Rory and Jess Save the World (Or at Least One Special Little Corner of It)
Chapter 1, "The Space Alien"
It was getting to be 'that' part of the afternoon.
Jess remembered it well from his high school stints behind the diner's counter. It was hours past lunch, but too soon for even the early-bird diners to make an appearance. Currently, two customers sat at separate tables, one reading a newspaper and the other staring idly out the window. Both had a full mug of coffee before them. Caesar was in the kitchen prepping for dinner, and Jess was caught in the dilemma of the late afternoon lull.
Under the counter, on top of the reserve supply of coffee cups, was a paperback book he'd stashed away for just this sort of downtime. He glanced around the room again, assuring himself that this was an opportunity to read a quick chapter. Maybe even two, if he kept focus.
But on the other hand, there was the weight of the notebook he kept in the back pocket of his jeans. Instead of reading someone else's words, maybe he should jot down today's thoughts for the book he wanted to write next.
Creativity won. He reached for the notebook.
The bells over the door chimed and he sighed. It never failed.
Jess looked sourly at the door, waiting for Taylor Doose or Kirk to walk in and ruin what should have been his break.
Instead, he started to grin, because some kind of small space alien was walking up to the counter.
"I hope you come in peace," Jess quipped.
The space-age helmet worn by the newcomer was pulled off, revealing a preteen girl with a massive amount of brown frizzy hair. "What?" she asked, not understanding his joke.
"Uh, nothing," he said quickly. He could now appreciate just how young she was, maybe only ten or so. He also realized that the helmet was meant for a bicycle, but had been modified with sideview mirrors and a full-face shield. "What can I get for you?"
She put the helmet down on the counter and maneuvered herself onto a stool. "I came here for a who, not a what."
"I'm sorry?" Still bemused by her appearance, he didn't understand her statement.
"I'm looking for someone." Her expression switched over to doubt. "Or do I need to order something to sit here?"
"No, you're fine." Jess was willing to humor her, mostly because of her age. "Who are you looking for?"
"The man who owns this diner."
For sure she had his attention now, even without the space get-up. "Luke?"
"Yes," she said, with a confident nod. But once again, some doubt crept in. "That's Luke Danes, right?"
"Right," Jess confirmed.
"Well, I need to see him." She folded her hands on the counter.
"He's not here right now."
"Oh." Her face fell. She regrouped and looked at her watch. "That's OK, I can wait. I have 37 minutes before I have to leave."
He grinned again. This kid was killing him. "How about this? You can see him in ten days and 37 minutes."
"I don't understand." A tiny bit of panic was in her voice.
"Luke's not here. He's away. Out of town. On his honeymoon, actually. He won't be back in Stars Hollow for ten days."
Behind her glasses, her eyes got big. "No, no!" she moaned. "I can't – I don't have ten days. I need to see him today!"
"Sorry, kid, but that's not possible. They just left yesterday, and I can assure you that they aren't coming back early unless a hurricane swamps Costa Rica. And even then, they'd probably find someplace else to go, rather than coming back here to Crazy Town before they absolutely have to."
Her face crumpled in despair.
"Hey, now." Jess wasn't sure how to placate her, but the last thing he wanted to deal with was tears. "Listen, can I help? Or somebody else? Maybe I could give him a message for you?"
"No." Her voice had gotten very small. "He's the only one who can help me win the science fair."
"Science fair?" Jess laughed. "Are you sure you've got the right Luke Danes?"
"Yes," she said sadly.
"Why would you think that Luke, of all people, is the one to help you win a science fair?"
She looked at him steadily. "Because there's a thirty-three and one-third chance that he's my father."
Jess choked. On air. On nothing. On shock itself, the way people do on TV or in the movies. He grabbed a glass, filled it with water, and chugged it down.
"What?" he wheezed as soon as he could speak again.
"My mom says he might be. And I thought, why not turn it into my science fair entry? I find the three guys, get hair from them, run a DNA test, and finally win the blue ribbon!"
"What?" Jess repeated, trying not to choke this time.
The bells rang as Rory came through the door.
"Rory!" He was so glad to see her. "Get over here!" He motioned wildly, urging her to hurry.
She came behind the counter, with a knowing smile for him and a sweet one for the girl at the counter. "Hi," she said to them both. "What's going on?"
"She's looking for Luke," he said, pointing at the girl. "Go on," he instructed her. "Tell her. Tell her why you're looking for Luke."
The girl looked skeptical but did as she was told. "I think he might be my dad."
Rory's mouth dropped open and her breathing grew ragged. Jess prepared to grab a glass of water for her, too, but then she started to giggle. She laughed harder, turned towards him and slugged him on the arm. "Good one," she chortled. She put her elbows on the counter and leaned towards the girl confidentially. "How much did he pay you to set me up like that?"
