All right, I put this chapter up pretty fast to make up for making everybody wait so long. I want to thank all my reviewers, and announce that i know there are a lot of you who have been enjoying my story with out reviewing... tsk tsk! Also, thanks to all those who pointed out that i wrote Luke's name at the end of the chapter. Yes, it was a mistake, and no, she did not all of a sudden become transported to an alternate universe. All those who hate the Chris/ Lorelai pairing don't worry, so do I, so just hang in there a little bit longer... things are about to get messy...
Here's a brief summery about everything that's happened so far, cause I know it's kind of hard to follow from the very beginning.
Prologue: Rory an Lorelai get into an accident and Lorleai is comatose. Rory goes to Live with Luke.
1: Two Years Later: two years later, Lorelai is still comatose, and Rory and Luke have fallen into a comfortable routine. Rory is dating Dean. Jess comes to live with Luke. He is curious about Rory, but she doesn't want to talk about why she lives at Luke's.
2:MotherDaughter: Rory and Jess get used to living together. Jess discovers an album of Rory and her mom, and Rory finds him and angrily kicks him out of her room. she goes to visit her mother, where she speaks to the still figure.
3: Puzzle Piece: Jess follows Rory to one of her hospital visits and finds out the truth.
4: Kiss and Makeup: Rory finds him and is furious. She admits that she didn't want him to feel sorry for her, and she forgives him. a few weeks later, Rory asks jess to drive her to the hospital, where she takes him into to "meet" Lorelai. She says really nice things about him. he goes outside for air, and they kiss.
5: Endings Lead to beginnings: As soon as the kiss is over, Rory freaks out and demands Jess take her home. She feels guilty about lying to Dean andshe tells him about the kiss. Dean confronts jess at school and the get into a fistfight. When Luke is picking up Jess from the principle's office they get a call to come to the hospital because Lorelai is dying. Luke picks Roryup from school and they head over. However, instead of dying, Lorelai wakes up with amnesia.
6: Reuniting: Lorelai can't remember anything since she was sixteen, so Luke calls Christopher, who comes and tells Lorelai a little bit about her life. Rory and Dean have a big fight.
7: The Photo Album: Rory brings Lorelai the album with pictures of them growing up, and she tells Lorelai that she's been living with Luke. Shocked, Lorelai confronts Chris about why Rory doesn't live with him. Chris admits that he hasn't been stable enough to be a good father, but that he is ready to be here for Lorelai and Rory now. He asks Rory if she wants to move back home with him and her mom, and she readily agrees.
8:Homecoming: Jess gets upset when he learns that Rory is moving out and picks a fight with her. She and her dad prepare the house for Lorelai's homecoming, and they have a nice dinner. Rory goes out to pick up a cake, and on the way home she trips and ruins the cake outside of Dean's house and Dean comes outside. Everything that has been happening has built up onside Rory and she ends up breaking down and sobbing. Dean takes her inside where they talk for a long time. As she is leaving, they start kissing, and at the end she realizes that Jess has been watching from across the street the whole time. She goes back home. After dinner, Lorelai announces she is ready for bed, but she finds her room without any of them showing her, indicating that somewhere she still remembers.
9: Remeetings: Lorelai meets Luke. Jess asks Rory about her night with Dean, to which Rory happily admits that they are back together. When she gets back from school, Dean asks if he could go home and meet her mom. Rory reluctantly agrees. When they get to her house, Dean offers to pick up the food. Rory goes into her room to do some homework while she waits, and Jess comes to her window. He complains that since Rory has moved out, they don't spend anytime together, and he asks her to sneak out with him, but she replies that she can't.
10: Living, Really Living: After Dinner, Lorelai comments to Chris that she doesn't think Rory likes Dean as much as Dean does her. This leads to them reminiscing about their own relationship in high school and Chris tries to kiss Lorelai. Lorelai stops him and explains that she still feels 16, while he's an adult. Chris replies that he will wait for her to grow up. The next day Jess chides Rory because she didn't sneak out with him and claims that she doesn't know what real living is. In school Rory asks Tristan what he thinks real living is, and he replies that it's living with no regrets. Sookie comes over and shows Lorelai around the town, where she get's reacquainted with Luke. That night Lorelai announces that she is moving into her old house behind the inn, in order to figure out some things.
