I decided to bring back 'quote of the week', simply because it's so fun finding the quotes.

Brittany: It's that most of us don't know how to bake. I find recipes confusing.
- From Glee. I really love Brittany.

This little gem is from Lamebook, which is like my new favourite hang-out place: It recently became apparent to me that the letters 'T' and 'G' are far too close together on a keyboard. This is why I'll never be ending an important email with the phrase "regards" ever again.

Chapter 11: A little less 16 candles a little more touch me

Rory woke up with a start and almost fell out of the bed. She looked around, breathing a sigh of relief upon discovering she was in fact in her very own bedroom. That also seemed to be the only good thing about the situation, as it felt like her head had been turned into a construction site. Pathetically she crawled out of bed and into the bathroom, resting her head on the cool toilet. The first memory flash hit her, as she closed her eyes: She was dirty dancing with Paris on a table while Stephanie was throwing money at them.

"Oh god" she mumbled, before emptying her stomach. "So undignified." Her phone started to ring, but she decided to ignore it. Not matter what, it could wait and honestly she wasn't interested in talking to anyone. She closed her eyes again, desperately trying to ignore her ringing phone; whoever it was, they weren't giving up easy. She finally admitted defeat, as the phone started ringing for the sixth time.

"Hello?"

"Aggressive much?"

"Mom, stop calling me" Rory mumbled into the phone and hung up, only to have the phone start ringing again five seconds later. "You're killing me!"

"Which means that you are actually alive! Good!"

"What's so important?"

"Did you have fun last night?"

"I don't know, what's this about" Rory groggily demanded.

"Well, it looks like you had fun."

"What?"

"Yeah, on the internet, in the pictures of you and Finn, kissing… It looks fun."

Rory closed her eyes and silently prayed this was some kind of sick and twisted joke. "Please don't joke about this."

"Oh I'm not! And guess who's not joking either? Your grandmother, who has been calling me non-stop since seven thirty!"

"Oh god…"

"Rory, what the hell happened last night? I said fun, not adulterous debauchery."

"I know, things just got out of hand. There's pictures?"

"Yeah like a dozen from the party and two of you and Finn making out. It's rated-r stuff, Rory. What the hell where you thinking, people are gonna see this, your grandparents are gonna see this. Finn's fiancée is gonna see this!"

"I know, I just…. I didn't know someone was taking pictures."

Lorelai sighed on the other end. "Rory honey, this is bad. You have a lot of explaining to do and Finn's fiancée has every right to be mad at you."

"She already was. I met her last night."

"Really? How was she?"

"Cold. Like serious Antarctic cold. And strangely polite. It was weird."

"Whatever happened, I doubt she deserves this. Have you talked to him?"

"I honestly have no idea, I just woke up ten minutes ago and I can't remember much."

"What about Paris or Stephanie?"

"I doubt Stephanie remembers much either, Finn made this stupid remark and she and Colin got into a fight."

"Sounds like I missed out on a great party" Lorelai said. "I talked to Sally earlier, I'll pick up Daniel, so we'll see each other later and talk." The last word was emphasized and Rory knew her mother would want an explanation. "In the meantime I'll try to do some damage control with that darling grandmother of yours. I would bolt the door shut if I was you, she might just turn up and demand an explanation."

"Great, just what I need. Have you talked to her?"

"No she left me a message asking why you were kissing an engaged man."

Rory sighed. "It's like my life has turned into 'Days of our lives' or something."

"Please, your life is way more interesting" Lorelai interjected. "I'll try to stall the Wicked Witch of the West for now, but don't expect a miracle."

"If it gets too hard you can always land a house on her."

"Well there is that option, I suppose" Lorelai said. "You should probably do some damage control of your own. I'll see you later, ok?"

Rory hung up and collapsed on her bed. It felt like her whole world was about to blow up. She tried to ignore the pounding headache as she dialled the now familiar number and waited.

"This really isn't a good time" Finn greeted her, as sounds of things breaking echoed behind him.

"What's going on" Rory asked, as someone screamed something in the background. "I wanted to…"

"Yeah, love, not now. Why don't you come over in a hour or so, we'll talk?"

Rory was just about to reply, but Finn had already hung up, so she decided to just take a shower and swallow a bottle of painkillers before going to his hotel.

Rory felt anxious as she stood outside the hotel room, trying to find the courage to knock. "Come on Rory" she whispered and knocked on the door. Finn opened it almost immediately and she stepped inside the room. "What happened?" The room was completely trashed.

"Hurricane Jane blew through here earlier. It was quite the show" Finn said in a tired voice and sat down in the messed up couch.

"She saw the pictures?"

"Love, I think everyone has seen those" a female voice said in a mocking tone.

Rory turned around and saw a beautiful blonde woman standing in the doorway between the mainroom and the bedroom. She suddenly felt like violently throwing up. He was with another woman, another one, other than her? What the hell was going on?

Finn closed his eyes and sighed. "Ry, not now."

"Why not Finny? I wanted to see the little home wrecker." She gave Rory a big smile.

