Thank you for all your support so far! Hope you enjoy this next chapter! :)
Chapter 19
A few weeks had passed and the teenagers were coming to the end of their school year.
"So your mom's taking Rory to Harvard this weekend for a tour?" Ben asked as he and Olivia were sat at a table in Luke's.
"Yep. Rory's so excited." Olivia nodded.
"You didn't want to go?" He questioned.
"Nah, it's not my dream, it's Rory's." She said.
"And what's your dream then?" Ben asked interested.
"I don't really know yet. I feel like I'd quite like to do something to do with music but I don't know what yet." Olivia admitted.
"Sounds cool." Ben smiled.
"Hey!" Rory said appearing beside the table and sitting down with them, Jess following her.
"Oh hey!" Olivia smiled.
"So double date tonight seeing as I'm going to Harvard tomorrow? We could just hang out at the house and watch some movies and get takeout. And then we could make it into a slumber party." Rory suggested.
"Sounds good." Olivia said. "What about mom though?"
"She's going to Luke's tonight. And staying the night." Jess said. "I do not want to be in that apartment tonight." He said smirking slightly.
"Ok eww!" Olivia said screwing up her face. She glanced at Rory. "Have you run this past mom? Does she know the guys will be staying over?" She said slightly surprised that she would agree to them having their boyfriends stay over especially when she wasn't there.
"She said so long as we all sleep in the living room on mattresses, it's fine." Rory said.
"So she doesn't trust us then." She smirked slightly.
"Exactly." Rory smirked. "But she is letting them stay over so that's something. It could be fun."
"Yeah sounds good. You up for it?" Olivia asked Ben.
"Definitely." Ben nodded.
"Then we're in." She grinned at her sister.
"Cool! Now give me some of your fries." Rory grinned stealing some fries off her plate.
"Hey, so when are the boys arriving?" Lorelai asked coming down the stairs in a nice dress where Rory and Olivia was sat on the couch waiting.
"Anytime now." Rory said.
"You look nice." Olivia smiled.
"Thanks." She grinned. She was quiet for a moment before sitting down next to them. "Ok, so I need to talk to you about something..."
"Oh no, this isn't that talk, is it?" Olivia cringed.
"This will be as hard for me as it is for you." Lorelai said.
"I doubt it." Rory said.
Lorelai sighed. "Look, I just want you two to be careful ok? You've got such bright futures ahead of you. I don't want to be that sort of mom who locks their kids up so they can't see boys. Now I'm not by any means saying I regret having the two of you because you're the best thing that ever happened to me but I didn't get to go to college." She said. "Just...I want you to be sensible...and safe."
"We promise, mom." Rory said.
"Yeah you can trust us." Olivia assured her. "Besides, I'm not ready for that yet."
"Me neither." Rory added.
Lorelai let out a breath. "Ok." She said slightly relieved. "Well...I'll leave you girls to it then. I'll see you in the morning."
"Yeah, see you in the morning."
Lorelai left the house just as Jess and Ben were walking towards it. "I'm trusting you two, ok? Any funny business and I'll be after you." She told them.
"You know where I live, yeah I know." Jess smirked.
"I'm being serious." Lorelai said.
"We're just going to hang out and watch movies. Nothing's going to happen. I give you my word." Ben assured her.
"Good." Lorelai said. "And you?" She raised her eyebrows at Jess. "Remember, I know your uncle." She said, her mouth twitching a little bit.
Jess smirked slightly. He looked at her for a moment. "You have my word as well." He told her.
"Good. Thank you." She gave them both a smile. "Have fun."
"This was amazing. Why didn't you tell me you could cook fancy food like this?" Lorelai said later that evening as she sat with Luke in their apartment.
"Because then you would have insisted that I cook this at the diner and with that pout you do and hair flip, you probably could." Luke said.
"The hair flip's that effective huh?" She grinned.
"Combine that with your black dress and you could probably get me to do anything." He smirked slightly.
"Good to know." She laughed.
"So...you're sure you want to spend the night? You don't want to get back to the girls? You know...to...check on them all?" Luke said.
"Do you want me to leave?" She asked.
"No!" He said quickly. "I just...You're ok with them spending the night with their boyfriends? I mean I know one of them is Jess but still...Anything could happen."
