Chapter Thirteen: I'm on my knees in fascination…

Wednesday was Rory's birthday, and she had taken off the entire week to spend with Laylee, which was going reasonably well, if a little shakily. Rory was a little frustrated by (and more than a little jealous of) Laylee's constant desire to run off to the inn or the diner, but she didn't know why Laylee was always hightailing it over to Nonna without her.

Laylee and Lorelai were planning one hell of a surprise party (Lorelai's words, not Laylee's: the latter does not like the taste of soap) for Rory's thirty-ninth birthday party, one that involved the decoration of the entire town square and the flying in of a few of Rory's more geographically distant friends. Lorelai was to oversee the decorating on the day of, which left Laylee to the distracting. It was Wednesday morning before school, and she still had not yet chosen her mode of distraction while she idly itched the half-inch of skin accessible under her cast and slumped against her grandpa's diner's counter.

"Hey there, Tom Sawyer," a voice interrupted her musings.

"I think I'm more Huck Finn, Jess," she responded. "Jess! Ack! You can't be here."

"Jeez, Lay, way to make a guy feel welcome," Jess Mariano greeted just as sarcastically as ever, though there was much more affection evident in his tone than he would ever have allowed before.

"No! I'm glad to see you," Laylee babbled, "I just… Mom's meeting me here for breakfast any minute and she can't see you."

"Don't worry, Tom, I'm just headed up to the apartment. I'll make myself scarce. See you tonight? Hey, Luke."

"Hey, Jess," Luke grunted affectionately in return as he brought out Laylee's bacon and eggs. "Everything's set up for you upstairs."

"Thanks. I'm gonna run up and hide before Tom Sawyer here has an aneurism."

"That's appreciated: Lorelai would be upset."

"Huck Finn!" Laylee cried to Jess's retreating, leather jacket-clad back. When he had disappeared, she muttered, "Hooligan."

"Stop hanging around your grandmother," Luke commanded, small grin barely visible.

"You first," Laylee shot back. "Hey… I'm stuck."

"Again? I told you not to put your legs through the back of the chair."

"Ha ha. I mean I don't know how to distract Mom tonight."

"Get your uncles to help: tell your mom you wanna get ice cream with them in Hartford after Will's practice."

"You're brilliant, Luka!" Laylee giggled, leaning over to kiss his cheek. "Can you call and leave a message on Will's phone, telling him the plan?"

"Of course. Eat your breakfast and drink your orange juice."

After school, Laylee buzzed through her homework and then told her mother of her brilliant idea.

"It's your birthday after all, Mom, and since Nonna and Luka have to work late, the boys and I want to spend it with you."

"In Hartford?"

"Will wants us to try this new place that he found the other day."

"Alright, we'll head over there. Finished your homework?"

"Ma'am, yes, ma'am," Laylee grinned, faking a salute.

"Alright. Get your coat; it's chilly out there."

"Yes, Mom."

Jack and Natalie sat on his front porch swing, nestled in under a blanket to ward off the chill left by the setting October sun, his arm around her shoulder, his hat cocked playfully on her head, backwards of course.

"You're gonna catch a cold," Natalie scolded, indicating his hair, still wet from his post-practice shower.

"Then you can make me some soup."

"Grump."

"Nag."

Natalie stuck out her tongue and returned her head to his shoulder, continuing to wait for Rory and Laylee.

"Hey, Jack?"

"Yeah?"

"You do know that you have to drive in a car with Laylee and Rory all the way to Hartford tonight, right?"

"Yeah," Jack said, more than a little introspectively. "I know."

"Do you want me to come with?"

"No. No, I'm okay. This is a necessary step. Laylee and I are starting to get back to normal… This's gotta go alright."

"Okay… So this party's gonna be big tonight, huh?"

Jack looked down at her, smiling at the way she seemed to know when he was finished with a subject and tried to cheer him up.

"We had to get a special waiver from Taylor. One of the festivities is against the law."

"No way!" Natalie exclaimed excitedly, sitting up. She grinned and raised her eyebrows, fingers intertwined with his. "Is it appropriate for Connor to see?"

"Nat, dirty," he complained with a groan, Natalie's oh-so-dirty mind popping up at the strangest moments. "It was Lay's idea."

"Well, alright. That makes me feel better. I'll be helping your mom and Sookie with the decorations after you head off. Need me to do anything while you're gone?"

"Keep Mom and Dad from strangling Taylor?" he teased, affectionately watching her bubble.

"Hey, I'm good… but I'm not that good. Your mom's scary when she gets mad. Remember that one time…"

"Yeah, but Will deserved it."

Natalie laughed. "Of course. How come the oldest always gets the blame?"