11: Leaving, Learning, Living: Lorelai moves out, and explains to Rory that she wants them to build their relationship so they can return to the special bond they had before the accident. Rory finds Dean is unsympathetic to the pain this move is causing her and she gets angry. She suprises Jess in his apartment and says that she wants to get away from it all. They take a train into New York and Jess shows Rory the city for the first time. He takes her to Central Park and they sit by the water. Rory kisses Jess, who hesitates, remembering the last time, but Rory assures him that this is what she wants, and that Dean no longer knows how to make her happy.
12: New Beginnings: Luke hears Rory lie to Christopher the next morning about where she was and tells Rory so. Jess tries to kiss Rory in the diner, but she stops him, because she hasn't officially broken up with Dean yet and her father is right there. Lorelai confides to Sookie that she's afraid she's never to find what she's looking for. Sookie promises her that she will. Chris comes by to see how Lorelai is doing and they start talking about Rory. Chris mentions that she was tutoring her friend last night, and Lorelai laughs and says that's the oldest excuse in the book and that Rory's been lying to him. Chris brushes this off, claiming that Rory is different than other kids. As he's leaving he tells Lorelai that he thinks she's doing great and he kisses her.
13: Heart Breaker: Rory breaks up with Dean, which he does not take well. Afterwards, Jess meets up with Rory. She protests at his PDA, explaining that she doesn't want to shove it in Dean's face. Jess isn't happy about this and they part in ill spirits. Luke comes to the Inn to repair a few things and him and Lorelai end up in the same room. Lorelai asks him about their relationship and why he would do something so huge like taking in her daughter, but Luke is very vague. Lorelai wonders out loud how she got so lucky to have a kid like Rory, but Luke disagrees and says that Rory is the one that got lucky, and she's the kid she is because of the way Lorelai raised her. Jess comes to see Rory when her dad isn't home and they're in her room. He apologizes and tell her that part of what makes her so great is her sensitivity towards other people. They start kissing when Chris comes home unexpectedly early. Rory pretends that Jess came over to borrow a CD. Chris realizes that he needs to set some house rules and asks Rory if Lorelai would have let her have a boy in her room, to which Rory honestly replies no.
14: Dates and Fates: Lorelai has a dream about when she was sixteen which quickly turns into the nightmare about the present. Rory comes and visits her at the Inn and they talk over lunch. Rory confides that she is going out with Jess now, and Lorelai gives her some boy advice. Later, Lorelai has a date with Chris and is really nervous about it. They go out and have a really nice time but on the way back they see Rory and Jess walking and kissing. Lorelau becomes unsettled when she finds out that Chris didn't know about their relationship, but then insists that all teenagers keep secrets. Chris pulls up to the house and the two of them start kissing intensly, and Chris observes that Rory isn't home and closes the door.
And that is where we are now. Any questions? Okay then, read on. I personally really like this chapter… tell me what you think.
O right… Disclaimer: just in case anybody thought I owned Gilmore Girls… I don't… only in my dreams. I do own the story plot though, so please don't steal that…
15: Late Night Talks:
Jess and Rory sat on the stairs in front of her house saying goodbye. The night was still as they held onto each other.
"Mmmm," Rory murmured. "I'm so happy right now." Jess smiled, playing with her hair.
"I bet I'm even happier." He kissed the top of her head. "You know, a few more dates like this one and we could win an award."
"For what, best dates or something? As much fun as we have, and I do have a lot of fun, I'm sure there are people who can knock us right out of first place."
"Like who?'
"I don't know, like people who go skydiving and bungee jumping. Or climb Mount Everest," Rory speculated, her eyes wide with imagination.
"O come on that's just a list of who can get the sweatiest on a date. Seriously, we might be simple," Jess admitted, "But if there was some sort of meter to measure who's having the best time, we would have that award in the bag."
"Nobody could beat us, not even the bungee jumpers?"
"Not even bungee jumpers who jumped from Everest," Jess promised.
"Okay, I really have to go inside now," Rory said.
"Why don't you just move back to Luke's?" Jess pressed. "That way we never have to say goodnight."
"I think we might get sick of each other if we never said goodnight," Rory told him. "Besides," she added, "distance makes the heart grow fonder."
She gave Jess one last lingering kiss, and he savored the texture of her soft lips. Then with a smile that melted his heart, she disappeared inside.
The house appeared empty to Rory as she made her way through the den and the kitchen, so she assumed her father had gone to bed early. Thinking of the summer reading that she wanted to get through, Rory found her way into her room and pulled the long novel out from under her bed. She settled herself comfortably against her soft pillows, and allowed herself to be lost in another world.
