Part 9: Half In Love

"Lane!" Rory shouted as she jumped out of the still idle car and towards her Korean best friend, who had jumped up from the Gilmore porch upon hearing the rumble of the ancient Gilmore Jeep.

"Rory!" Lane shouted back as they embraced.

Lorelai watched as the life long friends hugged with a smile on her face. Rory may have made a lot of new friends, and gotten herself a boyfriend, down in Martha's Vineyard, but she would never forget about the loyalties she had to the town.

"Tell me everything!" Lane demanded as they walked inside, Lorelai trailing behind them. They could probably convince Luke to unpack their car if asked nicely. "I want to know about this Aussie of yours."

"No!" Rory said stopping in the foyer.

"Wow, the only time she won't talk about her Australian hunk," Lorelai teased as she went to the kitchen to start on the coffee. Rory glared as she and Lane followed.

"I meant no, Lane, me and you have to wallow, her and Dave broke up and she should wallow properly."

"But you have a boyfriend now!" Lane protested.

Rory shrugged. "So?"

"You can't wallow if you have a boyfriend," Lane pointed out.

"Okay," Rory sighed, looking at her mother's amused face. "Then let's not look at it as a wallowing, how about a girls' night?"

"Oh!" Lorelai said jumping up and down in excitement. "I'm so in. Rory, Lane, you guys get the goodies from Doose's, Rory, break into the candy money. I'll attempt to get everything out of the car and clean up the living room."

Lane and Rory stood staring at Lorelai in amazement.

"Well, don't just stand there! Go! Go! Go!"

Rory and Lane rushed out of the house, upon Lorelai's command, laughing as they reached the sidewalk, then slowed to a walk catching their breaths, still laughing.

"So tell me!" Lane ordered as they walked down the streets towards Doose's Market.

"I don't feel right about it," Rory shrugged.

"I'm your best friend!" Lane exclaimed. "I have rights to know about my best friend's new boyfriend! It's part of the Geneva Convention of Best Friends rules. It said so at the last meeting."

Rory gasped in mock outrage. "And why wasn't I invited to this meeting?"

"'Cause you were playing kissy face with the Aussie!" Lane laughed as they walked into the market, each grabbing a basket, and grabbed the necessary items.

"I just think, that with you just broken up and me newly attached..." Rory trailed off hoping Lane would catch her drift with the best friend ESP they had devolved over the years.

"That it would be wrong for you to be happy and me to be sad," Lane continued. Apparently her best friend ESP skills were being put to good use.

"Yeah."

"Rory, don't worry about me!" Lane said. "Now tell me all about him!"

Rory gave a sigh and smiled finally giving in. "Fine."

They paid for their items carrying the bags back to the house, Rory telling Lane all the details about her and Finn's four day relationship. She told her how they had met, and how he had asked her to be his girlfriend.

"Then he gave me his class ring," Rory said fingering the ring around her neck.

"Awww," Lane cooed as they walked up the porch and into the house where Lorelai was on the phone.

"Yeah, make that four pizzas and add the cheesy bread. Thanks, Joe," Lorelai hung up and helped them with the bags.

"God, Finn is probably the sweetest guy ever!" Lane said sitting at the table as Rory and Lorelai emptied the bags of junk food.

"Also the richest guy ever," Lorelai murmured.

"Money has nothing to do with it," Rory said with a roll of her eyes. "I didn't know he had money when I met him and I didn't care after I knew."

"I know, babe. But come on, it helps the matters, doesn't it?"

Rory shrugged. "I like him for him, not for what he's worth. Though according to Steph, they're all worth billions."

"And she doesn't care," Lorelai said. "Has she shown you what he got us for our going away present?"

"Oh," Lane said. "Not only did he give you his class ring but he got you something else?"

"What my mother fails to mention is that everyone got me something. Except Logan." Rory frowned, then shrugged, popping an M&M into her mouth.

"So what did he get you?" Lane asked, curiosity eating her up. Rory tucked her hair behind her ears and showed her the birthstone earrings. "Oh wow, those are amazing."

"You should see mom's," Rory told her. Lane looked at Lorelai expectantly. Lorelai smiled.

"They're in my suitcase," Lorelai laughed. "Now let's choose our movies and get this party started!" Lorelai declared walking into the living room with bowls in her arms. Lane and Rory laughed before following suit and grabbing bowls and going into the living room.

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"Still hasn't called?" Tristan asked as he and Steph walked into the living room where Finn was pacing by the phone. Colin and Logan were playing on the Xbox, Colin, a look of amusement on his face, obviously not because of the game, and Logan, one of annoyance, not because he was losing.

