A/N: Okay. Sorry it's taken so long. It's only been eight reviews, but I'll take it. I'm going to NC for a week and will have limited computer access. I need a beta, anyone interested? Please PM me is you're interested. Thank you.

Enjoy this chapter!

Brianne

Dani glared at the stupid little bell on the top of the door, from where she's was going through baskets for the basket festival. "There you are." Jess greeted her.

"What do you think of this one?" She demanded.

"Too big." He dismissed it, "I know you're going to rope me into buying it and I don't want to have to lug around a basket full of rocks that you put in it to make me believe that there's actually food in it, besides we've been here for two weeks and you're already expecting someone to bid against me."

"Wow." Dani stared at him, a funny look on her face. "This basket said all that to you?"

"Kris." Jess gave her his patented 'seriously?' look.

"I'm getting it anyway." She declared, leading the way to the register, after she had finished paying and was standing right beside the door, basket in hand, she squealed as a realization struck her. "Oh my God. You're coming with me to New York tonight."

"Why?" Jess asked, obviously confused. "Not that I wouldn't jump at the chance to get out of here."

"Tonight's our gig!" Dani cried, obviously excited. "Crap, I need to practice! See ya." She hurried out of the store, leaving Jess. He saw Dean and Rory kissing a few aisles down and decided to have a little fun.

Dani tuned her guitar and pulled out her cell phone. "Emily?" She asked.

"Dani?" Her friend sounded surprised. "I missed you so much!"

"Hey! Yeah, I missed you too." Dani felt homesick for New York hearing her friend's voice.

"You're still coming right?" Emily sounded worried.

"Of course I'm coming!" Dani assured her.

"Is Jess coming?" Emily asked, not bothering to hide her obvious crush on Dani's brother.

"Yes, Jess is coming too." Dani laughed at her friend.

"So why'd did you call? Not that I don't love hearing from you." Emily asked, teasing her friend just a little.

"Yeah, sure." Dani could hear her friends smile over the phone. "I have one song that I really want to do."

"Really?" Emily asked, excited, as always at the mention of a new song. "What is it?"

"Yeah, 'Whiskey Lullaby'." Dani answered, nervous of what her friend might think.

"Dani." Emily whined. "It's so sad. I don't know."

"I know, it's so sad, I cry every time I sing it." Dani couldn't help pointing out.

"You know it's a duet right?" Emily asked suspiciously.

"I know it's a duet, I'll sing both parts." Dani knew her friend would have an idea.

"No you won't!" Emily exclaimed. "I'll sing the guys part, just fix it to fit my pitch. Work on it will you?"

"No, I'm not going to work on it." Dani teased. "I'm going to go in having no clue what I'm doing."

"Mean!" Emily cried, laughter in her tone.

"You remind me of a friend's mom." Dani hadn't seen Lorelai since the night the woman had found her crying the street.

"I've gotta run." Emily said apologetically. "Give Jess my love and tell him he better be at that concert or he won't have a head."

Dani laughed. "Okay. I'm so excited!"

"Bye!" Emily hung up before Dani could say anything else.

Laughing at her friend's oddness, Dani pulled her guitar out and set to work. Jess came up the stairs of the apartment, he paused before opening the door, listening to his sister play.

"She put that bottle to her head and pulled the trigger,
And finally drank away his memory,
Life is short but this time it was bigger,
Than the strength she had to get up off her knees,
We found her with her face down in the pillow,
Clinging to his picture for dear life,
We laid her next to him beneath the willow,
While the angels sang a whiskey lullaby"

She hummed the tune, experimenting with the ending. Jess entered, opening the fridge. "Hey." Dani waved, looking up from the sheet music. "Emi sends her love."

"Back at her." Jess pulled a soda from the fridge.

"She expects to see you at the concert tonight, if you want to keep the empty head of yours." Dani relayed her friend's message.

"I'll be there, don't worry." Jess assured his sister, sitting at the table.

"Good, Jess, I beg of you, don't make Emi mad, or Sa, or Becca." Dani pleaded.

"Don't make Emily, Sara, or Rebecca mad for an entire night." Jess teasingly pondered. "Not sure I can do that."

"And I need you to find us a ride to New York." Dani added, ignoring her brother's comments. Her eyes lit up. Lorelai. Why hadn't she thought of it before? She and Rory would be awesome groupies. "Never mind."

"Okay." Jess pulled out a book. Dani laid her guitar on the bed and hurried down to the diner, hoping to find one of Luke's favorite customers.

"Lorelai! Thank God." Dani hurried over to their table. "I need you to take me and Jess to New York tonight."

"I'd love to." Lorelai didn't miss a beat. "But why?"

"My New York country band has a gig tonight." Dani got excited all over again.

"Really?" Rory chimed in. "That's awesome Dani!"

"I'm soo excited." Dani cried, eyes dancing.

"What time?" Lorelai asked.

"I need to be there at 7. We go on at 8." Dani responded, almost jumping up and down with excitement.

Lorelai placed a hand on her arm, stopping Dani mid-bounce. "Take a chill-pill hun."