"Set you up?" the girl questioned, mystified.
"Rory, no." He took Rory's arm and got her to look at him. "This isn't some sort of joke. This kid is really looking for Luke. She says –" He quickly glanced at the girl. "She says there's a thirty-three and one-third chance he's her dad."
Rory stared at him, her big blue eyes widening until Jess was mostly thinking about how much he loved those eyes instead of the problem currently sitting at the counter. Then she blinked several times, releasing him from the spell she had unwittingly cast over him.
"I'm sorry." She turned to the girl. "I don't understand. Why would you think that Luke's your dad?"
"Because that's what Mom says."
"Who's your mom?"
"Anna Nardini."
Rory frowned. "I don't know that name. Do you live in Stars Hollow?"
"No. Woodbridge."
"But she says that Luke's your dad?"
"Well, he might be. I need to check out two other guys, too."
"Oh, uh…Ohhh-Kay." Rory looked over at Jess for a moment, one eyebrow slightly raised. "Well, I'm sure Luke would like to get to the bottom of this too, but unfortunately he's not here."
"Yeah, that's what he said." The girl pointed at Jess. "But also unfortunately, I don't have time to wait around. I need to get the specimens collected and get my research in order."
"Specimens?" Rory asked blankly.
"Hair," the girl clarified.
"Because…?"
"For the DNA test, obviously," Jess said sarcastically.
"So I can win the science fair!" the girl explained once again, sounding more agitated.
Rory put a hand up to her forehead. "Can we go back to this being some elaborate prank? I promise, I'll laugh and be a good sport about it."
"I wish," Jess muttered. He looked at the girl at the counter. "Look, Luke's my uncle, and I promise you, when he gets back–"
"He's your uncle?" she interrupted excitedly.
"Yeah, and when –"
"How are you related? I mean, how is he your uncle? Through blood or marriage?"
"Um…" Jess was completely flummoxed for a moment by the girl's intensity. "My mom is his sister."
"Perfect!" She stood up on the rungs of the stool and made a swipe towards his head. "I can just use your hair then, because the DNA would show that we're cousins, thus still proving my hypothesis!"
"Knock it off, kid!" Jess jumped backwards, out of her reach. "I'm not giving you any hair off my head!"
She sat back down in dejection, but soon rallied. "How about a hairbrush of his or something? I could use that."
"No. Absolutely not." Jess held firm. "That's completely up to Luke. You can talk to him when he gets home. I can give him a message, but that's it. This isn't going any farther until he can weigh in on it."
"I agree," Rory said, backing him up.
"Aww, geez." Her eyes got teary. "It's not fair! You're ruining my one chance to beat Samuel Polotsky, who always wins." She sniffled. "I hate him so much."
Rory put a gentle hand on her arm. "Sorry, but this isn't fair to Luke, either. He needs to know and give his permission. You're not the only one involved here."
"But I'm the only one who cares!" she murmured angrily, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.
"That's probably not true," Rory said firmly, but with some sympathy. "Hey, would you like some lemonade?" She pulled a few napkins out of the dispenser and laid them on the counter.
"Yes," she said rather pitifully, and then used the napkins on her face.
Jess gave Rory a nod and went to get the lemonade.
"What's your name?" Rory asked in a soothing tone.
"April."
"April. Hi, April. I'm Rory, and this is Jess."
"Hi," April said listlessly, but she attacked the lemonade, gulping it down.
Without comment, Jess went to fill up the glass again.
"Tell you what, April, why don't you give us some information about you so that we can pass it on to Luke?" Rory began to look around for something to write on.
Jess took the notebook out of his back pocket and turned to a blank page. He put it before April and handed her his pen.
"Write down your name," Rory instructed. "And your mom's name. And your date of birth. And make sure we have your phone number."
"Address would be good, too," Jess added.
April finished writing, then reached for the glass of lemonade, but before she could drink again, she looked at her watch and gasped. "Holy cow, I gotta go!" She grabbed her helmet and sprinted for the door. "Thanks for the lemonade!"
"Any time, cuz," Jess muttered, watching her go.
"Is she…?" Worried, Rory ran to the window, just in time to see April ride by on her bike. "She's riding a bike all the way to Woodbridge? Are you kidding me?" She glared at Jess, as if it was his fault.
Jess held up his hands in defense. "Hey, I know no more than you do. She came in here and hit me with the Luke stuff out of the blue. I didn't have time to think about her mode of transportation."
Rory stared down the street for a minute longer. "Should we go after her or something? I mean, that's a good half-hour drive to Woodbridge. I can't even imagine how long on a bike. What kind of mother would let her kid do that?"