"No," Logan clipped leaning his body to the left, as if that would help his car on the screen.

"And are you in a bad mood?" Steph asked as Tristan sat down on the recliner and she made herself comfortable on his lap.

Logan sent her a glare before returning his eyes on the screen.

"She said she'd call once she got home," Finn said pausing in his pacing. "They left at nine and they should get back around noon, right?"

"Right," Steph agreed. "But you know Rory, maybe they made a stop somewhere? Went to her dad's?"

"No," Finn shook his head. "She wanted to get back to see Lane."

"Maybe she forgot?" Logan added causing Colin to shove him forcibly with a glare.

"Shut up, Logan," Colin muttered.

Logan shrugged. "It could happen, maybe she forgot?"

Tristan rolled his eyes. "How 'bout you call her, Finn?"

Finn shrugged. "Wouldn't seem too needy?"

Steph laughed, then covered her mouth as Finn narrowed his eyes at her. "Sorry, just this is fun to watch. One of the men most afraid of commitment is now afraid to seem needy. Oh, this is great," she laughed clapping her hands together.

"Was that a yes or a no?" Finn asked.

"Finn, she's your girlfriend, correct?" Steph asked.

"Last time I checked."

"So a boyfriend has the right to call his girlfriend, at night, just to talk when they're far away from each other... are you catching my drift?"

"Right. So call?"

"God, you boys need everything spelled out for you. Yes," she said exasperated. "Call! God, I wonder what Rory saw in you?"

"Wow," Tristan said in mock awe. "Two insults in one breath." He clapped his hands together in sarcasm. "You have beaten your own record, Miss McCrea."

"Shut up, Tristan." Steph looked over at Finn as he dialed the number and put the phone to his ear, sitting on the free space on the couch.

"Do you really need to talk to her in here?" Logan asked.

"Yep," Finn answered easily as he listened to the phone ring.

Colin snickered as he bypassed Logan's car and won the race.

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They heard the phone ring and groaned, all looking towards it sitting innocently on the desk, then back at their comfortable positions.

"Rory," Lorelai whined. "You're closer."

"Are you kidding me?" Rory asked. She was sitting on the floor, her legs tucked underneath the coffee table, Lane sitting next to her while her mother lay on the couch. "You're closest and oldest!" Rory pointed out.

"Is that your way of saying I'm old!"

"Yep," Rory said causing Lane to laugh.

"Mean," Lorelai said swinging her feet to the floor, 'accidentally' hitting Rory's head with one of her feet.

"Hey!" Rory said rubbing her head.

"Sorry," Lorelai laughed as she grabbed the phone from the desk and answered. "Stars Hollow Pound, Kirk is indisposed right now, but this is Lorelai, how may I help you?"

Finn frowned into the phone as someone answered.

"Lorelai?" He asked.

Lorelai got a wicked grin on her face. "Yes?"

"Is Rory there?"

"Yes."

Finn frowned deeper. "Can I talk to her?"

"I don't know," Lorelai shrugged looking over at Rory and Lane's confused faces. "I mean, she didn't want to pick up the phone in the first place, what makes you think she's going to get up for you?"

"Um..."

"I mean I know the accent is supposed to be charming and all.," Lorelai laughed as Rory got up from the floor and rushed towards the phone.

"Mom, please give me the phone!"

"Nope!" Lorelai laughed taking the phone away from her ear and hugging it close to her body. Rory tried getting it from her but her mother blocked her shots.

Finn listened to a static sound, then laughter, then Rory's voice.

"Mom, give me the phone!" He heard.

"Why is it that when the phone first rang you didn't want to answer, but the minute you find out it's the Aussie, you run for the phone!"

"Oh! I'm calling Miss Patty, we are so betting on who wins!" He heard another voice say.

"Mom!" Rory said trying to reach the phone. They were standing on the couch, Lorelai with the phone in her hand over her head while Rory reached for it. Lane was watching in amusement. Rory had never been so wound up for a guy before. Dean and Jess had never gotten Rory to stand on the couch trying to reach the phone, not even at the beginning of the relationships. Rory must really like this guy.

Finn continued to listen to the fight, now amused by everything he was hearing.

"What's going on?" Steph asked, looking at Finn's laughing face.

"Lorelai and Rory are fighting for the phone," Finn said listening, they were naming pop artists now.

"Dido!" Lorelai yelled.

"Barry Manilow!" Rory yelled

Lorelai gasped. "You promised!"

"I promised nothing, now give me the phone!"

"No!"

"Mom! I haven't talked to him in forever!"