Finn stood up and fumbled with his backpocket. "Why don't you go max out my credit card while I talk to Rory like a grownup?" He handed the woman, Ryder, his wallet.

She took it with a fake expression of shock. "Are you implying that Jane hasn't already done that? Shocking."

"Go, now!" With a final smirk at Rory, she sauntered out of the hotel room.

"You're with another woman" Rory whispered in an angry tone. "Some blonde bimbo?"

"Love, I'd appreciate you not calling my sister a bimbo" Finn said, sitting down again. He obviously didn't care that the hotel room looked like one of the Balkan countries in the mid-nineties.

"Oh…. Sorry" Rory said, sitting down as well. "I didn't know. She doesn't look like you."

"She dyes her hair" Finn said. "I guess you want to talk about last night?"

"Yeah… About that, I didn't know about…"

Finn held up his hand. "It's fine love, I didn't either."

"Are you in big trouble?"

He chuckled a little. "I think the wedding is postponed indefinitely, if that's what you mean?" He sighed. "I really messed it up, but somehow I just can't seem to stay away from you."

"I'm so sorry…"

"Would you stop saying that?" He rolled his eyes. "People are gonna start thinking you raped me or something. It doesn't matter, if I can't even control myself in your presence I obviously shouldn't be getting married."

"Just like that, that's it?"

"No of course that's not it" he said in an exasperated voice. "But obviously I have some issues in relations to you that I need to address. And I think the whole thing with Daniel just threw Jane a curvevball…"

"She was pretty honest last night, about it" Rory said, feeling a little uncomfortable. How many relationships did she have to ruin before she had enough?

"I can only imagine, but I didn't expect her to embrace this with open arms, that's not who she is and I have to respect that. But I am sorry if she was rude to you."

"I think I understand" Rory said in a small tone. "So last night, huh?"

"You don't remember anything, do you?"

"Not a thing!"

He laughed at her. "It was fun, definitely. I like that you're still a screamer!"

Rory's jaw hit the floor. "Did you seriously just say that? I can't believe you!"

"Relax, we didn't have sex, although you begged me to take you in the bathroom stall!"

"I though you said we were supposed to talk like grownups" Rory said, while trying to fight her blushing.

"You mean to say this isn't how grownups talk?" He made a face. "Imagine that…"

"That was really your sister, huh?"

"Oh yeah, Ryder in all her bitchy glory. Deep down, archaeological deep down, she's a good person, she's just a bit protective of me."

"Is she the oldest?"

"No, but she likes to act like it." He sighed. "When I was younger, I was a bit of a mess and Ryder spent a lot of time trying to fix me."

"Because of your brother?" At Finn's raised eyebrow, Rory shamefully looked at the floor. "Colin told me something happened, I didn't mean to pry… And you should really think about forgiving him, he never meant to hurt you."

"You know what happened?" Rory shook her head. "He got drunk and crashed his car into a tree. Dead on arrival, I guess. I had a little downfall after that. Colin needs to learn when to speak and when to shut up… I'll forgive, him, eventually…"

"Still going to the wedding?"

"Yes, I know so many embarrassing things about both of them, it seems a shame to waste that" he said with a small smile.

Rory nodded, suddenly feeling awkward. She didn't know what was going on between them, were they friends, just people who coincidently had a child together, what? She needed a definition. "About last night… What does it mean, between you and me, what are we?"

"I don't know, love. You broke my poor heart five years ago and me and Jane… I love her, but I think I still have feelings for you, however stupid that might be." He smiled at her. "I'm a pathetic sap."

"I'm sorry…"

"Maybe you should leave, love? I think I need some time to figure all this out, including a really good story for the maid."

Rory nodded. "Sure, I guess I'll just see you at the rehearsal dinner or something?"

"Or something" he said non-committally and opened the door for her.

Rory was deep in her own thoughts as she was leaving the hotel and therefore didn't notice someone stepping out in front of her. "Leaving so soon?"

She looked up and saw Finn's sister, Ryder. "Finn wanted some time" she said in a timid tone. Something about Ryder was just scary, she was nothing like her brother, who was a warm and fun person.

"Of course he did. I realize I was a bit brass up there. Why don't we go out to lunch and talk things over" Ryder suggested.

"Oh, um… Sure, okay" Rory stammered.

"Great, I'll just go change, wait for me here" she said and left.

"Sure, I'll just… wait" Rory said and sat down. She decided she might as well just call Stephanie and ask if she and Colin were still together. "Hey, it's Rory."

"Hey, what's up?"

"I just wanted to know if there's still a wedding going on tomorrow?"

"We're fine, did you forget?"

"Pretty much, yeah. I'm actually sitting in the lobby of Finn's hotel."

"Really, why?"

"Long story, I'll tell you tonight. Did you know his sister is here?"

"Ryder or Idina?"

"Ryder. I'm going to lunch with her."

There was a moments silence over the line. "Oh… Rory, listen, just be careful, okay?"

Rory made a face. "Why?"