"The kind who doesn't even know who the father is?" Jess shrugged. "But yeah, you know I was raised one step above feral, and even my mom wouldn't have let me bike between towns when I was that age."
Rory slowly walked back to the counter. "So…what do we do now?"
"What can we do, until Luke gets back?"
She sat down heavily on the stool next to the one where April had been sitting. "We shouldn't call him now?
"Hell, no."
Rory looked sharply at him. "You don't think he'd want to know?"
"Of course he's going to want to know. But give him and your mom a break. Don't dump this on them during their honeymoon."
She turned that over before nodding. "So we wait."
"We wait."
They stared at each other for a bit, each thinking their own thoughts about single mothers and missing fathers, as well as the poor kids who were left with so many unanswered questions.
"You ready to take over?" Jess asked, rousing himself out of his momentary funk.
"Yeah," Rory said, rising from the stool. "I'll be right back," she added, heading into the kitchen to let Caesar know she was on duty.
The next morning Rory breezed through the diner, waving to everyone she knew. She ducked under the curtain and started up the stairs, slowing only when she suddenly thought about her mom, and how many times she'd undoubtedly bounded up these same stairs to see Luke. And now, here she was, going upstairs to see Jess. She had to take a deep breath before she could climb the rest of the way to the door.
Genetics, she thought. What a racket.
She knocked, and Jess soon opened the door.
"I've been thinking," she said immediately, before he could say anything at all.
"Wow, how unusual for you," he observed, going back to the table. He pointed at the counter. "There's coffee."
"I've been thinking about April," she clarified, pouring herself a cup.
"Yeah, me too."
"Really?" She joined him at the table.
"Well, yeah. It's not every day a soap opera walks into the diner."
"Poor kid." She took a sip of coffee. "Hey, this is good."
"I don't know why that continually surprises you."
"Genetics," she murmured, going back to her earlier musing.
"That, or I've had to fend for myself for most of my life. Either learn how to work the microwave or starve."
She sat down the coffee cup. "Jess, was Liz really that bad?"
He shifted in his seat, and she knew he was once again going to deflect her concern. "There were some bad years. I coped." He shrugged. "She's better now, and I guess that's what counts."
"But if –"
"What about April?" he cut in.
Rory silently acknowledged that the Liz discussion was over. "I was thinking that it's one thing not to know your dad, and a completely different thing to not even know who your dad is."
"Poor kid," Jess agreed. "That's got to be hard."
"And I worried most of the night about if she got home safely or not. I kept kicking myself for not going after her yesterday."
"She seemed pretty self-sufficient."
"Probably has to be."
"True."
Jess went back to looking at his book, but soon gave up on that. "I kept thinking about all of the questions we should have asked her."
"About her mom."
"About the other guys."
"But then I remembered, we know now that she's only twelve. She probably doesn't know the answers to any of that stuff anyway."
Jess leaned forward. "But you know who does know those answers?"
Rory tapped on the notebook, which was beside his paperback. "Ms. Anna Nardini."
"You think we should go pay her a visit?"
"I think we should at least drop by her store."
"She's got a store?"
Rory nodded. "I did some research myself last night, but not for the science fair. Turns out Anna Nardini has a secondhand store in Woodbridge."
"Sounds interesting. We should go check it out."
"We owe it to Luke, don't we? We should at least confirm there's some basis to this crazy accusation, right?"
"Absolutely. I mean, the mom could have just mentioned her old flame Luke and the kid connected the wrong dots. Like you just said, she's only twelve."
"I don't know, though. She seemed pretty sharp to me."
"Maybe too sharp. Maybe too desperate for a daddy." Jess cocked an eyebrow. "You know, maybe mom's the one who put her up to this. Maybe mom's the one who's desperate for a sugar daddy, if nothing else."
"I don't like that term, but something seems off here, doesn't it?" Rory shook her head. "Anyway, I'd like to have a talk with the mom before we hit Luke with all of this."
"I agree."
"I thought maybe we could both work through lunch, then see about taking the afternoon off and driving over to Woodbridge."
"I'm with you, Columbo." Jess drained his cup. "Let's go sling some hash before we put on our gumshoes."
Rory beamed. "Mom would certainly approve of your lingo."
"This is nice," Rory said. They were parked outside Anna Nardini's store. "Nicer than I thought it would be."
"Decent area of town, too." Jess observed the traffic on the street. "I bet she gets a lot of walk-ins."
"Yeah," Rory said, her voice faint.
Jess put his hand on the door, but then looked over at her. "Want to decide who's the good cop and who's the bad cop?"
"I don't – I don't want to be any kind of cop."
Jess looked at her closer. "You OK?"
"Sure." But she looked nervous.
"What is it?"