"Eleven hours!" Lorelai corrected, then smiled wickedly. "Rory and Finn sitting in a tree..."

"K-i-s-s-i-n-g!" Lane sang.

"Lane!" Rory said looking over at her best friend.

"What? It's a reflex, you hear the song and you have to sing!"

"First came love, then came marriage, then came baby in a baby carriage!" Lorelai sang out.

Finn burst out laughing, causing his friends to look at him oddly. Finn held up a finger before standing up and going over to the phone and putting it on speaker phone, hanging up the cordless so they could hear.

"Mom!"

"No!"

"Please, I never did this when Max called!"

"He was your teacher, you were afraid he'd give you an F if you withheld the phone from me!"

"I was not afraid. Dammit, give me the phone!"

"Why didn't you get this riled up with Jess? Or Dean?"

"Mom!" Rory warned.

"Oh crap! Lane!" Lorelai screamed, then they heard a dial tone. Finn was smirking at the phone before dialing again while the others laughed. Logan rolled his eyes

Rory grabbed the phone from where Lorelai dropped it, after threatening her with a shaken can of Coca Cola. She put it up to her ear and smiled.

"Finn?" She heard nothing and glared at her mother. "You hung up on him!"

"You shouldn't have aimed!" Lorelai accused coming out from her hiding spot from behind the couch, Lane laughing hysterically on the floor.

"You hung up on him!" Rory repeated.

"You should have answered the phone in the first place!"

"You hung up on him!"

"It was an accident!" Before Rory could reply, the phone rang. She pressed the answer button hurriedly.

"Finn?"

"Eager, aren't we?"

Rory smiled and did a little happy dance. "Sorry, my mom wouldn't give me the phone, then she hung up."

"Not on purpose! I like you Finn, really!" Lorelai yelled.

"Tell her I know."

"He knows," Rory repeated. "So did all you guys have fun at our expense?"

"Yes!" Everyone echoed.

"Am I on speakerphone?"

"Yes!" Everyone said again.

"Finn!"

"Right." She heard a click, then Finn's voice, louder and clearer. "Hello love."

"Hi," she replied sitting down on the couch.

"You didn't call like you promised."

"I know, I'm sorry," she said sincerely. "I got back, then me and Lane went to the store, and we've been having girls' night in, Mom forbid me from calling, I begged and pleaded, but she wouldn't let me near the phone, I mean you heard us."

"You forgot," Finn told her laughingly.

"No!"

"You forgot."

"Okay, just for a little while!" Rory exclaimed with a laugh. Lorelai looked at her daughter as she talked to her boyfriend. She hated to admit it, but Finn was making her happy in a way no other boyfriend had. And in a way different that Lorelai could. She saw Rory bite her lip and smile.

"I miss you too."

"Awwwwww!" Lane and Lorelai both put in causing Rory to glare at them and get off the couch. She went to her room, closing the door, and sitting on her bed.

"Sorry, mom and Lane are a bit sugar high."

"It's all right, love, having fun?" Finn asked going up to his own room, after sensing Logan's annoyance coming out in waves.

"Yep, we got back about twelve, me and Lane went to go get a whole bunch of junk food and then my mom, Lane and I have been watching movies and gorging on food and candy. I think we have Chinese coming in a few minutes. What about you?"

"The usual. Beach, lunch, came back and watched TV and drank. Tristan and Steph went out to a movie. It's quite boring without you."

"Did you just say quite?"

"I did."

Rory laughed. "It sounds good coming from you, from me no, but from you yes."

"I miss you," Finn sighed.

"Just wait till Friday, then you can come into town and we'll spend the whole day together."

"With Colin," Finn reminded.

"We'll ditch Colin," Rory shrugged with a smile. "We can probably get Lane to show him around. I think her mom has that Christian Bible camp thing to run. Not quite sure."

"It does sound good when you say it," Finn told her.

"Say what?"

"Quite," Finn laughed.

Rory gave a small laugh, then laid in her bed, the phone on her ear. "I really want it to be Friday."

Finn smiled over the phone and nodded. "So do I, love, so do I."

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"So what'd the Aussie say?" Lorelai asked when Rory came out of her room and hung up the phone.

Rory shrugged. "We miss each other. It's weird talking to him on the phone, it's not the same."

"I know, babe. But you're going to have to get used to it," Lorelai pointed out.

Rory sighed. "I know." She picked up the letters that were banded together and frowned. "I didn't know I had mail."

"That's right, and we have a rule, Rory doesn't open her mail till next week," Lorelai told her.

"Why?" Rory asked looking at her mother.

