Hi again

Here's the 7th part and I really hope you enjoy it. As you've probably guessed it's going to take place at the Friday-night dinner… Enjoy…

Chapter 7: Meet the parents

Lorelai slowly opened the door. It was in the middle of the night, but she was pretty sure she could stay up for hours. She was flying around and the smile on her lips was even bigger than the one she had in the mall. When she walked into the kitchen she found her daughter sleeping on a chair. On the table in front of her she had all if her books. Lorelai considered for a while if she should wake her up, and then she remembered the time Rory was late for a test, so she made a decision.

"Hon?" Rory slowly opened her eyes.

"What time is it, and why are you still wearing that dress?" she pointed at her mother, who just pushed her into her room.

"Goodnight… Sleep tight, don't let the bed box bite." It was her way of saying goodnight to Rory when she was a little girl. Lorelai turned all of the light off and then went upstairs. She laid down on her bed and tried to recall the whole evening. When she got to the point called "Emily calling", she had to force herself not to scream. She couldn't imagine how the next evening would turn out. She just hoped that her mother and father would behave themselves and not attack Luke.

When you're down and troubled

and you need some love and care

and nothing

nothing is going right

Close your eyes

and think of me

and soon I will be there

to brighten up

even your darkest night

"How was it?" Rory looked at her mother and knew she didn't have to ask. Judging on the smile on her face there was no doubt. It had been a perfect date.

"What?" Lorelai tried to ignore her daughter's question, but she knew she was her daughter, and she knew that Rory as her needed to know everything.

"Your date, mum!" Lorelai forced a surprised smile on her face and then tried to explain the date. "Good… Except that your mother is extremely stupid. I totally humiliated my self yesterday. I should've taken some French lessons before. All these things on the menu card… Excuse me but what is Coq au vin i? And then my mother called me and asked if Max did propose 'cause so she'd heard and…" Rory chuckled.

"Mom, you're rambling…" Lorelai gave her daughter the evil-eyes.

"She wants me to bring Luke next Friday!" Rory looked like she couldn't believe what her mother had just told her.

You just call out my name
And you know wherever I am
I'll come runnin' to see you again
Winter, spring, summer or fall
All you have to do is call
And I'll be there
You've got a friend

Lorelai grabbed Luke's hand before ringing the door bell. They heard steps and Lorelai quickly pushed Rory in front of herself.

"He…" Rory began when the door was opened.

"Hey Grandma…" she quickly spoke and hugged her grandmother. Already there Lorelai noticed how cold her mother looked.

"Hi Rory… Lorelai... and you must be Luke?" She said stiff. Luke put out a hand, but Emily just went into the living room.

"See, I warned you" Lorelai whispered as they handed their coats to the maid.

"Merci Monsieur et Madam!" Slowly they walked into the living room where Richard and Emily had already seated. Lorelai pulled Luke by hand to sit beside her. On the other side Rory squeezed in.

"So… Luke… For how long have you known our daughter?"

"Uh… Somewhere between four and five years I think…" Lorelai gently squeezed his hand and it calmed him a bit. Now it was Richard's turn to ask questions, or so he thought.

"Almost five years. Did you have feelings for Lorelai since you met or is it a new thing?"

"She pretty much whipped me off my feet the first time we met."

"Interesting. As you probably know Lorelai has that effect on men. Especially when she was 16, not to mention." Emily added. Lorelai glanced at her mother.

"Mom! Why don't we change topic here? Rory has some…"

"We're just trying to get to know your boyfriend, Lorelai." Emily broke her off.

So my parents… Lorelai sighed. The battle was already lost.

"Luke… Which college did you go to?" Richard asked, and Lorelai could feel Luke was getting a bit tensed, and she fully understood.

"Grandma, grandpa… I got A+ for a paper about The archaeological museum in Athens yesterday. I got the best scores in my class, which means I beat Paris up…" Emily faked a smile.

"We're very proud of you Rory… but even though the fact that you're a smart girl, it's not very clever of you to interrupt."