She shook her head and looked out of her side window, not at him. "It's just…well…Luke."
"What about him?"
She sighed and slid her fingers over the Prius' steering wheel. "What if he knows?"
"Knows about April?"
"Yeah. What if he knows about all of it? What if he's no different than the other dads in our lives?"
"You think he'd walk away from his own kid?"
Her stomach suddenly felt like it did on the first day at Chilton. "I don't know. Twelve years just seems like a long time to be oblivious."
"Could be that April's mom didn't want him to know."
"Yeah, I guess." She couldn't get her head to move out of the scary space.
"How long have you known Luke?" Jess angled himself in his seat, to see her better. "Either you told me or I picked it up in town, but you've lived here since you were a baby, right? So have you just always known him?"
"No, we were pretty isolated when we lived at the Independence. It wasn't until we moved to the house that we got to know people in town. I was…I guess about ten, maybe eleven when we started going to the diner."
"So not too much younger than what April is now."
"I think so, yeah."
"What was Luke like when you first met him?"
Rory smiled without even thinking about it. "He was Luke. Gruff. Wanted you to think he was tough. But it didn't take long before I realized that my piece of pie was always a little bit bigger than it should have been. There was a lot of eyerolling every time he talked to my mom. Or listened to my mom, rather. But yet, there he was, always standing at our table, letting Mom talk."
"So, basically the same as he is today."
"Pretty much," she agreed.
"Hang on, let me do the math." Jess stared out of the windshield. "You're 21, April's twelve…you were around nine when she was born, so that's only two years before you met Luke. Do you think those few years made any difference in his personality? The Luke you came to know as a kid, do you think he'd walk away from responsibility?"
"No," she stated, without a qualm.
Jess nodded, still looking down the street. "I have some memories from when I was a real little kid, Mom dragging us to Stars Hollow. They're fuzzy, though. Mainly they're about my grandpa. No matter how many books I'd take to him, he'd put me on his lap and read them to me. Even if I wanted the same book read over again, he'd do it."
"That's nice, Jess."
"Yeah." He sighed. "But after a day or two the yelling would start, and then Mom couldn't leave fast enough. Grandpa didn't want us to go, though. Neither did Luke. I could tell they were sad when we left. But still…we always did."
"The family visit stuff sounds familiar, although the yelling started after just a few hours at my grandparents' house. And I think my grandpa tried to read Dickens to me. David Copperfield. And maybe the Wall Street Journal."
He smiled pensively at her. "We have a few things in common."
"I'd say more than a few." She motioned at the store. "I'm the good cop?"
"Or we could play against type and I'll be the good guy. That might throw her off." He opened the door and got out of the car.
"Maybe neither of us will have to browbeat her. Maybe she'll just tell us everything."
"Maybe." They crossed the street and Jess opened the door.
"Oh, this is cute," Rory observed, taking in the store displays. There were three customers, two browsing, plus one paying at the cash register. "Do you think that's her?" She nodded towards the woman behind the counter.
"Probably," Jess murmured, looking around, and not directly at Maybe April's Mom. "She's nothing like Nicole, huh?"
"Nothing like Rachel, either."
"We're not going to comment on who she does look like?"
"She's brunette and pretty. Otherwise there's no comparison."
"OK," Jess said lightly.
"Oh, wow." Rory pounced on a small turquoise purse on the shelf beside them. "Speaking of Mom…"
"What?"
"She'd love this."
"Should you be buying anything though? Remember your poor abused credit card."
She checked the tag. "It's under ten dollars. Even I can afford it. And this way we have a reason to go up to the counter."
Jess nodded in approval. "Good idea."
"Good cops have good ideas."
They stepped up to the counter as the other customer finished her transaction.
"Hi," the saleslady – maybe Anna? – said. "Guess you knew what you were looking for, you chose this in record time."
"When it's right, it's right," Rory said easily.
The woman chuckled and began to ring up the purchase. "Can't argue with that."
"This shop is fabulous!" Rory gushed like the girls she used to avoid at Stars Hollow High. "I'm going to have to come back and look around some more. Everything's just darling!"
"Oh, thanks. That's always good to hear."
"Is this your store?"
"Yeah, it is."
"You're Anna Nardini?"
"I am." Anna nodded at a box full of business cards. "Feel free to take one. You get a punch for every ten dollars spent, and a fifty percent discount when it's filled up."
"Great!" Rory reached for a card. "April must be your daughter?"
Anna stopped wrapping the purse in tissue paper and gave them a wary look. "You know April?" she asked cautiously.
For the first time, Jess spoke. "We met her yesterday."
"Yesterday?" Anna's wariness turned into hard suspicion. "I don't think that's possible."
"It was possible in Stars Hollow," Jess continued. "She came into the diner where we were working."
