An: My author's notes must sound like a broken record by now.

I am so sorry! College life sucks because it leaves no time to do other things. Somewhat similar to Rory in the 4th season when she took too many classes and had no idea how to handle them all, I did almost the same thing. I think I managed pretty well in the end. Anyway, here is the next chapter of the story! I am hoping I will have more time this semester to finish this story and The Earth Is off Its Axis.

I am having a Gilmore Marathon while I write this. Guess how many episodes it took me to type this up? Leave your answer in a review!

Disclaimer: Almost 5 years later and nothing has changed except ABC Family does not play Gilmore Girl reruns anymore.

The flashback scene picks up from the middle of chapter 14, He is back, and Better than Ever!

ENJOY!

REVIEWS ARE ALWAYS APPRECIATED! I WILL REVIEW BACK!

Chapter 19- I Should be More Surprised, Right?

"Wow!" Lorelai said to William as she looked at the clock on the wall, "I can't believe it's already past nine. I should get going and get this one into bed," she pointed to Rory who was asleep in her lap.

"Certainly, you don't want to disturb her sleep or keep her out to late," William agreed.

"It was really nice seeing you both," she said to William and Luke who was sitting on the other side of the bed, looking down. "I'll stop by tomorrow whenever I get the chance. I promise. Is there anything you need that I can get you?"

"No, sweetie, your pretty face is good enough," William, replied.

Lorelai got up from her seat, carrying Rory. Carefully, she put her down on the chair, slipped on her sweater, and then put Rory in her jacket.

"I'll be back tomorrow," she approached William's bedside. She gave him a hug and turned back around to get Rory. "Luke, can I speak to you really quickly?" She asked him.

Once outside Lorelai and Luke started to say together, "I'm sorry!" Shyly, they smiled, looking away from each other.

"You go first," they both looked up and said together again.

"Look, I am sorry. I was out of line saying what I said," Luke told her.

"No, I'm sorry. With everything you are going through, you shouldn't have to apologize. You just wanted to make sure your Dad had everything and that he is comfortable."

"I still should keep my cool," Luke argued.

"Listen, don't worry. I'm not mad at you. For the record, I was at first, but now I am not. So are we good?"

"We are more than good," He reassured her.

"Well, good," she added with a giggle realizing that both of their vocabularies did not seem very expansive.

"Thank you for coming."

"It was my pleasure. I'm really glad I did."

"I bet you have a lot going on with the big day coming up."

"Yeah, there is a lot to do, but my mom has most of that covered. I'll be by tomorrow to spend some more time with him," she gestured towards the door of the room.

"Ok, that would be great. I'll be here."

"You know you can take that time to go home, freshen up a bit, maybe take a nap. You sure can use it," she pointed out.

"Gee, thanks."

"I don't mean it like that. I mean you look good." She noticed him smile when she said that. "What, I said you looked good and suddenly we're in the fifth grade? So what, I said 'you look good.' I am just saying that I know that this must be exhausting on anybody," Lorelai pointed out.

"I used to train for over fourteen hours a day for baseball. This is a piece of cake."

"If you insist, Mr. Big-Shot-Baseball-Player. I'll see you tomorrow."

-X-

Lorelai entered her house, carrying Rory in one arm and closing the door behind her with her other hand. She quickly made her way up the stairs. An angry Christopher greeted her at the top.

"What the hell, Lorelai!" He snapped at her, holding up the note she had left him.

"Shhh! Rory is sleeping," she hushed him.

"You just left," he told her, not bothering to quiet down.

Lorelai headed to Rory's room, setting Rory on her bed and started to remove her clothes and shoes to get her ready for bed. She turned and said, "Christopher, we'll talk about this in a minute. Let me put Rory to bed."

Chris opened his mouth to protest, but Lorelai interrupted him, "I swear if you wake that girl up you are going to have to put her back to sleep and you know that means having to read to her until she falls asleep again."

"Fine," Christopher stomped back to their bedroom, not offering to help Lorelai put their daughter to bed.

A few minutes later, Lorelai walked into the room quietly while removing the clip out of her hair.

"You aren't going to say anything?" Christopher asked her.

"What is there to say?" she responded.

"You just left and didn't come back for four hours."

"You got a phone call from Luke and you didn't tell me!"

"A hot baseball player is calling up my wife, begging her to come back to him. Like hell was I gonna tell you and basically give you permission to go running back to that town."

"I am not your wife yet! And he was calling because his father, the man who saved my life and your daughter's life as a matter of fact, is lying in a hospital on his death bed!"

"Boo hoo, he saved you from having to go out and get your own job instead of marrying me when I first asked. You know life isn't that easy. Not everyone has people handing jobs and places to live to them!"

"How dare you! You have no idea what I went through and how grateful I am for William and Luke's help," she tried to explain to him.

"I know you love that town, but you have to let go of that. You belong here in this life, in Hartford."

"Get a clue, Christopher. You have no position to tell me what to do. You do not know everything about me!"

"I have no position? I am going to be your husband and that means I get a say. And what is it that I don't know? You had your taste of blue-collar life with the whole working as a maid and living in a tool shed. Well, now is the time to grow up and do what is right!"