At the same time the French maid entered. "Dinner are ready, Mademoiselle Gilmore" she said in a very funny English, that reminded Lorelai of Michel.

"Constance for God's sake! The dinner IS served, not are!" Constance seemed a lot smaller than she did before.

"This way" Emily said and ignored the maid. She almost ran into the dinning room.

If the sky above you
Grows dark and full of clouds
And that ol' north wind begins to blow
Keep your head together
And call my name out loud
Soon you'll hear me knockin' at your door

During dinner nobody said much, but when they got to the desert Emily couldn't keep her mouth shut any longer.

"So Luke, what do you think of Rory?"

"She's a very smart gir… young lady… and very pretty too." he added. But that answer wasn't enough to make Emily happy.

"That's right. She's a young lady now. But still not a grown up woman. Do you see yourself as a good step-dad?" Lorelai's mouth was wide open, and so was Luke's. And last Lorelai pulled herself together.

"Mother, don't attack Luke like that. We're not planning on marrying right away. We just started dating!"

"But you want to get married somewhere in the future? Lorelai, think about your daughter. How many of your miserable relationships do you want her to go through? It's about time you settle down!" Rory knew that if she didn't stop her mother soon, it wouldn't take more than a few seconds before she would storm out of the door.

"Uh… Grandma, grandpa… I just got an A+ in a very hard test yesterday. It was about…"

"We're very proud of you Rory, and you know that. You're a great girl, but it's very rude to interrupt a conversation, even though you're trying to 'save' you're mother, but I'm talking to her right now." Emily broke of Rory. Rory sent her mother an apologizing look and sighed. Now she'd tried to get her grandmother's attention two times now, but apparently it didn't seem to work.

"Gosh I need some coffee, or I'm going to throw up!" Lorelai mugged. Her need for coffee was on it's highest.

"Why do you need coffee?" Emily said hard…

"Because I drink around ten cups of coffee every single day, mom!"

"Really? Ten cups, the last time you drank so much was… Lorelai, can I please talk to you for a minute?"

"We ARE talking, mom. And it would be rude to leave the table now."

"Alone, now Lorelai! Excuse us for a moment. Rory, maybe you could tell your grandfather about you're A, and I'm sure Luke will enjoy it too"

Unwillingly Lorelai followed her mother into the pool house. Emily turned on the light and hurried inside, pulling Lorelai by her arm. She quickly closed door, and then sent her daughter 'the eyes'. And Lorelai knew that a long 'conversation' was coming up.

"What's your problem?"

"The last time you drank that much coffee was when you were expecting Rory…"

"Mom, you don't seriously mean what I think you mean, do you?"

"I'm afraid so… Lorelai, are you pregnant?"

"Okay, just got a confirmation letter; Your mother Emily Gilmore is insane, and we just wanted you to know, since you are her daughter, and it might pass on to you. And no Emily, I'm not pregnant."

"You seem to like that man in there pretty much, so it would be a lot like you. Lorelai, for God's sake! He owns a diner in a small town in Connecticut. If it was a Starbuck's Coffee I would understand, but it isn't. And look at his cloths. The tux is so… none suitable. What about his economy? Does he have enough money to take care of you and Rory? What about the new one? Are you going to get married before, or are you just planning on staying at the stage 'dating'? Lorelai, you should start thinking now. He's not a proper father for Rory. She needs a stabile life, and he can't give it to her, or you!"

Lorelai head was burning. Her eyes were on fire, and she was pretty sure that if she had a knife in her hand she could stab her mother in the chest.

"How dare you, Emily Gilmore? I'm not a kid anymore. You can't dress me the way you want to, actually you can't make any decisions in my life, or Rory's. I know what I'm doing when I'm dangling around with Luke. And yes, he owns a diner in a small town, in Connecticut. But I don't care. He makes a lot of money, and he would be an amazing dad for Rory and any other kid. I love him, and so does Rory. She's known him for many years and he gives us coffee every single day. He's treating her like he would treat his own kid, and he adores her. I know I've had a lot of relationships during the past years, but I've always kept them away from Rory, 'cause I didn't want to hurt her. She's MY daughter and I know what I'm doing. Actually there's only one reason we're here tonight, and you know why. I appreciate what you've done, but I can take care of myself. And NO, I'm not pregnant!"