"Luke's Diner," Rory added.
Jess refused to drop his gaze. "Luke Danes is my uncle."
Anna went very still and very pale. The tissue paper fell to the floor.
Rory leaned in closer. "We'd like to clarify some things April told us."
"I can't –" Anna took in a deep breath. "I don't want to have this conversation here."
Rory glanced over at Jess and he nodded an okay back at her. "That's fine, we understand. Where, then?"
Anna worried her lips, while trying to appear calm. "There's a Mexican place in the next block. They do good food." She looked blankly around the space until her eyes rested on a porcelain clock sitting on the counter. "I have an employee coming in at 2:30. I could meet you as soon as she clocks in."
"Sure," Rory agreed. "I like Mexican."
"Their salsa's addictive." It sounded like a lighthearted comment, but Anna didn't smile. She touched the purse. "Do you still want this?"
"Absolutely!" Rory, Good Cop till the end, aimed a reassuring smile at Anna. "It's perfect for my mom."
"OK." Anna sounded doubtful but rang it up on the cash register and Rory handed over the money. The purse was put into a shopping bag and Jess took possession of it.
"The restaurant's this way?" He pointed behind him.
"Yeah, not far."
"We'll be waiting for you there," Jess reminded her, sounding only slightly menacing.
"Thanks for being willing to talk to us," Rory jumped in, trying to negate the menacing aspect.
"Well, I have some questions too," Anna muttered, slamming shut the register drawer.
"You should," Jess said, before Rory took his arm and hustled him to the door.
"That went pretty well," Rory commented. They walked briskly to the end of the block; Rory's arm still entwined with Jess's.
"I guess there's no doubt that she does know Luke."
"Oh, yeah – her face when you said his name!"
The light changed and they crossed the street to the next block.
"And it's obvious that April didn't tell her mom anything about yesterday," Rory reflected.
"Yeah, seemed like the mom didn't know what her kid was up to at all."
They were in front of the restaurant. Jess pulled open the door and they walked in.
"Sit anywhere!" a voice from the back called out to them.
As if they'd already discussed it, they walked to an empty table in the corner, as far from the employee space as possible. There were unoccupied tables on either side.
They perused the menus until a waitress came over. "Need more time?" she asked.
"I hear your salsa's addictive," Rory said, her eyes still scanning the offerings.
The waitress laughed. "And wearable," she said, pointing to splotch on her apron. "Free salsa and chips with a platter."
"I'll take the number four with some iced tea."
"Same," Jess said, with less enthusiasm.
"Chicken or beef?"
"Chicken," Jess said, at the same moment Rory said "Beef!"
The waitress chuckled as she moved away. "I'll bring your drinks right out."
"So we're not exactly alike," Rory pointed out.
"There's the understatement of the year."
"But we're in agreement about what we want to find out today, aren't we?"
Jess shrugged. "I figure we want to know for sure if she was with Luke before April was born. Is there a chance he's the dad? What made April come to Stars Hollow the way she did? What's happening that this is a thing now?"
"And if she does think that Luke's the father, why didn't she contact him right away? Why wait twelve years?"
"Like I said yesterday, it's a soap opera."
"Watch a lot of those, do you?" Rory grinned at him.
"Gotta watch something while you're fighting writer's block."
The waitress brought over their drinks and chips. Rory dove in before the waitress had even walked away. "Do we need some kind of signal if we think she's lying to us?" she asked amid crunches.
"I could tell you that you have salsa on your blouse." Jess handed her a napkin and pointed. "Except that you already do."
"Oh." Rory scrubbed at the spot on her collar. "She wasn't lying about that part, at least. The salsa is addictive."
Their platters had just been served when Anna walked in. She stalked over to their table, the expression on her face alternating between thundercloud and resignation.
"Thanks for coming," Rory said softly as Anna sat down.
"Cat's out of the bag. No use trying to pretend otherwise." She looked at Jess. "I guess you're Liz's boy? Sorry, I don't remember your name after all these years."
Jess had picked up his drink but now put it back down, surprised. "Jess," he said. "Jess Mariano." He fiddled with the straw wrapper for a moment. "You know my mom?"
"We met a couple of times. Let's just say we weren't big fans of each other." Anna pushed her dark hair behind her ear. "I met you too, but you wouldn't remember. You were just a kid."
Rory stopped eating. "So, you and Luke were in a relationship?"
"We were in something. I guess relationship's as good of a name for it as anything." Anna turned to look at Rory directly. "And who are you?"
"Rory Gilmore. Luke's my…he's my…" An affectionate warmth spread around her heart. "He's my stepfather," she stated softly, the realization hitting her that it was the first time she'd said it out loud.
