stars Hollow Council." Taylor said, naming off four of the town committees.
"All of which are you." Luke said, grabbing plates from Caesar.
"So are you going to act." Taylor said, following Luke across the diner.
"Yes I am. I'm going to act like you never came in here." Luke slammed plates down with some sort of force, Dani couldn't tell it's origin, probably the little bug in his ear named Taylor Doose.
"Fine, have it your own way. But I warn you, there's going to be a lot of unhappy people at S.H.B.A., the S.H.T.B., the S.H.N.W.O. and the S.H.C.C.S.H.C." Taylor said, shrugging.
"F-I-N-E." Luke snapped, getting a giggle out of Dani and Rory.
"Oh, you're. . .you're impossible, you are impossible!" Taylor cried walking out.
Dani sighed and pushed back her chair, and taking her homework, she went outside to the Town Square. She went up to the gazebo and tried to do her homework there. After about thirty minutes of doing one page she gave up. She took it back upstairs in time to hear Paul leave, yet another, message. "I am coming to get you, there is nothing you can do to stop me."