"Grow up? You need to grow up! You are acting like a little kid, throwing a fit about me visiting a dying friend. You make little things seem like the world is ending, like not telling me about Luke's phone call. Oh, that was really juicy stuff! He actually wanted to lure me to the hospital so he could have is way with me," she added sarcastically.

"Fine, you win. You went to the hospital and said goodbye to your dying friend. Now let's concentrate on the wedding," Chris gave up.

"No, we are not going to drop this. You can't just give up all the time! You are keeping things behind my back, hiding stuff, and making decisions about our money without telling me. What kind of marriage are we going to have?"

"Hey, I held up with my end of the deal."

"You have been a puppet controlled by your parents!"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I found out about your deal with my parents."

Christopher's eyes widen.

-X-

-5 Years Earlier-

"Where are you going Emily?" Richard asked.

"I am going to Stars Hollow to get Lorelai."

"It's late, go tomorrow. Besides, I do not think you will be able to do anything about this anyway. She's too stubborn to listen. I already tried."

"You did not try hard enough. That hobo said she is not there. She moved. She picked up and left again."

"Chances are she is still there," Richard tried to stay positive.

"Well, if you are not going to convince her to come back then who would?"

"I have an idea," Richard said to his wife.

"What is your brilliant idea, Richard?"

"We can send Christopher," he suggested.

"What is that boy going to do? He doesn't know what to do for himself. You tell him to jump and his jumps! He has absolutely no backbone" she spoke the last three words slowly as she realized what Richard's idea would entail. She looked up him and explained, "He'll do anything we tell him."

"Yes," he agreed.

"And Lorelai has a soft spot for him because of Rory. We can get him to convince her to come home."

"Exactly!"

"I'll call him right now."

The next afternoon Christopher arrived to the Gilmore Mansion as per request.

"Emily, how are you?" Christopher asked politely as he slipped off his coat and handed it to the maid.

"I am fine," Emily replied as she led him to the living room. "Thank you for asking, and how is school?"

"School is school; learning many things as always."

"Glad to hear schools still do that."

"Yeah, well nothing had really changed."

"Listen, Christopher, you love Lorelai correct?"

"Well, of course," he answered right away, giving Emily the answer she most likely wanted to hear.

"You love her and you would do anything to be with her?"

"Yes," he simply relied.

"Richard has managed to find out where Lorelai is. She is living in some hick town working as a maid."

"Really? Lorelai as a maid? I never would have seen that happening. Why don't you go get her back?"

"If it was that simple, do you think I would be telling you all this? Christopher, I need your help to get her back where she belongs and she needs to get married to you to repair all the damage," Emily explained.

"Emily, Lorelai is never going to agree to that last part."

"That is why I need your help. I need you to convince her to come back home and agree to marry you. You need to show her that you have become responsible and a respectable young man. You need to graduate from Princeton, settle down with a good job, get her whatever house she wants, and ask her to marry you. However, knowing Lorelai, that is not going to be enough. You must agree to anything she suggests. If she is still saying no, come up with another plan that she will agree to. You know her better than anyone else."

"Emily," he spoke in protest, "I don't-"

"No, Christopher," Emily interrupted, "you have no choice. You will do this. You will do this for your daughter and Lorelai. You will do this to remove some of the shame your actions have brought upon your parents. And if that is not enough, Richard and I will give you any money you will need. For gifts, cars, the wedding, money to take her out or even for your pocket, but only if you do right by my daughter and bring her home."

Almost immediately, he replied, "Alright, I guess I'll do it."

"Good," Emily smiled. "Oh yes, do not tell Lorelai about this. This all has to seem entirely your idea."

-X-

-Present day-

"What are you talking about?" Christopher asked, playing the ignorant card.

"Cut the crap, Chris. I know the only reason we are getting married now is because my mother made you ask me, and volunteered to pay for it," Lorelai told him.

Chris let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding.

"Well, I just needed a little push. My feelings are real," he told her with all the charm he had. However, in his mind he was relieved that she had not found out his actual deal with Emily. The money and request from Emily and Richard was just something small compared to what he had actually done with some of the money he had received.

"I just really wish you didn't agree to let them pay, but Sweetie, you need to know how to make your own decisions and the right ones. You can't just do whatever Emily and Richard, or Straub and Francine want."

"Alright."

"Good, now it's late, I'm tired, and I'm going to bed. This whole conversation is not over yet," she reminded him.

-X-

-Hospital-

"Lorelai, are you going to sit here all day?" William questioned her.

"I'm making up for lost time. What is wrong with that?"

"And where is Miss Rory? She's only in Kindergarten; she has to be out of school by now. It's passed three."

"Rory had a play day with one of her friends so she was picked up by her friend's nanny. I have to pick her up around five, so I am all yours."

"Why do you want to spend your time with an old, dying man and his grumpy son," he asked causing Luke to groan at the mention of his name.

"I am not grumpy," Luke defended himself.