"Married to the mom who's getting the purse?"
"Just married." Rory wondered, briefly, if she should be so forthcoming. "They're on their honeymoon now. That's why Jess and I are at the diner, helping out while he's gone."
The waitress came back over. "Hey, Anna! What can I get you?"
"Just water now, Rosie. But could you get a #6 ready to go for me?"
"Sure, no problem." She walked to the counter, poured a glass of water and brought it to Anna, then left them alone.
Everyone was quiet for a moment. Rory even stopped eating chips because the crunching sounded too loud.
Jess cleared his throat. "Anyway, that's why we were the ones in the diner yesterday, when April came by."
"I still don't understand that." Anna leaned forward, her eyes snapping with intensity. "How did she get to Stars Hollow? I understand now that she lied to me, that there was no special swim practice yesterday. But how did she get all the way to Stars Hollow?"
Jess shrugged. "Bicycle."
"What?" The color left Anna's face again.
"She had a helmet," Jess added, "so that's what I figured."
"And we saw her riding away." Rory put a crunchy taco back down on her plate. "That's one of the reasons I wanted to come see you. I was really worried about her biking so far."
"Oh, God." Anna covered her face with her hands. "Yeah, we're definitely having a talk about that. And that bike is getting locked up until she's 18."
"I don't want to get her in trouble," Rory insisted. "I was just concerned."
"Look, April's a good kid. We've just been having some…tugs of war lately. It's like she woke up one morning and decided she was an adult. I mean, I raised her to be strong and fearless and to do her own thing, but she's really been pushing the boundaries with me recently. I just never dreamed she'd bike to a town thirty minutes away and lie about where she was going to be. That's not…that's not the way our mom/daughter thing works."
Rory nodded sympathetically. "As someone else who was raised by a strong single mom, I hear you. Luckily, my mom never had to worry about me taking off on my own at that age, because I'm not athletic. I wouldn't last fifteen minutes on a bike."
"Great, we're all glad she made it home safely," Jess broke in, "but I think we need to get to the main subject here. Why did she come to Stars Hollow in the first place? Why was she looking for Luke?" He leaned forward and stared at Anna. "Why does she think Luke might be her dad?"
Looking stressed, Anna took a sip of her water. "Because…he might be."
"And you didn't think he deserved to know that?" Not-So-Good-Cop Rory asked heatedly.
"I didn't think –" Anna broke off her sentence, obviously trying to find an explanation that might work. "For twelve years, we were fine. April was fine with it being the two of us. She'd just always accepted that her father wasn't around. She hardly ever asked any questions about him. And then a few months ago, out of the blue, she got curious. I don't know why, she didn't explain and I didn't want to actually know, because frankly, I didn't want to talk about it more than I had to. But she didn't let it go, she kept going back to the whole 'who's my dad?' issue. And finally, I didn't see a choice, I had to tell her the truth."
"And what is the truth?" Jess asked, in a softer voice than Rory expected.
"I really don't know," Anna stated. "I can't be sure who her father is." She sighed. "I was hoping that revelation would be enough to get her to drop it, that me being honest about that part of my life would help her to understand why I didn't want to tell her more. I told her a little bit about Luke, mainly because I'd always hoped that maybe he was her dad."
"How can you not know?" Rory pushed. "Were you and Luke together, or not?"
Anna gave her a sharp glance. "We were…in a thing. For a couple of years we were…together? Dating? Whatever you want to call it. But then…that thing came to an end. Or rather, it should have come to an end, but neither of us came right out and said it was over, so the relationship kept limping along, even though it wasn't good for either of us anymore. That turned out not to be…a stable time for me. I was unsure about a lot of stuff right then. And that was when…well, I met someone else."
Rory and Jess exchanged a look.
"Yeah," Anna sighed. "He'd been coming into the store with his girlfriend, and he and I would joke around while she'd shop. One day he came in on his own, because he and the girlfriend were done. He asked me to go have a drink with him, and I did. I thought it was OK because I was practically broken up with Luke, and I liked this guy. Well, that drink turned into several nights of drinking together, which then turned into something else completely." She studied her hands. "I didn't feel good about what I was doing, but I didn't feel like stopping it, either. Which led me to some solitary nights in a bar, trying to drink away my misgivings. And one of those nights, unfortunately, led to yet another guy."
"Geez, lady," Jess mumbled.
Anna glared at him. "You can see why I didn't want to explain all of this to my twelve-year-old kid."
"But I guess you did, because April seems to know about the other two guys," Jess said smartly.
"No, I didn't! What do you mean, she knows?"
"Because she's got this whole science fair project figured out. She wants to get hair from all three guys, so she can do a DNA test and figure out which one's her dad," Rory explained.