"Ryder is… Well, she gives the term 'bitch' a completely new meaning, okay? She's horrible!"

"She was a little rude, but I wouldn't call her horrible" Rory defended.

"Trust me, she makes Shira Huntzberger look nice! She's super protective of Finn and she's a lawyer, which means she isn't afraid to threaten people either…"

"Oh…"

"Yeah, Colin once had to go up against her in court. He came home crying! So just watch out for yourself, okay" Stephanie warned.

"Yeah, sure… Wow, I didn't expect that, I mean, she's Finn's twin…"

"I know, I didn't either, when I met her the first time. Maybe she's changed, I don't know. Maybe you should bring Paris? Or a bodyguard?"

"I'm sure she's not…" Someone cleared their throat behind her. "Oh, hi Ryder, you ready?"

"Tell Stephanie I say hi" Ryder said with a false smile. "You ready?"

"Yeah sure, what did you have in mind?"

"Why don't we just stay here, they have a nice restaurant" Ryder asked, but obviously it wasn't really a question and Rory just followed her into the hotel's restaurant, where they were seated immediately.

"So, Stephanie said you're a lawyer?"

"I am. It comes in handy when people files lawsuits against the company, or say, claim to have born my brother's lovechild…" Rory took a deep breath. Stephanie definitely wasn't lying about the bitch-part. "You're a Gilmore, so it's not money that you want… So what is it?"

"I don't want anything."

"Obviously you want something, everyone does, and if you didn't, you wouldn't have told Finn about Daniel" Ryder said and lit up a cigarette.

"I felt guilty and I want Daniel to know his father."

"Admirable. Maybe it would have been better to tell him five years ago, but hey… Better than nothing, I suppose…"

"Miss, there is no smoking here" a waiter gently interrupted.

"Check the name of the hotel; I think you'll find that there's a new smoking section right here, for the owner of said hotel" Ryder said without looking at the waiter. He nervously bit his lip but didn't say anymore and quickly left their table.

Rory wasn't sure what to say, but luckily Ryder definitely was. "How well do you know my brother?"

"We went to Yale together" Rory said.

"I know that, you used to date Logan Huntzberger. I was just wondering if you knew about his past?"

"Um, Colin told me about your brother and Finn mentioned a little bit upstairs" Rory said, feeling unsure of herself.

"What did he say?"

"That your brother was driving while intoxicated and that he hit a tree. He died…"

Ryder blew out a huff of smoke. "Finn probably forgot to mention that he was sitting in the car with Charlie when the car crashed. He does that sometimes. He was in a coma for three weeks, we didn't know if he was going to survive. After that he went off the deep end, drinking and partying like some sick version of Paris Hilton. My parents finally had enough when he was seventeen and cut him off. I had to support him until he was forced to return home after he graduated. And even then he wouldn't move back with the family, he got an apartment in Sydney and worked for six months until he could afford a plane ticket for him and Jessica to Fiji."

Rory was completely shocked by the information. She had no idea Finn had been involved in the car crash that killed his brother. "I didn't know…"

"Finn doesn't like to talk about it. Our mother was very torn up about it. Her eldest son killed himself and almost killed her youngest son as well. It was hard for her, to accept that and not be angry at Charlie. Finn, on the other hand, he idolized Charlie, he was like a hero for Finn. And mum's resentment towards Charlie drove them apart. You're probably wondering why I'm telling you this?"

"A bit, yeah…"

"Finn might be the eldest, but he's delicate. He's not very strong emotionally, and something like this, you and Daniel, it could easily throw him off course and turn him into the stupid wanker he was back then ago and I don't want that. Finn has worked hard to get where he is today and I'm not gonna let some little American society tart ruin that. So if you're not serious about this, about my brother and about Daniel being a part of his life, you need to back off now!"

"I'm serious" Rory said, meeting Ryder's steel gaze.

She nodded. "Good…" She put out her cigarette. "He still have feelings for you, you know?"

Rory blushed a little. "Yeah…"

"You like him?"

"He's getting married."

"So? Answer the question."

"Yeah, I do, but I don't know if it's just old feelings or deeper."

"You better figure it out, because he's gonna leave that Tasmanian devil for you if you don't stop it" Ryder said bluntly. "Not that it will be a total loss, I can't stand the was she calls him Finley like he's some sixty-year old investment banker with a heart problem and a parrot-fetisch." Rory just stared at her. "That doesn't mean I like you either, but I love my brother and I want him to be happy. Now, tell me about the kid. I bet he has a ton of bad habits!"

A/N: I have recently had some newfound inspiration: there's reruns of Gilmore Girls on almost every night and that's definitely helping. I just started school again (uni sucks) so updates might be slow, but I'll do my very best. And seriously guys (girls?), you are like the most awesome people ever! I love the reviews and if I could send you all cupcakes I would - and I make some damn good cupcakes! I don't have enough positive words to describe how much you all mean to me; that you take time from your busy day and actually sit down and read something I've written, it just means so much, especially when you review. So thank you! Oh and please keep it up, thanks!