"We're twins… No oldest business. He's just the one to get in trouble because he does trouble-worthy things."

"I don't think trouble-worthy is a word."

"It is if you put a hyphen."

"Aha! You have been paying attention in English class."

"I might've picked something up."

"When you're not too busy daydreaming about me…"

"Oh, of course," Jack grinned at the joke that had become common between them in the three months they had known each other.

They lapsed back into silence as Natalie spread her legs over Jack's lap and leaned against the armrest of the swing. Rory and Laylee showed up a few minutes later, driving the rental car, a Mazda mini-SUV Laylee had fallen in love with. She had given up her 'Stang dreams somewhere around Monday and was currently campaigning for one of these. Laylee leaned over from the backseat and awkwardly honked the horn. She then rolled down the window.

"Get off your girlfriend and get your bum in the car, Jacky! We've got ice cream to eat."

"Ma'am, yes, ma'am," Jack playfully saluted in a gesture the little girl had mimicked just minutes before, feeling more comfortable with Laylee with every passing tease. He leaned over and kissed Natalie goodbye for a little longer than Laylee seemed to like.

"Oh gross! Let's go, please!"

Jack smiled and kissed Natalie's cheek once more for good measure, stealing his hat back. "See you tonight."

"Enjoy your ice cream in fifty-degree weather!" she called after him as he hopped down the stairs and positioned his cap atop his head.

Jack rolled his eyes and pulled open the rear passenger door.

"Move over, short stuff. I'm keeping you company in the back."

"So what? I'm the chauffer?" Rory playfully objected.

"Yes!" Laylee agreed from beside Jack. "Forward, Franklin!"

"Franklin?" the mother questioned.

The daughter shrugged (as best her pink arm with embroidered bright purple sling, courtesy Nonna, allowed her) and answered, "Seemed like a good chauffer name."

"I'm a woman."

Laylee raised one eyebrow in a very "duh" face.

"Okay then… Let's get going. You know the way, Laylee?"

"Nope. Will said to meet him at Chilton and then follow him there."

"Sounds good."

She pulled the car away from the curb and down the street, Jack and Laylee leaning out of the window to wave to Natalie.

"Hey, happy birthday, sis."

"Uh, Jacky… who's that girl?" Laylee questioned, leaning over her uncle to look at her other uncle leaning against his car and talking to a girl in a Chilton uniform.

"I dunno…"

"Doesn't Will have a girlfriend? Julia, right?"

"Right."

"And she goes to school with you?"

"Right."

"So who's the chick?"

"I'm not so sure, Lay… I'll go find out."

Jack climbed out of the car and approached the two students.

"Jack!" Will recognized him and called him over.
"Ah, so there really are two of you," the girl smirked. "Caroline Brewington."

"Jack Danes," the non-Chilton twin introduced himself, extending his hand.

"I'm new; your brother's been showing me around."

"He's a good guy. When he tries," Jack added a grin to that one, cuffing his brother lightly on the shoulder then jerking his head back towards the car. "The little one's getting impatient."

"The little one? Is this your sordid secret, Will?"

Will laughed. "No. Our niece. She's ten. We're taking her mom, our big sister, out for ice cream for her birthday."

The horn honked behind them.

"And that would be the infamous Gilmore impatience," Will grinned. "I better get going."

"Me, too," Caroline admitted, retrieving her book bag from the hood of Will's car.

"You have my number if you need any help with homework, right? I'm always reachable on my cell."

"Got it," Caroline smiled and left them.

"You're in so much trouble," Jack said as soon as she was far enough off.

"What?" Will cried innocently.

"When you and Julia break up, I'm keeping my lab partner and getting a new brother."

"Julia and I are not breaking up!"

"Uh-huh…" Jack didn't sound like he believed his twin much. He cupped his mouth and shouted over to the their sister, gesturing to the sedan beside him. "Rory! I'm ridin' with Will." Lowering his tone, he continued, "Get in the car, Will. You've got some 'splainin' to do."

"Ugh. Look at you and the cute pop culture references. That's just weird. And what the hell are we talking about?"

"Caroline."

"We're just friends."

"Uh-huh."

"I wouldn't cheat on Julia."

"Uh-huh."

"Jack! I would never cheat on a girl!" Will objected, sliding behind the wheel as Jack claimed the passenger seat.

This time Jack just sent a doubtful look.

"Shut the hell up," Will grumbled. "You know I would never cheat."

"On purpose. At the least, you're dancin' too close to the fire. That girl has flirt all over her, and you don't have your girlfriend here with you all day to remind you how good you have it."

