Part 7: Not So Cool Mom

"Ugh," Lorelai groaned from her position on the bed that Rory had just gotten out of.

"Sorry," Rory murmured.

"Ready?" Lorelai heard another voice ask. Cracking an eye open and turning around she saw Rory and Steph dressed and combed, ready to go.

"Where are you two going this early?" Lorelai asked, her voice raspy.

"The guys are all hung over from the party last night, so it's our job to nurse them back to health," Steph explained.

Lorelai frowned. "Aren't they too young to be drinking?"

"Tristan is nineteen," Steph said. "But it's never stopped him."

"And Finn is twenty-one," Rory told her, causing Lorelai to shoot up in bed.

"He is?"

Rory nodded slowly, pausing her movement in putting her hair in a ponytail. "Yeah."

"I didn't know that!"

"Mom, he told us yesterday that he was going to drink himself in oblivion."

"I thought he was kidding."

"Finn never kids about drinking. If he drinks, he goes all out," Steph told her.

"He turned twenty-one in March," Rory told her.

"And have you been…" Lorelai trailed off, trying to keep her name of 'cool mom'.

"No," Rory told her. "And neither does he. He doesn't drink when he's around me, even though I tell him it's all right."

"Finn's sweet like that. He wouldn't jeopardize anyone's life by drinking and driving," Steph reassured Lorelai.

"Hung over he'll drive anywhere though," Rory pointed out, putting on her lip gloss.

"Just give him some sunglasses and he's good to go," Steph said.

"All right," Lorelai said.

"Mom, it's fine," Rory said, grabbing her bag. "I'll be back later."

"Bye girls," Lorelai said watching as Rory and Steph left. Not only was her baby dating a rich guy, but he was older too. Lorelai groaned as her head hit the pillow. God, this got better and better, didn't it?

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"Do you think you're mom is okay with Finn being twenty-one?" Steph asked as they walked down the stairs.

"I think she's just used to me being with guys my own age. It sort of threw her finding out that I'm dating someone three years older."

"You're eighteen?" Steph asked, pausing on the steps.

"Yeah," Rory said. "Didn't you know?"

"I thought you were nineteen."

"Nope, I turn nineteen in October."

"Learn new things everyday."

"Good morning girls," Emily greeted as she came to the stairs.

"Morning grandma."

"Morning Emily."

"Where are you off to this early in the morning?" Emily asked.

"The boys had a party so we're going to go…" Rory trailed off looking at Steph.

"Help them clean up. They probably have a huge mess in the house. There's no living with them," Steph saved.

"All right," Emily smiled. "Have fun. Rory, I saw your mom's car in the driveway."

"Yeah, she came down yesterday. She's in my room still sleeping."

"Oh, all right. Are you going to see Finn?"

"Yeah."

"Why don't you invite him to dinner tonight?"

"I'll ask him. Grandma, Steph and I should get going."

"All right. See you girls later."

Steph and Rory left the house and got in Steph's car.

"You have me spending money that I do not have," Rory listed. "And lying to my grandmother. What's next? Kicking a puppy?"

"I was thinking something bigger," Steph said driving to the house. "Like a bank heist or something."

"Can we wear Betty Doll masks?" Rory asked excitedly. "Like in Sugar and Spice?"

"I was thinking Nixon."

"Yeah, him too," Rory laughed as they pulled into the driveway. Steph turned off the car and they both got out, walking into the house.

"Oh my god," Steph said letting the door close behind Rory.

Rory took one look and gasped. "Holy-"

"It's not as bad as it looks," Colin said quickly coming out from the living room and surveying the damage.

Plastic cups, beer bottles and plates covered almost every surface of the house, along with food and liquid, causing the floor to have a sticky feel to it. Random articles of clothing were thrown around, some covering the lamps and couches, along with streamers and broken items.

The damage covered the whole house as well as outside to the beach.

"Luckily we closed off the second floor, so the only damage is down here," Colin said.