"A bit like between us two then." Lorelai teased.
"That's different." Luke said but smiled slightly.
"I trust them." Lorelai told them. "And I trust the boys. They're good kids. They're sensible."
Luke nodded. "And how about you? Are you...sensible?" He asked hesitantly.
"Luke, are you asking me whether I would like you to have your way with me tonight?" She teased, her eyes twinkling.
"No! No, of course not! I just..uh..." Luke said, coughing slightly to try and ease the awkwardness.
"Luke, I'm just teasing." Lorelai smiled softly. She sighed. "You have no idea how much I would love to. But I just had this conversation with the girls. Wouldn't it be hypocritical for me to then act the exact opposite than what I had told them?"
"No because they're not going to have this sort of fun for hopefully twenty years yet." Luke said.
Lorelai laughed slightly. "I think it will probably be a lot sooner than then." She said.
"What? You think they will...?"
"Not yet." Lorelai said. "But at some point."
"And you're not worried?"
"Of course I am!" She said. "But I knew it was going to happen at some point. They know the risks and I know they're both looking to their future. I'm just going to have to trust them."
Luke smiled. "You know, we can just watch some tv tonight if you want. I don't mind."
"It's not that I don't want to. It's just..." Lorelai sighed. "I've found it hard to trust men over the years. Sure I've been on a few dates but they've never got further than a meal out seeing as they normally all did a runner once I told them I had two young daughters." She admitted.
"They're jerks." Luke said.
"I know." She sighed. "I just...with you, it's different. You didn't judge me at all. You've just been...you. You've been amazing and I really don't want to screw this up." She admitted.
"I don't want to screw it up either." Luke assured her. "And I definitely don't want to force you into anything. I would never do that and I'm sorry if you thought this night meant that I wanted to...you know."
"No! No, Luke, I didn't think that. Honestly I didn't." She assured him.
"Look, why don't we watch some tv or one of those movies you seem to love and then I'll sleep on the couch and you can take the bed?" Luke suggested.
"You wouldn't mind?" Lorelai asked.
"So long as I get to spend this evening with you, I don't care what we do." He smiled.
Lorelai smiled softly at him. "Ok." She said. "But before we do all that, why don't we move over to your bed?"
"What?" He said surprised. "I thought..."
"You just showed me why I love you. You're so thoughtful and kind and I...I just feel so lucky to have you in my life." She said softly.
"But I don't want to force you..."
"You could never force me into anything." She assured him. "I love you and you've just proved me why I do. We've got the night to ourselves. Let's make the most of it." She said, taking his hand.
"You're sure?" Luke checked again.
"More sure than I've ever been before." Lorelai smiled, kissing him gently before slowly moving towards his bed. "I love you."
"I love you too." He smiled softly.
"You're kidding? Mom really told you guys no funny business?" Rory said as the four of them snuggled on the couch.
"Yup." Jess said. "I get why but seeing as to what they will probably be getting up to tonight, it is a bit hypocritical." He smirked.
"Eww! Will you stop?" Olivia exclaimed.
"Sorry." He smirked.
"You think they would?" Rory asked.
"Oh yeah, it's a given." Jess said.
"They don't normally get the night together so...think about it." Olivia said.
"I'd rather not." Rory screwed up her nose.
"You guys are cool with your mom and Luke though, right?" Ben asked.
"Of course. We love Luke!" Olivia said.
"Yep but we'd rather not think about what he will be doing with our mom right this moment." Rory said.
"Then let's watch this last movie." Jess smirked. "You want more popcorn?" He asked.
"Of course!" Olivia grinned.
"I'll come help you." Ben chuckled, getting up. "Don't worry about helping." He smirked at them.
"We have them well trained." Rory grinned at Olivia.
"Don't we just!" She grinned back.
"So...any regrets?" Luke asked as he lay next to Lorelai later that night.
"None whatsoever." She smiled. "You?"
"Are you kidding? I've been waiting for this since the day I met you." He chuckled.
"What?" She laughed.
"Do you remember that horoscope you gave me the first day we met?" He asked.
"Uh...should I?" Lorelai asked, feeling guilty.
"You came bursting into the diner in a caffeine frenzy and begged me for coffee. I told you no and to sit down until I was finished with other customers. But did you do that?" He said.