"Hey, I know I'm not Mr. Serial Monogamy like you and Dad, but when I say I'm exclusive with someone, I'm exclusive. I don't cheat."

" 'The lady doth protest too much, methinks.'"

Will gave his brother a punch in the arm. "I'm not a lady."

Jack snorted.

"And what's with the Shakespeare references?"

Jack shrugged. "Just be careful, okay? Julia's my friend, and I don't want to see her get hurt."

They ate their ice cream and trekked back to the Hollow in their tiny caravan of two. Will, leading the way, pulled his car up into his driveway, Rory following suit.

"Let's go see Luka at the diner!" Laylee bubbled a typical request for seven o'clock in the evening, slamming the car door and grabbing her mother's arm.

Rory acquiesced, and the quartet set out to the diner in the dark. As they approached town square, Rory slowed down and Laylee fought excited giggles, left fingers tangled into her mother's.

"What did you do?"

"Laylee and Mom did it," Will grinned, gently pushing his sister towards the glittering square. "With a little help from the rest of us."

The gazebo was outlined in white lights, not an uncommon sight, but on top of that, strings of lights traversed the space above their heads, zipping from light pole to light pole, crisscrossing the square. Lane was in a DJ booth to the left of the gazebo, headphones around her neck in her usual stance, bringing flashbacks of the birthday girl's youth. The people of Stars Hollow, young and old, were crowded into the square, erupting into a rousing rendition of "Happy Birthday" at the sight of the foursome. Luke and Lorelai emerged from the crowd, each pulling Rory into a hug and kiss.

Laylee remained glued to her mother's side as they flitted around the square, meeting up with everyone.

After a few moments, as Lane kicked up the jams again, Laylee pulled Rory's ear down to the level of her lips.

"You've got some more surprises in the gazebo."

Rory paused. "More?"

"Yup yup. Are you excited?"

"Of course. Thank you so much, tesoro." She kissed her daughter's temple and hugged her close.

"'Course," Laylee grinned deprecatingly, almost embarrassedly, a hot blush filling her already flushed cheeks. "Now, come on!"

She pulled her mother into the gazebo, where Jess, Paris, and Marty were waiting.

"Oh my God! Laylee!"

"Happy Birthday!"

Rory pulled each of her friends into a quick hug and then turned back to her daughter.

"You're spoiling me, Laylee."

Again, Laylee shrugged and then wriggled from her mother's grasp. "Gotta run. Stuff to plan. Uncles to check up on."

"She's huge!" Marty was the first to comment as Laylee disappeared from view. He had last seen her on her seventh birthday, and she'd grown numerous inches since then. He himself was a father of two, a boy and a girl, twelve and six, who were home in Boston with his wife.

"Just like her grandma, too. Always giving me a hard time," Jess added. "Just today we had a nice argument over whether she was more Tom Sawyer or Huck Finn."

Jess saw Laylee the most often, at least once a year at Thanksgiving and sometimes at Christmas and random visits in between, too. Their relationship, while affectionate, was filled with bickering and teasing, and as Laylee grew up, Jess was enjoying her more and more eloquent barbs.

"With pluck like that, she is all Huck Finn," the affectionately-dubbed "Aunt Paris" countered. Paris had flown in from Baltimore, where she worked in the O.R. at Johns Hopkins and served as editor of the medical journal. "She called me up like it was a business call, very serious, 'Aunt Paris, Mom's birthday is in two weeks. Be there, please.' As soon as I said yes, of course, she deteriorated into giggling, but I guess that's to be expected at her age."

"And with her genes," Rory grinned, watching her daughter skip over to Jack, Will, Natalie, and Julia, pulling the twins away from their girlfriends and into Miss Patty's dance studio.

"Rory!" Lorelai called into her, breezing into the gazebo, "Sorry, I have to steal the birthday girl quick; the extra-special surprise is coming up, and she has to be outside of here to witness it."

"Another surprise? Witness it? What are you up to?"

Lorelai grinned, and Paris and Marty joined her, Jess looking aloofly interested.

"It's a good one, Rory," Marty assured her. "Let's go."

They joined the rest of the party in turning towards Miss Patty's, where Rory made out the outlines of figures on the roof.

"Mom…. What are Jack and Will doing on the roof?" Rory asked warily.

"Oh, you'll see."

Laylee skipped out of Miss Patty's to join her mother, standing in front of her and tipping back her head to catch her mother's eyes.

"Ready, Mom?"

"I guess…" Rory answered nervously.

"Hit it, Aunt Lane!"

Lane began a montage of Rory's favorite songs, and the first fireworks exploded in the air above the dance studio, followed by a gasp from the crowd and a loud whoop of joy from the Danes boys, the fireworks artists.