"'Cause I have a week off and we are going to be in vacation land till Monday. We are going to have the perfect two weeks. The rest of the night I dedicated to all 80's movies, or until we pass out. We relax all this week, roam around town and do whatever it is we do when we're lazy."

"Sleep on the couch, stay in our pajamas and eat whatever near our hands, and watch whatever is on TV when we lose the remote?"

"Exactly. Then next Sunday we will make the rounds and say hello to everyone, wait till you see Sookie and her huge stomach."

Rory laughed and let her mother continue.

"Monday we hit the three of the crappier movies then are out and yell at the screen wanting our lives back."

"You can yell at the screen, I will maintain a five feet distance at all times," Rory said.

Lorelai gave a mock glare. "Tuesday we hit New York, see all those fancy art galleries you love and hit the strand. Wednesday we get all the things you need for school"

"Barbeque's at Sookie's," Lane added.

Lorelai nodded. "Right and barbeque at Sookie's. Thursday is mani/pedi day, facial, haircut and got to the psychic and stock up for night 'cause we are having a Godfather marathon. Godfather I, II, and III, and extra scenes of the Sofia death scene over and over and over again. Then Friday I have reserved for you and your beau to spend the day together, then Yale!"

Rory smiled before throwing the letters back on the desk and sat down on the sofa. "Sounds great."

"So now that you two have the next two weeks planned, what do we do now?" Lane asked.

"Duckie!" Rory said.

"Yeah, yeah, Duckie!" Lorelai said as excitedly, getting up and putting Pretty In Pink for them to watch.

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Finn went back down the stairs and hung up the phone before sitting back on the couch.

"Hey! I didn't get to talk to her!" Steph whined.

"You can call her on your own," Finn told her with a smile. "I called to talk to my girlfriend, not to share her."

"Jeez, for a guy that's never committed, he sure does have the possessive thing down," Steph muttered.

"How's Rory?" Colin asked.

"Good, her and her mom and Lane were watching eighties movies and stuffing their faces with things that no girl that skinny should be eating and be able to stay that way," Finn laughed. "She's having fun."

"You miss her," Steph said softly.

"Yes, I do," Finn admitted, placing his feet on the coffee table.

"If you miss her after eleven hours, how's it going to work when you're gone for a year?" Logan asked.

Finn shrugged. "Like I told Rory, we'll cross that bridge when we get there. It'll be hard, but I think we can make it work."

"Is she excited for Yale?" Tristan asked, hoping to get Logan off Finn's back.

"I'm not sure," Finn told him. "It's like she has all the time in the world. I sort of feel bad about stealing her on Friday."

"Why?" Steph asked.

"Because it's her last day in Stars Hollow, living there and all. And I'm taking her to Hartford that night."

"That's right, your dad's annual Yale Alum party," Tristan nodded. "My mom called about that."

"Yep, and I want dad and Rory to meet. I think they'll get along well. I know dad'll love her. Who couldn't?"

"And that's my cue," Logan said getting up. "See you guys later." He grabbed his jacket and left the house closing the door loudly as he left.

"Why doesn't he like her?" Steph asked. "I mean I haven't known her as long as Tristan or you, guys, but she's really nice, wouldn't hurt a fly, so what is Logan's problem?"

Tristan smirked. "I think Huntz is jealous."

"What?" Colin asked.

Finn looked at him confused "Of what?"

"Of you, my friend," Tristan said with a smirk

"Of me? Why would Logan be jealous of me?" Finn asked.

"Because you have everything Logan doesn't. Cool dad, weird, but cooler than any of ours. And as much as you hate to admit it, a caring mom. And now, my dear Finnegan, you have the girl."

"Rory?" Finn asked with a raised eyebrow.

Steph smiled, catching on to what Tristan was getting at. "Yeah, she's smart, beautiful and likes you. It's the one girl, other than me, that's not interested in Logan. He realizes that you have the one thing he might not ever get a chance at."

"Oh yeah, and what's that?" Finn asked amused, leaning back on the couch and crossing his arms over his chest.

"Love," Colin whispered. They all turned to him and Finn looked at him wide eyed. "Don't give me that look, Finn, we all know that you're half in love with her already and she's half in love with you. Logan might not ever get that. Not with who his parents are."

Tristan shrugged. "Way I see it, Logan is pissed that she chose you over him."

Finn looked at the TV contemplating what his friends had just told him. Could it be possible that Logan didn't like Rory, because she didn't throw herself at his feet when they first met, but instead opted for himself? Finn sighed and shook his head. There had to be more to it than that.

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