Anna just stared at them for a while. She began taking extra deep breaths. Finally, she exploded. "She thinks our life – my life – is a freakin' science fair exhibit?! Are you kidding me?"
"That's what she told us," Jess confirmed. "Hair, DNA, science fair, blue ribbon."
"Good God in heaven." Anna looked ready to collapse. "But…that's just impossible. I talked some specifics about Luke, but there's no way that she'd know…" Suddenly she looked conflicted, which morphed into amazement, and then transformed straight into distraught. "Holy crap. She didn't. Tell me she didn't."
Rory glanced at Jess again. "She didn't what?"
Anna rubbed a hand across her forehead. "Like I said, it was a confusing time for me. Someone suggested journaling because it had helped them. So, for a while, I did. I wrote stuff down, trying to make sense of it. And I suppose it's possible that little Miss Smartypants found the journal and put all the pieces together."
"She seemed pretty determined to track down all three," Rory said.
"A girl on a mission," Jess agreed. "She could have got all their names from the journal?"
"Names," Anna confirmed listlessly. "But nothing else. I haven't seen any of them in thirteen years. I don't even know if they're still in Connecticut, let alone in Woodbridge." Her face shifted into agony again. "You don't think she's out there trying to track the others down today, do you?"
"Again, she was pretty determined," Rory repeated. "What happened with Luke and the other guys?"
"Well, Luke found out about Kelly. That was the guy from the store. I wasn't exactly trying to keep him hidden. When Luke found out, he was done. He walked out, said we were through. Which wasn't a surprise in any way."
"And the others?"
"Kelly went back to his old girlfriend the week after Luke left. And Seth, the guy from the bar, he just faded away. Started hanging out at another bar, I suppose. I never saw him again." Anna pushed her water glass to and fro. "A couple of weeks later, I realized I was pregnant. And then I realized that being pregnant wasn't even my biggest problem."
"But you never contacted Luke to tell him any of this?" Jess wanted to know.
"No. I thought about it. I always kind of assumed I'd tell him someday. But right then – I couldn't. I just couldn't. For the same reason I didn't want April to know. It was just too embarrassing." She pulled in another breath. "And then, months later, April was born, and it was ok. The store was doing fine, my mom was willing to help us out some, and I was making a go of it. It seemed like it was going to be all right, me and April making up this little family. After a while I took it for granted, I guess, that the issue was never going to surface. I thought I was home free."
Rory shook her head. "You really didn't think that Luke deserved to know?"
"Know what?" She tilted her head, a little defiantly. "What could I have told him with any confidence? Even now, it's just hypothetical. Maybe he's the dad. Maybe he's not."
"But there is easier access to DNA, now. Why not find out for sure?" Rory pressed on.
"Maybe because…" Anna grew pensive. "Maybe I liked things the way they were."
Jess laid down his napkin. "You know, as soon as Luke gets back, we're going to have to tell him."
"Yeah." Anna sounded resigned. "I know."
"He's probably going to want to talk to you."
"Yeah," she repeated. She looked at Jess, then Rory. "The way you two are here standing up for him, I assume he's still the same upright guy I knew back then, huh?"
"He's pretty amazing," Rory said staunchly. "The best."
"Not that he doesn't have his faults," Jess pointed out. "But yeah, he's pretty good. Especially compared to most."
Anna's eyes turned to the clock above the counter. "I should get back to work. And check to see if my kid is where she's supposed to be. And possibly search my medicine cabinet for an old Valium or two."
"Again, thanks for talking to us. We know you didn't have to, so we appreciate it," Rory said.
"I guess it was inevitable," Anna reflected. "And thanks for the head's up about April and her cross-country travels. I'm still horrified, just thinking about it." She got up to leave.
"Oh, wait!" Rory held out her hand to Jess. "Do you have your notebook? We should give you our numbers, just in case you want to get in touch with us before Luke and Mom get home."
"Good idea." Anna watched them write down their contact information, then took the paper with a nod. "Tell Luke…Well, tell him I'm sorry. About finding out this way. About everything, actually." She walked to the counter and collected her to-go meal, then exited the restaurant.
Once she'd left, Rory and Jess didn't feel like sitting there any longer. They got up quickly, paid the bill, and were soon in the Prius, heading back to Stars Hollow.
"Wow," Rory murmured as they merged onto the highway. "That was quite a story, huh?"
"Like I said, a real soap opera."
"That was something, though, about her knowing your mom. And you! Do you remember her at all?"
"No, but then, Mom would always haul so many people home, even when we were just visiting for a couple of days. I tried not to pay any attention to them. Anna was probably just one more face in the crowd." Jess turned to watch her profile. "One thing I found interesting was that Anna said Luke dragged his feet on breaking up with her. Sounds like Nicole, doesn't it? That hesitancy of his to finally pull the plug on a relationship."