"Back in the day, you weren't so grumpy. In fact, as I remember, you were pretty cocky. Your attitude was, 'Oh, I'm Luke Danes. I am going to make lots of money playing pro baseball with my long hair and rocking out with my band on the weekends,'" Lorelai described.

"Think whatever you want, I was young back them."

"I am going get some food. Would anyone like anything?" Lorelai asked, getting up from her seat.

"Actually, I'll come with you. Want any tea, Dad?"

"I'll pass. I'm not up to drinking tea," William said while making a disgusted face.

"Dad, need I remind you for the thousandth time that you need to eat or drink something?"

"Yes, but that doesn't mean I will."

"I am bringing back some tea," Luke firmly told him and followed Lorelai out the door.

"Which way is the cafeteria?" Lorelai asked him?"

"This way," he pointed towards the elevator. They walked down the hall to the elevator. Lorelai pressed the down button on the wall.

"I wasn't really like that before was I?" Luke inquired.

"What? Cocky? You had quite the ego, my friend," she told him and got on to the elevator.

"And you were overly naïve," he argued.

"I was traumatized!" She defended.

"Ok, can we stop this now? It's going to get ugly," Luke said, deciding to rise above.

"Yes, but you started it. Anyway, let's move on to a new subject. How about food? What is good to eat at the café?"

"The café?" The elevator door opened, and the pair stepped out on to the hallway.

"The Cafeteria," Lorelai clarified.

"I know what it means, but it just sounds stupid. Why can't you say the whole word?"

"It saves time, Lorelai argued. "Oh, finally, we are here. I thought I was going to starve to death before we got here," she told him as Luke held the door open for her.

"Do you have to exaggerate everything?" he followed her and asked.

"I'm just hungry."

They stood in line, ordered their food, and found a table to sit at.

"You seemed distracted earlier, back in the room," Luke pointed out and took a bite of his salad.

"I just have a lot on my mind," she answered and took a bite out of her burger. After she swallowed, she started, "I had a fight with my fiancé last night."

"Want to talk about?" He offered to listen.

"It was nothing. It was just being with you guys last night that reminded me of everything he doesn't know about me."

"I am sure everything will work out. You are getting married in what? A month?"

"Yeah, it's coming around the corner."

"Are you excited? Nervous?"

"I just can't wait for it all to be over. My mother and his mother are driving me crazy. When I get home, there will probably be a thousand messages on my answering machine."

"Well, the time is getting closer and minor details have to be worked out so the day is perfect."

"What? Have you been married before? You seemed to have much knowledge," Lorelai joked.

He laughed and continued, "Never. I haven't' been hit in the head hard enough yet."

"Aww, you think it'll be that bad?"

"Look at you. You can't even stand planning your own wedding. Hell, you just had a fight with your soon-to-be husband. I'm perfectly happy by myself."

"By yourself forever?"

"Yes."

"Oh really, you don't like the sound of coming home from work to your lovely, beautiful wife, who loves you, eating dinner together with some kids sitting next to you. Then tucking them in at night and going to bed next to your beautiful wife and walking up with her," she painted a picture for him.

"Whoa, I have imaginary kids in your story?"

"Are you really that repulsed by marriage?"

"It's a trap and that 'beautiful wife' you are talking about is probably going to stop being 'beautiful' the day after we say 'I do'. What good does marriage do anyway? It just stirs up more trouble."

"So you are only after women for sex?" She analyzed.

"I didn't say that," he found him defending himself again.

"You are afraid of commitment," she accused.

"I'm afraid of commitment?" he said with disbelief. "You are the one who is afraid of the truth."

"What?"

"You need to tell him the truth."

"What truth?"

"The same thing we were talking about last night. Stop denying it and pretending you don't know what I am talking about."

"He doesn't need to know," she placed a fry in her mouth.

"You are about to marry him. He deserves to know."

"It's my life," she claimed.

"Fine, it is your life."

"You know what? You are right. I should tell him because I am not afraid of the truth."

"Fine, prove it. Go tell him now," he challenged.

"I will, as soon as I finish my food," Lorelai took up Luke on his challenge.

She finished the remaining of her fries and told him, "Let me say goodbye to you dad and I'll stop by the firm."

-X-

-An Hour Later-

Lorelai pulled into the parking lot of the firm Christopher and Straub worked at. She walked through the front door. Greeting the receptionist, she took a deep breath and walked to the elevator. She rode it to the third floor and made her way towards the back of the building, smiling and saying hello to the people she recognized. Lorelai approached Christopher's office. The door was closed and the secretary's desk outside was empty. Without thinking, she turned the chrome doorknob and pushed the door open to see Christopher's secretary lying half-naked on his desk, her blouse sitting atop a high filing cabinet. Christopher hovered on top of her, shirtless with his pants half-undone, sucking on her neck. Both too were too preoccupied to hear the door open.

Lorelai gasped loudly, snapping Christopher and his secretary back to reality. He turned his head towards the door wearing a deer- in-headlights look.

"I should be more surprised, than I am, right?" Lorelai simply stated and walked back out, closing the door behind her.

-X-

TBC!

Wow, that was a longest chapter yet!

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