Dani widened her eyes and filled them with fake tears. "You bursted my bubble, Aunt Lori." She whimpered in a child's voice.

Lorelai laughed. "You have taken your chill pill. Now, you go on at 8?"

Dani wiped her eyes, laughing and nodding. "And we play for, maybe, two hours, two and a half." She guessed.

"I can't wait!" Rory squealed.

"I know." Dani grinned. "Wanna come see my outfit?" Rory accepted eagerly and the two girls pounded up the stairwell. They burst into the apartment and Dani yanked open the closet and pulled out a silver short sleeve jacket, a sleeveless white shirt, and a pale yellow skirt with blue flowers dotted on it.

"I love it!" Rory said, fingering the skirt. "Any jewelry?"

"Duh!" Dani cried, rushing over to her jewelry box, she pulled out a slim silver chain with a delicate 'K' on it and some silver corkscrew shaped earrings.

"I like it." Rory approved.

"Glad to hear it." Dani grinned.

"I can't wait to see it on you. How are you doing your hair?" Rory asked.

"I haven't really decided." Dani wandered over to the mirror, Rory behind her. She ran her fingers through her hair, tossing it slightly.

"You should do it partially pulled back." Rory demonstrated.

"Or, I could do this." Dani adjusted it slightly.

"It might look better like this." Rory fooled with it a little more.

Three hours later, they had it nailed down. "Perfect." Dani squealed. "I love it."

"Good. Because it's time to get ready." Rory announced, glancing at the clock.

"I'm so nervous." Dani confided.

"It's normal." Rory reassured her, shooing her to the bathroom to change. A few minutes later Dani appeared. "You look good." Rory approved, straightening Dani's skirt and fixing a few minor things. "Now for your hair." Minutes ticked by and finally Rory was done. She'd pulled back strands of hair across her forehead to the opposite side and bound it in a mini ponytail underneath her hair, successfully hiding it from view.

"I look cool." Dani tucked some hair behind an ear and slipped the earrings in and put the necklace on.

"Ready to go?" Rory asked.

"Ready." Dani picked up her guitar and grabbed her purse. "Let's go." Dani led the way down the stairs, calling to Jess that it was time to go. Jess passed them on the stairwell going up to the apartment, claiming that he 'needed a few things'. "Well get your butt down here in three minutes." Dani called after him.

"Have fun." Luke said, looking up from wiping down the counter. "You look very nice."

"Thanks, Uncle Luke." Dani said, smiling at him, knowing that 'very nice' was a very high compliment from her uncle.

"Are you ready to rock?" Lorelai entered the diner, with a flourish as usual. "You look cool!" She looked over at the two teens. "Where's Jess?"

"Right here." Jess appeared beside Dani, complete in leather jacket.

"Two minutes and fifty-nine seconds." Dani informed him.

"I had a second." He retorted, taking her guitar.

"Thanks." Dani turned to Lorelai. "Let's hit the road!"

After the four of them had piled in Lorelai's jeep and were on their way to New York, Dani was playing a one-sided poke game with Jess and Lorelai was egging her on, Jess and Rory were trying to have a conversation and failing miserably, with the poke game and Lorelai and Dani making suggestive comments everytime one of them said something even remotely 'dirty'.

"Who all is going to be there?" Lorelai asked after Jess had stopped the poking and the conversation.

"Well my band, 'The Untamed Mares' consists of me, Emily our other guitarist, Sara our drummer, and Rebecca our violinist. Now, Liz will have probably heard about it and might show up, Sara is bringing her sister Lisa, who we all love." Dani's eyes twinkled as she poked Jess at the mention of Lisa. Rory stiffened as she saw her friend's actions, and tried to move the conversation from these treacherous waters.

"Any one else?" She asked casually.

"Um, Emily and Rebecca are sisters and I think their parents are coming." Dani bit her lip, thinking.

"Lauren might come." Jess said from the front seat, beside Lorelai.

"Joy." Dani groaned, starting to run her fingers through her hair before Rory slapped her hands away.

"Who's Lauren?" Lorelai asked.

"Lauren Bar is quite possibly the most annoying person on the planet. She likes, no, loves, controlling people's lives. She has this weird obsession with it." Dani explained.

"She sounds like my mother." Lorelai said, to Dani and Rory's laughter.

"She sounds obnoxious." Rory remarked.

"Trust me." Jess spoke up.

"Jess doesn't like her very much. He had an unfortunate incident where she tried to seduce him." Dani tried to keep a straight face and failed miserably.

"It was disgusting." Jess shuddered.

"Poor baby." Dani patted his shoulder. "You'll get over it." He slapped her hand away, eliciting a yelp. "Mean!" She gasped, cradling her hand.

"'You'll get over it.'" He mimicked.

"We're here!" Lorelai sang out, pulling into the parking lot.

"Yay!" Dani bounded out of the car, stopping suddenly. "Emi, Sa, Beks!" She shrieked, running into the waiting arms of her three best friends.

"We missed you girl!" Emily said, hugging her tightly.

"Let's go play!" Sara cried. The four girls led the way into the building, laughing and chatting.