"From what I remember, that was the same with Rachel, too. Neither of them were really committed, but they didn't want it to be over, either."
"I guess Luke has a pattern in ending things with girlfriends – or not ending them, actually."
"It wasn't that way with Mom," Rory said firmly. "When he broke up with her, it was definitive. He said 'I can't do this' and was gone."
"Maybe that had more to do with your mom than him."
"What do you mean?"
"Because it was her, it meant more to him. Maybe he felt like he needed to protect himself because he cared more about her."
Rory thought that over. "OK, I see your point."
The car had traveled a few more miles before Jess spoke again. "I've been thinking about how to tell Luke about all this, too."
"What's the plan?"
"I think we should tell him privately."
Rory frowned. "You mean tell him and not Mom?"
"Not right away, at least. This is Luke's past. His life. I think it's only fair that he gets to hear it on his own. Give him time to process it. You know he doesn't do well when things get sprung on him. Let him make peace with it. Then he can tell Lorelai when he's ready."
She thought about Luke, whom she loved dearly, and the times she'd seen him snap when too much had hit him at once. "You might be on to something there."
"This whole thing with April isn't fair to him. It seems only right that he gets to decide how to handle the news. As well as how to share it."
Something about the way he phrased that made her grip the steering wheel extra hard. "But you think he will tell her, right?"
"Well, yeah. It's a big deal. Why wouldn't he?"
"I don't know." This discussion was making her cranky. "I'm just warning you, if he doesn't tell her, I will. I'm not keeping a secret like that from Mom."
Jess shrugged. "I don't think you should, either."
"Good. Because I won't."
"Fine."
"Fine."
They didn't talk about anything else substantial until Rory parked in front of the diner to let Jess out.
"Heading back to school now?" he asked.
"Yeah, I've got a class I can't skip in the morning. I'm going to go home, check on Paul Anka, and grab my stuff."
"I'm glad you could stay as long as you did. You'll be back this weekend?"
"Yeah, and I plan to be here until we've laid all of the April stuff out." She paused. "You'll look in on Paul Anka while I'm gone?"
"I will, although the mutt really doesn't trust me."
"Don't take it personally. He distrusts everyone. Especially Babette's gnomes."
Jess smiled and reached for the door handle.
"Hey, Jess." She stopped him. "Thanks for sharing that memory about your grandpa today."
He sat back in his seat. "Rory…It's not that I don't want to share stuff with you, you know? It's just hard for me to decide where to start. How to start."
"I understand. And whenever you do – well, I'm here."
"Or in New Haven. Or Hartford," he teased.
"Always on the other end of the phone."
"Good to know." He smiled at her.
"And thanks for something else, too." She suddenly felt nervous. "Thanks for letting me have the time to get my feet under me again, and for not pressing me on how I feel about –" She paused. "You." She paused again. "Us." She shook her head. "But I want you to know I appreciate it. Until I got away from the whole situation, I didn't realize just how messed up I was. I've really needed this time to get back in sync again. To figure out who I am and where I want to go."
Jess looked at her seriously. "I hear journaling is good for that."
Rory laughed. "Yeah, I don't think I'll chance it. You never know what trouble that will bring about in years to come."
"I told you, take all the time you need. I get it."
She nodded again. "This semester will be over in about a month. Before the holidays."
"Coming home for Christmas?"
"Yes. How about you?"
"I could be persuaded." He inclined his head towards the diner, and the apartment above it. "Luke says there's always a place for me here."
"But then after Christmas…well, I'd love to see Philadelphia."
He turned slowly to look at her. "Is that so?"
"Could you recommend a travel guide? Somebody who could show me the sights?"
He didn't say anything for a few moments. "You're serious about this?"
"I am. I'd like to see where you are, Jess. Your bookstore. Your friends. Where you write. I'd like to be able to picture it when I think about you."
"I'd like that too."
She reached for him then and pulled him towards her. She soon found out that he wasn't the boy she used to kiss. And she was glad about that because she liked the man he'd become even better.
"Christmas," he murmured when he finally opened the car door.
"This weekend, first," she reminded him. "And then, Christmas in Philadelphia," she promised.
Author's Chat: Yes, it's really me! I'm still around! You can thank Oh-No for this posting, even though she doesn't know it. Getting the notice that she'd written something new finally lit the fire under me, and I was determined that I was going to get something finished and posted before I allowed myself the treat of reading her stories. So I did, and here is the first chapter of it. The other three (or four, depending on how I decide to break it up) chapters are done, they still just need a little tweaking. Hope you like it, the next chapter will be up next week. Until then, stay inside, stay cool, and read fanfic!