You just call out my name
And you know wherever I am
I'll come runnin' to see you again
Winter, spring, summer or fall
All you have to do is call
And I'll be there

Emily looked like her face had just been blown away. She stared at her daughter with awe in her eyes. Lorelai had never seen her mother like that. It was almost scary. Suddenly Emily just turned around and left the pool house without a word. Lorelai just stood with amazement painted on her face. Did I just yell at my mother like that? She took a deep breath and then went back into the house. During the rest of the desert Lorelai and Emily said nothing, but in the meantime Luke and Richard had started an conversation about insurance. Rory just listened and ate her chocolate cake in silence. When they finally were ready to leave, Lorelai was just about to leave, when her dad grabbed her arm.

"Lorelai, can I have a word with you?" she sighed and followed him into the study. "Lorelai…"

"Yes Father?" she said with fake humility in her voice.

"What did you say to your mother? She hasn't said a word since you got back from the pool house…"

"I told her not to make my decisions. I have my own life, and I decide who I'm with and whenever I'm going to get married or not."

"I know, I know… And I have to agree with you on that. But she seemed pretty…"

"Dad, I don't have the time now. Emily accused me of being pregnant, and I just couldn't stand the way she talked about Luke. I love that man, and Rory adores him, just like he adores her, so I can't see her problem. Maybe he's not from a wealthy family, but he's a great man. I have to go…"And then she turned away and left.

"He's a great man, Lorelai…" he mumbled, thinking she didn't hear it, but she did and a small smile came across her face.

When she passed her mother on her way through the door, she couldn't hold back a small smile. For the first time she felt like she'd earned her parents respect. While they drove out of Hartford and back to Stars Hollow, none of them said anything. When they finally got to Lorelai and Rory's house, Rory quickly went inside. She knew her mom and Luke needed sometime to talk.

Ain't it good to know that you've got a friend
When people can be so cold
They'll hurt you, yes, and desert you
And take your soul if you let them
Oh, but don't you let them

"So…" Lorelai began… Luke could immediately hear how nervous she sounded.

"So…" he replied.

"Luke, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have taken you there. As Emily and Richard's daughter I should've know what was going to happen and…" she broken of by his lips on her.

"Just shut up, will you?" She giggled a little and then placed her head on his shoulder. "You're my man, you know that right?" Luke just rolled his eyes.

"Well, then you must be my crazy lady, I guess." He took her and gave it a tiny squeeze.

"I really need some coffee now" she moaned and realized Luke already was on his way to the diner. She smiled and then started to walk. He's a great man… No actually he's more than that. He's perfect, just perfect. Hand in hand they walked down the road thinking they were all alone, but one thing they didn't know was that Babette was staring at them through a window. When they were gone she ran to the phone and dialled Miss Patty's number.

"Babette here!"

"Great… Any news on the two of them?"

"Not really. They just got home. Rory went inside quickly, that little cutie pie. And Luke and Lorelai talked for a while, then they kissed and now they're on the way to town. That's basically it."

"Thanks… I'll keep an eye on them…"

You just call out my name
And you know wherever I am
I'll come runnin' to see you again
Winter, spring, summer or fall
All you have to do is call
And I'll be there
You've got a friend

That's all for now. I'm kind of tired. It's late and I have school tomorrow. I hope you enjoyed reading the chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. It took a few ours to get the fight between Lorelai and Emily up on it's feet. I first wrote something, but then realized it wasn't 'Gilmore' crazy enough, so I hope you think it is now. Please review. I'd love to know what you think…

And you're welcome to give me some ideas and also some ideas for lyrics….

Love Asta