"This is almost as bad as last year. And remember, Mitchum came and chewed Logan out for it."

"We'll get it cleaned up fast," Colin nodded.

"Jeez, I don't even want to think about how it looked last year," Rory said, carefully making her way towards the stairs.

"Yeah, it was bad," Colin told her scratching his head. "Hey, maybe after you guys get done catering to your boyfriends, you want to come down and help?"

Rory and Steph looked at each other before shaking their heads.

"Nah," they replied in unison before running up the stairs, avoiding Colin's curses.

"All right," Steph said as they walked into the communal bathroom. She went to the counter and got two glasses that were always left there and filled them with water. "We'll leave Logan alone," she told Rory who was searching for aspirin.

"Well, that has 'Duh' written all over it," Rory said with a roll of her eyes.

"Sorry," Steph mumbled.

Rory gave her a small smile and handed her two aspirins and kept two herself, grabbing one of the glasses of water.

"All right," Rory said leaving the bathroom. "Which one's Finn's?"

"You haven't been up here before?"

"Nope."

"It's that one," Steph said pointing to Finn's door before going into Tristan's. Rory walked into the dark room, closing the door quietly behind her. She saw Finn sprawled on top of his bed in his boxers, the covers kicked down to the end of the bed. She put the water and aspirin on the dresser next to him and walked to the window knowing that what she was about to do was very mean, but she couldn't help herself.

Taking the ends of the curtains in her hands she flung them open, letting the bright sun pour into the room, causing Finn to jump from the bed as if he had been doused in cold water.

"Bloody hell, woman! Are you trying to kill me!" Finn yelled squeezing his eyes shut tight.

"That was my first thought, yes," Rory laughed as she sat on the bed. She noticed that his accent was much thicker than she had ever heard it before. She grabbed the water and aspirin and handed to him. "Drink up."

"You're evil," he muttered putting the white pills in his mouth and swallowing water.

"You're the one that wanted me to come and nurse you back to health. You made the mistake of not clarifying on what kind of nursing I should do."

"I have an idea," Finn said wrapping her waist and bringing her down to lie on the bed, causing her to laugh. He hovered over her and smiled. "Morning."

"Morning."

He leaned down and kissed her. Rory could taste the lingering alcohol on his lips as he kissed her.

"You taste good," she murmured against his lips.

"Scotch," he mumbled back, then pulled back. "No, wait. Rum. No…"

Rory laughed. "Just how much did you drink last night?"

"A lot," he admitted. "Though I did make it back to my bedroom by myself, so it couldn't have been that much."

"Did you get on a table and dance?" Rory teased.

Finn frowned as if concentrating, causing Rory to laugh. "I'm not quite sure, you'd have to ask Logan, Colin or Tristan about that."

"Hmm," Rory hummed wrapping her arms around his neck. "It's not important, I can ask later."

"I like you're thinking, Miss Gilmore," he said leaning down and kissing her, this time taking it a bit further than he used to. Before, he had been careful not to take the kisses too far, not wanting to push her more than she was probably ready to. Though now, he found himself nipping at her lips, causing her to open her mouth and let his tongue slip in and explore.

He liked kissing her, it was different from kissing all the other girls. She was different. He actually liked her.

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Colin tied the ends of one more black garbage bag, throwing it towards the foyer, adding it to the ever growing pile. He opened a new one and continued the collection of plates and cup just as Tristan, Steph, Finn and Rory came down the stairs.

Tristan was dressed in jeans and a white undershirt, his hair still disheveled from sleep. And Finn was in loose baggy army print pants and a loose shirt; his hair, which he was currently running his hand through, was a mess as well.

"'Bout time you got down here," Colin said throwing the box of hefty garbage bags towards Tristan.

"Actually, we were taking the girls to breakfast," Tristan said. "You're welcome to join us. I mean this is Logan's mess after all."