The boys set off another series of fireworks, the discharges echoing off of the surrounding buildings and shaking the spectators' sternums.

In a brief lull in the nearly ceaseless series of explosions, Will's figure was seen approaching the edge of the studio roof, cupping his hands to his mouth, and shouting in a thoroughly elated, adrenaline-charged voice: "Happy birthday, Sis! We love you!" just as Jack set off a rocket behind him, eliciting a gasp from Lorelai and an "Ah, shit!" from Will as he ducked back to join his brother.

Laughter rumbled through the crowd as the boys finished a rousing barrage of fireworks as a grand finale. Laylee's good hand was firmly attached to her mother's, and her eyes were upturned to the fireworks with captivated joy.

"That girl loves you so much," Lorelai leaned in to whisper in Rory's ear. "What are you going to do about it?"

Rory paused, then opened her mouth to respond, but was drowned out as the crowd began to cheer as the smoke-filled sky began to clear and Jack and Will emerged from the dance studio.

"Jackman Gilmore Danes! You are in so much trouble!" Lorelai cried as she moved to intercept the twins. "You almost blew up your brother!"

Jess carried a sleeping Laylee home around midnight that night. Rory was a little too tipsy to drive the rental car home considering recent events and decided instead to walk. Laylee had fallen asleep with her Luka on a bench around ten. When Lorelai and Rory came to wake them as midnight approached and the party died down, Luke defended against their teasing with the assertion that she was too young to be up this late and he was too old.

Laylee's much beloved (much to his affected chagrin) Jess set her down in her bed and then joined her mother at the kitchen table. Rory offered him a glass of water, and they fell into their old comfort as she poured out her concerns over Laylee and her recent discussions with her mother. This practice had become common since just after her twenty-first birthday; they were cousins now, and it was a relationship that came very close to summing them up. Closer than just friends and certainly no longer romantic, they were most definitely soul mates, but only on a platonic, almost familial level.

"You know," Jess said as Rory fell into silence after airing her thoughts. "The publishing company I work for is looking for a new editor. It's a pretty nice gig: good pay, work from wherever you want, maybe a weekend of travel a month. I know it's not your dream, but you could try it until Lay gets a little older, more self-sufficient."

"I don't know, Jess…"

"Look, Rory, you said you're upset 'cause Luke and Lorelai are raising your kid since you're never here. So… be here. Raise your kid. You've only got eight years left… that's over half your time with her."

"Since when did you get so interested in child-rearing?"

"Laylee's special. She's a bright kid, but she's gonna need a lot of direction. She's got a lot of your mom in her, and as much as I hate to admit it, your mom was right when she said I was a lot like her as a teenager."

Rory laughed a little. "I doubt Laylee will don a leather coat and pull a James Dean."

Jess raised an eyebrow. "You never know. Better watch out. You know my office number; if you're interested, call and ask for a guy named Mark Percy. Tell him you're a friend of mine and you wanna talk about becoming an editor."

They talked for a few more minutes about life in Philadelphia and Jess's newest book before they were both falling asleep at the table.

"I better walk back to the apartment. Comin' by for breakfast in the morning?"

"Of course: Laylee doesn't eat breakfast anywhere else, and how else would she get the packed lunch Luke always sends to school with her?"

Jess chuckled a little and took his leave, leaving Rory leaning on the frame to Laylee's bedroom, watching her little girl sleep. She wondered what a Laylee raised by Salvatore would be like; he was always the more kid-oriented member for their relationship, and he would have made a wonderful father, something she realized on their first visit to the States when Jack and Will were four.

"You don't have to be nervous," Rory teased, placing a hand warmly on Salvatore's upper arm as she veered off at the exit to Stars Hollow. "Mom and the boys are going to just love you."

"And your step-father?" Salvatore asked, looking just a little on edge.

Rory paused and then smiled sympathetically, patting his knee. "Mom and the boys are going to just love you."

Salvatore groaned lightly, threading his fingers through her own and leaning his head back against the headrest.

"It's nothing personal, Salvatore; Luke's always been very, very, very protective of my mom and me. He wasn't even comfortable with his own nephew dating me before my parents got married. Once he gets to know you, he'll be fine."

Salvatore nodded skeptically. "So, do I have this straight? Your parents are Mr. and Mrs. Danes."

"Luke and Lorelai… Err, maybe Lorelai and Mr. Danes would be better to start off with."

Salvatore caught the wicked glint in Rory's eye. "You are getting too much pleasure from this, bella. Now let me concentrate. I do not want to mix people up. Your brothers are Will and Jack, right?"