"Seeing as I'm such a delightful person, I'd say yes." She grinned.
"You grabbed a horoscope section from a newspaper and hassled me until I told you when my birthday was. You then handed over a piece of paper with my horoscope on except that you had written on it that I would meet an annoying woman today and if I gave her coffee, she would go away." He smirked slightly.
"But she didn't go away." Lorelai smiled.
"Nope. She told me to hang onto that horoscope and one day it may bring me luck." He said. He reached over to his wallet which was on his bedside table and took a piece of paper out of it. "Here." He smiled at her.
"Wow...I'd do anything for a cup of coffee." She laughed slightly. She glanced at him. "You kept this? You kept this in your wallet?" She said softly.
"10 years." He smiled.
"10 years..." She said quietly. She smiled softly at him. "I can't believe you kept this."
"You told me it would bring me luck." He shrugged. He smiled at her. "I guess it did. Eventually."
Lorelai laughed. "God I love you." She said pulling him in for another kiss. "You are an incredibly sweet guy, Luke Danes."
"And you are an incredibly crazy lady, Lorelai Gilmore." Luke smirked slightly. "But you're amazing. And I can't quite believe this is happening."
"Well believe it, because I can predict this will be happening for a long time to come. Because I'll be damned if I let you slip through the net." She smiled.
"I'm all in if you are." He smiled softly.
"I am definitely all in as well." She smiled.
Lorelai walked out of the ladies' room the following day at Harvard and headed off to meet up with Rory. She stopped to stare at the wall of class valedictorians for a moment before she suddenly heard her daughter's voice coming from one of the classrooms. She walked over to the classroom and peeked her head round and she smiled as she watched Rory take part in one of the discussions.
"That's an interesting point, Professor, but I'm not sure I agree with it." She was saying. "That's because stoicism was not about giving up things, of money and luxuries and stuff."
"That's right. By the time he was in his early forties, Seneca had earned enough money to acquire villas, farms, he ate well, he loved expensive furniture but he didn't consider that a non-philosophical way to live." The professor said.
"It's all kind of relative though." Rory said.
"Oh, here we go." Another student said.
"What?" Rory said.
"We can't get through a class without debating relativism." The student chuckled.
"I just meant that luxury to some is not necessarily luxury to others." Rory said.
"A better subject for another time." The professor said.
"Oh sorry." Rory said.
"No, no, your point is well taken but it's different than the matter at hand. What we're talking about is Seneca's choosing the better more comfortable of two options while remaining a stoic." The professor smiled.
At this point, Lorelai saw Rory turn round and grin at her which she returned before she got up quietly and snuck back up to her.
"Did you see me?" Rory exclaimed as they were finally heading home.
"Yes." Lorelai nodded.
"I was in college!" She beamed.
"It was amazing!" She smiled proudly at her.
"Did I look like I belonged?" Rory asked.
"Completely. You're a natural." Lorelai smiled.
"I can't even believe how it happened. I just sort of got swept up and then the teacher asked a question, and before I knew it..." Rory said excitedly.
"You were blowing them away."
"Well, I don't know if I was blowing them away but suddenly I was talking and I couldn't stop."
"I know that feeling." Lorelai joked.
"College is going to be amazing. I can't wait. I love college. I love Harvard. I love fatalism!" She beamed at her mom before looking at the road ahead of them and suddenly her beam vanished. "MOM, LOOK OUT!" She screamed.
Luke was wiping the counter down later that afternoon, casually glancing up to look through the window to see if he could spot Lorelai yet. She had promised she would drop by once she and Rory were back from Harvard. He knew it was pathetic but he couldn't wait to see her again. The evening before had been amazing and he realised how happy he really was for once. He smiled slightly to himself as he thought about how many nights like that they could have in the future but suddenly his smile vanished as he heard the bells on the diner door ring and he looked up to see a panic stricken Olivia who had tears running down her face. "Olivia? What's wrong?" He said, his heart dropping.
"It's mom and Rory! I just had a call from a nurse at a Hartford Hospital." She said tremulously. "They...they've been in a car accident..." She managed to get out.
So some drama at the end there! I hope you liked it as I was really nervous writing this chapter! Please keep the reviews coming as I love reading what you all think! Thanks again for all your support. It really does mean so much to me. :)