"Yeah, come on, Colin, take a break. I'm starving," Rory said. Colin noticed her hand was firmly in Finn's and nodded.

"Fine, let's go," he said dropping the bag. "But at least help me get these bags to the garbage bin outside."

The guys nodded and heaved the bags over their shoulders, helping Colin.

"Don't you just love watching the guys do manual labor?" Steph asked Rory who laughed.

"Yes, it's the best show to watch."

"Hardy har har," Colin said dryly giving each girl a bag. "Help."

Steph and Rory rolled their eyes as they helped the guys with the bags.

"All these bags," Rory said heaving the bag into the garbage bin. "And the house still looks like crap."

"It'll look better once we actually get the top layer off the floor and recover the floor," Tristan told her. Rory looked at him, not quite sure if he was serious or not.

"It's true," Finn said. "It happens almost every year since we've been coming here. Come on, let's go get some food."

Rory happily followed Finn, getting into his car while Tristan, Steph and Colin got in the back. Rory, now used to his tendencies to drive while hung over, grabbed his sunglasses from the glove compartment and handed them to him. He smiled gratefully at her as she slipped her own on.

"So did you girls have fun last night?" Tristan asked as they drove out of the driveway.

"Lots," Steph told him. "We ended up having our own little party."

"Mom passed out in the bed around four," Rory told them.

"She found out that her daughter was dating an older guy," Steph laughed, causing Rory to turn around and shoot her a glare.

"What?" Finn asked confused.

"Lorelai didn't know you were twenty-one," Steph told him.

"She didn't? I thought she knew I was a junior at Yale."

"She does," Roy told him. "She just didn't connect that with your age."

"It's only three years," Colin said. "I mean, when Rory turns nineteen in a few months, Finn will still be twenty-one, so the gap isn't that big."

"The gap isn't that big to begin with," Rory told him. "And my mom is fine with it. And him."

"Her getting up that fast when she found out Finn was hung over didn't seem like she was okay with it," Steph pointed out.

Rory rolled her eyes. "It caught her off guard. I don't see the big deal."

"It's not a big deal," Finn said as he parked in front of a restaurant. They all nodded and got out of the car. Finn was about to get out too when Rory grabbed his hand. "What, love?"

"Grandma wanted to know if you would have dinner with us tonight. I think me and my mom might be leaving soon, so…"

"I'll be there, love," Finn said kissing her and getting out of the car. He went around and opened her door, helping her out.

"Are you sure, you don't have to-"

"I'll be there at seven."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, now let's get something to eat."

"Thank you," she said gratefully and they caught up with the rest of the group to eat breakfast.

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Logan walked down the stairs running a hand through his hair, stopping short when he noticed the house's condition.

"Shit," he muttered to himself, going back up the stairs to get help to clean up. He hit Colin's room first, knowing that Colin hadn't nearly drunk the amount that the rest of them had, and if anyone was willing to help him clean up, it was Colin. He opened the door to be greeted to a made bed and a clean room.

He scratched his head, hopefully he went to go get something to get the beer off the hardwood floors.

He went over to Tristan's room and opened the door. The curtains were shut, the bed was unmade, but Tristan was nowhere in sight. He did see an empty water glass on the dresser though.

He sighed and went to Finn's room and opened the door carefully. They all knew that a drunk and hung over Finn that was woken up in the morning was no fun. He was surprised when he was greeted by rays of sunlight pouring into the room. Frowning he walked in.

Who the hell would open Finn's curtains when he was hung over?

He also noticed a half-filled water glass sitting on the dresser and a girl's coat on the bed.

Rory and Steph, he thought as he left the room and went back downstairs.

"It's true!" He heard as he walked down the stairs. He saw Colin, Steph, Tristan, Finn and Rory walking into the living room carefully.

"Come on, Rory," Tristan laughed. "A deer hitting you?"

"Tristan," Rory warned. "You should have seen my mother's jeep, huge dent in the side of the car. Ask my mom!"