Five minutes later, Rory heard the stairs creaking, and footsteps outside her room. So her father was up after all. She swung her feet of onto the floor and threw her book onto her bed.
"Hey dad," she said, throwing open her door. "How was your night? I had so-" She stopped short at the sight that met her eyes. Her mother and father stood together in the kitchen, looking like a couple of kids who'd been caught stealing candy. Rory took in the sight of the two of them, trying to process what she was seeing. Her mother's shirt was wrinkled, and her father's shirt was open at the top. She took in the sight of Lorelai's mused hair, and Chris untucked shirt.
"Your mom and I had a nice dinner tonight," Chris told his daughter.
"Dinner?" Rory repeated.
"Yeah, you know, just to see how everything is doing and how she's feeling." He fidgeted uncomfortably.
"So…. Where did you eat? Here?" Rory gestured to the kitchen around her.
"No we went to Daunte's. They have great apple pie dessert."
"And then you came back here…?" Rory prompted.
"For coffee," her dad filled in.
"Coffee," Rory repeated. She glanced at her mother again, who was staring at the floor as if trying to cut a whole through it with her eyes. Chris followed his daughter's gaze and turned to her.
"I guess I'll drive you home now," he offered. Lorelai hesitated.
"No it's okay, I think I'm going to go over to Sookie."
"You sure?"
Lorelai nodded. She turned and disappeared quickly out of sight. Rory and her dad were left behind in the silence. Chris swung his hand back and forth uncomfortably.
"So… how was your night?" he asked, desperate to break the silence. Rory raised her eyebrow.
"Apparently not as fun as yours," she attacked.
"Rory…"
"No!" Rory cut him off angrily. "You slept with Mom? Seriously Dad?"
"Rory I…"
"Don't you see how you're going to ruin everything?"
"Hey!" Chris cut her off. "I am your father. I'm able to make my own decisions too."
"O yeah…clearly," Rory muttered.
"Watch it!" Chris shouted. "Young lady, you might not like what I did, but I am still your father!"
"You're going to pull the father card on me now?" Rory mocked.
"Yeah I am," Chris said, not backing down. He felt himself heating up. "Because that's what I am. Speaking of which, why don't you try treating me like your father? Like how about you don't lie to me anymore? I saw you tonight, and it wasn't Dean you were kissing! How about a little honesty and respect?"
"I'll start treating you like my father when you start acting like one!" Rory yelled. She ran into her room and slammed the door behind her. Chris stared at the silent door and sighed. He walked over and knocked softly.
"Rory?" There was no answer. "Rory come on, I'm sorry. Open up please?"
But no matter how he begged, the door stayed closed and his daughter stayed silent.
A loud knocking awakened Sookie from her light slumber. Rubbing her eyes, she donned her robe and slippers, and trudged sleepily to the door as the insistent knocking continued.
"Lorelai?" Sookie yawned as she opened the door.
"Hey," Lorelai whispered. "I'm really sorry I woke you."
"No sweetheart, it's ok. Is everything all right? Oh no, did something happen with Christopher?" Lorelai nodded. "Come on in," Sookie invited, opening the door wide.
Lorelai followed Sookie into her small apartment and into her kitchen, where she took a seat at the table. Sookie threw a few things into a cup and retuned to the table with two steaming cups of apple cider. "So what happened sweetie?" she asked.
"We slept together." Lorelai blurted out. Sookie paused with the hot mug inches from her lips, and set it back onto the table.
"You slept with Christopher?" she repeated, all hints of sleep gone from her eyes. Lorelai nodded.
"Well, honey, don't you think it's a little too fast?" Lorelai nodded again.
"It's way too fast! I'm not ready for that! I still have so much I need to figure out. I don't know what I want yet. I've ruined everything!" She massaged her temples with her fingers.
"I'm sure it's not that bad," Sookie soothed her friend.
"There's more," Lorelai warned.
"More?" Sookie prompted wearily.
"Rory found out."
Sookie whistled. She closed her eyes. "Rory found out?" she repeated.
"Yeah. She came home from her date earlier than we thought she would and when we came downstairs she saw us."
"What did she do?"
"Well, nothing while I was there," Lorelai related. "But she just looked really freaked out. Oh she's so mad, I just know it."
"It'll be okay," Sookie repeated. "I'm sure Chris can handle her."