"Right. Now, they're four, and freakishly identical, so don't feel bad if you can't tell them apart. Some big clues: Will, when wearing a baseball cap, only wears his cap forwards. Jack, always backwards. Will is usually attached to Luke. Jack is always attached to Mom. Umm, Jack tends to wear a lot of flannel, but seeing as it's June I'm not sure how that'll help… They might try to mess with your head and confuse you as to who is who; they have too much of our mom in them."

"Okay. Let me finish off the list. There are your grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Gilmore. We have dinner with them tomorrow, yes?"

"Right. And that is an experience."

"Will the rest of your family be joining us?"

"Good question. Probably not. Mom and Grandma don't get along at all, and you know about Grandma's choosing to not be apart of the twins' lives."

Salvatore nodded, remembering their past discussions and his confusion with the concept.

"Now, to round off the list, we have your step-sister. April? Like the month?"

"Exactly. April's almost eighteen; she's coming over for dinner Tuesday."

"Ah. Okay. Any other tips for your brothers?"

"They're wild, but they're good boys. They just like to play, so if you're willing to do that, you're golden. Will takes after my mom, so just giving him attention is a plus. Jack is shier, more nervous around people. He'll take more time, too."

A few moments later, Rory was pulling the car into the driveway of the Crap Shack, immediately met by two preschoolers and the mother who only had the tendency to act like one, all three clambering to engulf the big sister in a hug. The boys vied for her attention, competing with their mother as they flooded Rory with questions.

"Hey!" came a gruff cry rising above the rest. Lorelai, the twins, and a barking Paul Anka all fell silent. "Give 'er some space. We've got her for two whole weeks; we don't wanna scare her away."

Rory disentangled from the rest of her family and hugged her stepfather in greeting. "Way to regulate, Luke."

Luke chuckled. "I try."

Rory took a step back, taking her place at Salvatore's side.

"Okay, everyone. I want you to meet Salvatore d'Arielli. Salvatore, these are my parents, Luke and Lorelai…"

Salvatore extended his hand, shaking Luke's firmly and Lorelai's gently, a smile on his face.

"And this little monster is Will," Rory then laughed, picking the boy at her side up around the middle, his blond hair fanning out wildly as he flopped around and giggled at her antics. Salvatore managed to give the boy a high five. Rory set Will down and retrieved the other boy, who stood at his mother's side with a baseball cap backwards on his head. Squatting to his height, Rory put her arms around his shoulders and presented him: "This is Jack: the only sane one in the family."

Salvatore smiled warmly and held out his hand as he squatted down as well. Jack looked wary.

"You're Worwy's boyfriend."

"That's right," Salvatore answered gently, voice low. "I love your sister very much."

This seemed to allay some of the small boy's fears. Jack nodded and smiled the tiniest bit. "I love Worwy, too." He took the proffered hand and shook it in a very grown-up fashion, quickly withdrawing it to join the other wrapped around Lorelai's leg.

"You're nice to Rorwy?" Will, the more articulate of the two, asked, his flushed face more serious as he watched the exchange between the newcomer and his brother.

"He is," Rory assured the boys. "Do you boys want to show Salvatore your room? I bet he wants to see your train set."

The twins brightened at this.

"C'mon, Sally!" Will cried, taking the stranger's hand and dragging him towards the house to view the electric train tracks that circled the boys' room at their shoulder level, complete with a bridge that allowed the engines to continue on their travels into the elaborate model of Stars Hollow sitting on what once was Rory's desk. It was the boys' version of a dollhouse (Lorelai's sat upstairs, and often times the citizens of the desk Stars Hollow hopped into plastic airplanes and performed rescue missions while repelling from the chimney of said dollhouse) and even at four, they were acting out great epics in the streets and on the train tracks.

As he was being forced into the house, Salvatore passed a grin over his shoulder at Rory, assuring her that he was just fine with the whole thing.

"I like him," Lorelai declared from her place beside Rory as soon as they thought Salvatore was out of earshot.

"He ain't too bad," Luke grumbled. "We'll see how he turns out."

Author's Note: Well obviously, this story breaks off from the show after The Prodigal Daughter Returns. April exists, and I'll try to incorporate pieces from the show as they come along, but this is new territory for me. Also, Christopher is not loaded and the Gilmores paid for Yale just like they agreed to. And Luke and Lorelai, as mentioned earlier in Richard's flashback, got married in April of 2006, 'cause why should we have to wait a moment longer than necessary!

Also, Chapter 12's awkward Luke/Lorelai/Max moment is dedicated to smegasis for the suggestion and therefore inspiration. The Salvatore flashback is dedicated to Word Nerds, even though it isn't the flashback asked for, at least it's some Salvatore.