"Did you ever find the deer, love?" Finn laughed along, closing the door.

"No. Though yelling at Tristan and Paris was fun."

"Yelling at Tristan is always fun," Steph agreed.

"Thank god, Paris is going to college far far away." Rory muttered.

"Where the hell have you guys been?" Logan asked making his way to the group carefully.

"Rory and Steph were hungry," Colin blamed.

"Wuss," Steph muttered.

"The house is a mess and you guys go to breakfast?"

"Hey!" Colin protested. "We took out about twenty full trash bags to the dumpster before leaving. All of which I collected. I wouldn't be the one complaining. Get a bag and start picking up instead of standing there and yelling at us. If I remember correctly, it was your idea to throw that stupid party in the first place, so you should be the one waking up at six in the morning to clean up."

They all stared at Colin in disbelief. He never once rose his voice unless it was warranted. Logan just turned and climbed up the steps, followed by a slamming door.

"I think that's a sign for me to go home," Rory said.

"Stay and help," Steph said. "Trust me, we need it."

Rory sighed and nodded. "Just for a little while. I have to talk to my mom."

They all nodded, got trash bags and started picking things up. About an hour later they had recovered the floor and Steph and Rory swept and mopped the stickiness, making the hardwood floors gleam while the guys started on the outside.

"All right," Rory said propping the mop on the wall, looking at the shiny floor. "I have got to get home."

"Bye Ror," Steph said starting to pick up the clothes and throwing them on the growing pile in the corner.

"Bye," she walked outside and found Finn on the beach, picking up the cups.

"Hey," Finn said straightening.

"Hey back, I have to get going."

"Want me to walk you?"

"Nah, I'm fine. I'll see you tonight?"

"Of course."

She leaned up and kissed him, smiling against his lips. "I really, really like you," she murmured. Finn smiled back.

"That's good, seeing as I really, really like you."

"See you at seven."

"Bye," Finn smiled as he watched her leave.

"Wow," Colin said, as he and Tristan stood next to Finn, watching her leave as well. "That was probably one of the mushiest things I've ever seen."

"Yeah, they're worse than me and Steph."

Finn glared at them and took his bag back to the house. "Oh, sod off!"

"I love when we get him so riled up that his accent thickens," Colin laughed.

"It is fun, isn't it?" Tristan agreed.

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Rory smoothed the dress over her stomach as she pulled on the little coat to make the strapless dress more modest.

"Hey babe," Lorelai said as she came in and sat on the bed.

"Hi mom," Rory said smiling at her through the mirror as she fixed her curls.

"So I was thinking-"

"That's never good."

"Ha, ha," Lorelai replied dryly.

"So you were thinking?" Rory asked.

"Right, how 'bout we head home on Saturday morning?"

Rory turned. "That's in two days."

"Yeah."

"Not even two days. It's the rest of this night, tomorrow, then home."

"Yeah," Lorelai nodded.

"But-"

"I know, your friends and Finn, but hon, you've been here almost three months."

"I know," Rory said, still not quite believing what was going on.

"It's time to go home, time to see your other friends. You know, Lane, Stars Hollow."

"No, I know."

"Then we also have to start getting ready for Yale."

"I know."

"Rory, I know you don't want to leave Finn, but he's still going to be your boyfriend here and in Stars Hollow."

"I know."

"Is it okay?"

"It's fine."

"I'll let you spend the whole day tomorrow with him if you want."

"It's fine," Rory said frowning. "Are you okay with Finn?"

"Why do you ask?"

Rory shrugged as she left the room. "Never mind, maybe it's just me. I'll see you downstairs."

"Ror," Lorelai got off the bed and watched as Rory walked down the stairs. She heard the doorbell ring and sighed as she went downstairs. She had a feeling this wasn't going to be a pleasant dinner.

"Finn," she heard her mother exclaim as she reached the first floor. "It's so great you were able to make it."