Lorelai looked up doubtfully. "Can he?"
Rory paced around her room, her anger preventing her from staying stationary. Chris had stopped trying to break down her door a few minutes ago, and had trudged up the stairs, defeated. Serves him right. She paced back and forth. Finally, unable to take the confines of her four walls, she lifted up her window and snuck out. She didn't have any doubts about where she was going, so a few minutes later she was standing outside the dark diner, throwing pebbles at what she knew was Jess's room. But it wasn't Jess who opened the window.
"Rory?" Luke stuck his head out the window, blinking sleepily.
"Oh, I'm sorry Luke," Rory apologized, guiltily remembering how he liked to get to sleep early.
"It's ok," he called down, "Jess didn't come back yet. Is everything ok?"
"Yeah," Rory assured him. "I just forgot to tell him something," she lied.
"Well, come on up, and you can wait for him."
"O that's ok. Go back to sleep!"
Luke shrugged. "I'm already up," he pointed out. "I'll be right down." A minute later the lights downstairs went on as Luke crossed the diner with a set of keys.
"Hey," he greeted, holding the door open for Rory.
"Hey Luke. I'm really sorry about this," she apologized again. Again, Luke shrugged.
"Please Rory, I'm perfectly able to get along without a little bit of sleep. Come on up, and I'll make you some tea," he offered kindly. Too tired to argue anymore, Rory obliged and followed him upstairs. She took a seat at the small table in the kitchen area while Luke put a teakettle of the stove. Then he turned and joined her at the table.
"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked her, scrutinizing her face.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Rory insisted, not meeting his eyes. Luke sighed.
"Rory, you never lied to me while you lived here. Don't start now." Rory blushed.
"I'm just having trouble with my parents that's all." Luke gently laid a rough hand on her shoulder.
"Is there anything I can do? Do you need to talk about it?"
Rory smiled at his sweet protectiveness but shook her head. "No it'll be fine," she said, more to herself than to Luke. Just then the teakettle interrupted them with a shrill whistle. Luke got up and turned off the stove, pulling out a mug and the sugar bowl. As he set about pouring the tea, the door opened and Jess sauntered in. He stopped short when he saw Rory.
"What's going on?" he asked, glancing at Luke suspiciously.
"I just forgot to tell you something before," Rory jumped in, trying to communicate with her eyes what she wasn't saying out loud. Luke set the cup of tea down on the table. The two of them stared at him silently. He sighed and rolled his eyes.
"Ok, here's the deal," he instructed. "I'm going to bed now. If you guys go into Jess's room the door is to remain open. And I'm a very light sleeper," he warned. Now it was Jess's turn to roll his eyes.
"How about if Rory and I stood on opposite ends of the apartment?" he bit sarcastically. "Would that make you feel better?"
"Don't tempt me," Luke warned, trudging into his bed.
"Good night Luke," Rory called. 'Thanks." She turned to Jess.
"What's up?" Jess asked. "If you needed to tell me something, you do know how to use a phone right?"
"Where were you just now?"
"Well, Mom, I was reading on the docks. There's a hell of a lot more air there then in this tiny apartment." He pulled a paperback from his back pocket in order to prove his point. "The real question is what are you doing out so late?"
"I just couldn't stay there anymore."
"Christopher?" Jess asked, leading Rory into his room, where the two of them sat down on the bed.
"And Lorelai. My parents slept together!"
"See, most people wouldn't complain about their parents having sex," Jess pointed out with a twinkle in his eye.
"Jess!" Rory insisted.
"Okay," Jess relented, growing serious. "When did this happen?"
"Tonight, when we were out. Can you believe that, I just come home and the two of them come downstairs like nothing's happened? How could Lorelai do this? She knows she's not ready for that, and she's going to ruin everything!"
Jess massaged Rory's back as she vented her anger. "And I can't believe my dad!" she continued. "I feel like he took advantage of her. He knows how confused she is! He should have at least known better if she didn't!"
"People are just stupid Rory," he tried to explain to her. "At least not everything is falling apart."
"What do you mean?" Rory turned to him curiously.
"There's still you and me."
Across the apartment, Luke lay on his back, awake in his bed. He failed to notice that it had suddenly grown silent. He was too busy thinking about what he had just heard. Lorelai and Christopher. He rolled over onto his stomach, trying to cushion his broken heart.
Okay praise and criticism both accepted... Review!!!