"Thank you for inviting me, Emily."

"You've of course met our daughter Lorelai."

"Yes, yesterday afternoon. It's great to see you again."

"You too, Finn," she smiled slightly at him as they walked into the living room where Rory and her father were waiting.

"Ah Finn," Richard greeted.

"Hello Richard," Finn said as he smiled over at the older man.

"Your usual?" Richard asked.

"Please," Finn smiled. He smiled over at Rory and kissed her cheek. "You look wonderful, love," he whispered in her ear.

"Thanks. Don't look half bad yourself." They sat down side by side on the couch. Richard handed Finn his drink and Rory her club soda.

"Lorelai? Would you like something?"

"Um, vodka martini with an olive."

"All right," he went and got the drinks.

"So how are you, Finn?" Emily asked. "We've haven't seen you in a while."

"I've been fine."

"We heard you had quite the party last night," Richard laughed.

Finn cast a glance at Rory who gave him an innocent smile. "I'm not sure what Rory's told you, but it was big."

"Three boxes of garbage bags just to get rid of the debris," Emily told him.

"Ah-" Finn laughed. "It was actually four. She left just as we opened the new one. We found that some people made it past our eyes and ended up in some of the guestrooms. I must say Rory is really handy with a mop."

"You mopped?" Lorelai asked with a raised eyebrow.

Rory shrugged. "The floor was really sticky and Steph had just gotten her nails done."

"Mrs. Gilmore, dinner's ready," the maid said.

"Thank you, Clara," Emily smiled. They all got up and headed towards the dining room. Finn and Rory sat at the same side, Lorelai across from them as Emily and Richard sat at their usual places at the head of the table. The salads were served and they all ate in relative silence.

"So Finn," Richard began swallowing the lettuce, "How are the plans for Fiji coming?"

"Fine, Richard," Finn told him. "Logan is getting the boat ready and has been for some time now. We've got all the ports planned out and I've even found out the best phone reception for all of them." He winked at Rory who laughed.

"Are you leaving right away?" Emily asked.

"No, after the end of this week. We've got two weeks to spend with our families."

"Your father must be happy about that."

"He is," Finn nodded. "I've heard rumblings that my little sister is in town for a visit before her schooling starts, so I might be able to spend some time with her before she leaves."

"Shelby, right?" Rory asked.

"Right," Finn said with a nod.

"Are you close to your sister?" Lorelai asked. The first thing she had said since dinner began caused them all to look at her.

"Yes," Finn said. "I try to talk to her when I can. Though she lives with my mum in Australia, so I don't see them often."

"How old are you sisters?" Lorelai asked.

"My oldest sister Amelia is twenty-four and Shelby is fourteen."

"And you're twenty-one?"

"Yes," Finn answered.

"Lorelai," Emily warned.

"Sorry," Lorelai muttered, clearly not meaning it.

Rory frowned at her mother as she pushed her empty salad plate away. What was going on? Hadn't her mother said that she was okay with Finn? While the salad plates were cleared and dinner was served, Rory looked at her mother oddly, trying to figure out what was going on in that head of hers. Then it clicked.

"Oh my god," Rory muttered, causing everyone to look at her.

"What is it, Rory?" Emily asked.

Rory looked at her mother. "Can I talk to you outside for a minute?"

"Rory," Lorelai protested.

"Please?"

Lorelai sighed before getting up. They excused themselves and left the dining room and went outside.

"Rory, what is it?"

"You're afraid I'm going to have sex," Rory accused.

"What!" Lorelai asked taking a step back.

"You're afraid that I'm thinking about sleeping with Finn."

"No."

"Mom?"

"All right!"

"Ha," Rory said triumphantly.

Lorelai heaved a sigh as she sat down at the lawn chair, placing her head in her hands. "All right, it's true. It's just he's older…"

"By three years, mom. I'm eighteen," Rory said sitting down next to her. "I mean that's not really an excuse for me to jump into bed with him and give up my virginity. But I mean, I'm at the age where I can make the decision for myself, mom."

"He's twenty-one," Lorelai protested.

Rory laughed. "And dad was seventeen when you slept with him."

"It was a one year difference, Rory. That's a difference."

"I like Finn, mom," Rory said with a smile. "I really, really like Finn. I think he's made me happier in the last month than Dean and Jess have in years. He makes me smile and laugh and I really don't think that he's going anywhere anytime soon. But I mean, we just made it official two days ago, mom," Rory told her, touching the ring around her neck. "I'm not going to sleep with him. And he knows that and he respects that."

"I know, but…"

"The age never bugged me. I still don't know why it bugs you," Rory shrugged. "He's twenty-one, I'm eighteen, turning nineteen in a few months."

"God, when the hell did you grow up?"

"I don't think I was ever a kid," Rory said with a frown.

"Yeah, I think you were born a grown up," Lorelai said wrapping an arm around her daughter and kissed her temple. "So you really like him, huh?"

"I really, really like him,"

"Yeah, so do I, babe."

"Come on, let's go back to dinner. I think they're all wondering what's going on," Rory said getting up.

"How'd you figure it out?" Lorelai asked as she stood up and walked inside.

"You kept having this fixation on him being twenty-one," Rory told her. "And then I remembered that conversation that we had when I was with Jess. And I remembered the face."

"What face?" Lorelai asked pausing inside the door.

"The 'oh crap my daughter wants to have sex' face."

"Oh, that one."

"You had that same face when you asked Finn if he was twenty-one. Sort of pieced it together then."

"I do trust you, you know. It's not that I don't."

"I know, mom."

"All right, let's go."

They walked back to the table and sat down. Finn leaned into Rory.

"Everything all right, love?"

"Perfect," she whispered. "Just something we had to talk about."

"All right."

"So, you'll never guess what Kirk did last week," Lorelai announced to the table. Rory smiled, her mother was back. But she still had a feeling something was bothering her. But Rory doubted that it was anything really big.

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Rory walked Finn out to his car. He leaned against the driver's door and put his hands on her waist, bringing her closer.

"Are you sure everything's all right?" He asked.

"My mom thought I wanted to have sex."

"Oh," Finn said raising his eyebrows. "Do you?"

Rory laughed. "At some point," she admitted. "But not now, I'm not ready yet."

"Good, 'cause I'm not sure I want you to lose this innocence yet."

Rory shook her head. "So, my mom talked to me before dinner…"

Finn looked at her, she seemed sad all of a sudden. "Love, what's the matter?"

"We're leaving on Saturday," she said looking up at him.

"Oh," he said bringing her closer.

"Yeah, but she said I could spend all tomorrow with you guys."

"You really think I'm going to let you spend your last day with Steph and the guys?"

"I was thinking we could have something down on the beach."

"Like a barbeque or something?"

"Something like that, yeah."

"I'll pick you up at ten."

Rory looked at him. He had his scheming face on.

"You're planning something," she accused.

"Maybe, be ready at ten. Bring your bathing suit."

"Finn," Rory protested as he kissed her and got in his car.

"Ten," he told her closing his door, sending her a wink and driving away, leaving her sighing in the driveway. She went back inside and up to her room, finding her mother lying on her bed.

"What's up, babe?" Lorelai asked.

"He's picking me up at ten and he's scheming."

"Aww, he likes you."

Rory laughed as she got on the bed. Lorelai looked at the ring that her daughter had been wearing around her neck for the past two days.

"So tell mommy about this necklace," Lorelai said bringing her fingers to touch the silver ring.

"Well," Rory said kicking off her shoes and lying down next to her mom, feet in the air. "Let's begin with the details of the date where I became Finn Rothschild's girlfriend."

"Oh, story time!" Lorelai giggled as Rory started in on the story. Her baby was happy. And she had no right to take that away.

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