Subj:[gilmoregirlsfanfiction] NEW: Chances and Choices [L/L]
Date:2/24/02 2:50:07 AM Eastern Standard Time
From:eponine119@worldnet.att.net


Disclaimer: Gilmore Girls belongs to Amy Sherman-Palladino, the WB, etc.
Archive statement: Mystic's archive, yes. Others, no. Please do not
archive this story without my permission.

Setting: Season two
Summary: "It's better to take a chance and have it turn out bad than
spend your whole life wondering what might have been." 
Category: Luke/Lorelai. Also, elements of Rory/Jess.


Chances and Choices
by Megan Reilly
eponine119@worldnet.att.net
February 22-23, 2002

Luke finally summoned up the courage to kiss her.

In retrospect, he wasn't even sure how it happened. She was standing on
the other side of the counter, waiting for her coffee, and when he
turned around, he just...kissed her. 

She took a step back with a puzzled look on her face. He tried to smile
as she raised her hand, almost to the level of her lips, and gave a tiny
wave before she walked out of the diner. Then Lorelai was gone and
everyone in the place was staring at him.

+ + +

"Mom, are you okay this morning?" Rory inquired, loading up her backpack
at the kitchen table. She couldn't find her bus book, but that didn't
worry her as much as her mother's blank stare did.

Lorelai seemed to shake herself out of a daze. "I'm fine," she said.
"Nothing happened. Why do you ask?"

Rory shrugged. "You're acting weird."

"No I'm not," Lorelai said, and it came out a little more snappish than
she intended it to.

Rory held up a packet of Pop-Tarts, still wrapped in their silver foil.
"Since when is trying to put this in the toaster not considered weird
behavior?"

"It's happened before, how do you think the toaster got broken last
time?" Lorelai shot back. "Why are you acting like the Spanish
Inquisition this morning?" she continued. Then she saw the shocked
expression on Rory's face and knew she'd been too sharp. "Rory, I'm
sorry. I haven't had any coffee, and ..."

"No, don't worry about it," Rory said, a chill coming off her words as
she shouldered her heavy backpack. 

Lorelai sighed. "Rory, I didn't mean..."

"It's fine. Have a nice breakfast." Rory thumped the Pop-Tarts down on
the table in counterpoint to her sweet-tempered words. "I'll see you
after school."

Lorelai trailed Rory to the front door. "I hate it when we fight," she
said.

"Well, who started it?" Rory pointed out, meeting Lorelai's glance with
eyes that shone a little too brightly.

"Rory," Lorelai said gently. "I'm sorry, babe."

Rory's face didn't change. "I'll see you after school," she said again,
and left.

"Teenagers suck," Lorelai grumbled to herself, and reached for her keys.
Of course, they weren't in the dish on the entryway table where they
should have been. The keys had probably run off with the phone again, to
continue their ill-fated love affair. But Lorelai had no desire to
contemplate love affairs. "I suck," she muttered, and went off in search
of her keys.

+ + +

Lorelai went directly for coffee when she reached the inn. She picked up
a cup, but considered just chugging directly from the coffeepot. She
stood there for a moment, considering her options.

"Sweetie, what's wrong?" Sookie's voice came from behind her.

"What?" Lorelai asked, pouring the coffee into a cup after all, which
she then quickly drained and refilled. Sookie looked pointedly at the
cup. "Nothing's wrong," Lorelai replied. Sookie raised her eyebrows,
waiting for the real answer. "Minor argument with Rory, that's all,"
Lorelai confessed.

"She's been awfully moody lately," Sookie commented. Now that she'd had
the truth from Lorelai, she moved away slightly to sprinkle powdered
sugar artistically over several plates of French toast.

"Rory's a teenager," Lorelai said. "But she's an angel. It was my fault,
Sookie. I was sharp and nasty and there was no reason for it. And when I
tried to apologize, she wouldn't listen."

"Why?" Sookie asked. 

"I don't know why," Lorelai said, leaning against the counter, watching
her best friend work. 

"Well, did something happen this morning?" Sookie asked. 

Lorelai's heart went into overdrive. Did she know? No, Sookie wasn't
smiling - she would be smiling if she knew something. "Nothing happened
this morning," Lorelai said, an outright lie, and then she felt terrible
for lying. But she couldn't...how was she supposed to explain when she
didn't understand it herself? "I'm turning into my mother," she said.

"That's not true," Sookie said.

"No, it is true," Lorelai replied. "I'm acting with Rory the same way my
mother did with me. I'm being nasty and critical and there's no reason
for it. Of course Rory doesn't know how she's supposed to react. I'm not
making any sense."

"Okay, you got me there." Sookie grinned at Lorelai.

Lorelai wondered how Sookie could be so happy all the time. Or appear to
be so happy. Was she as clueless about Sookie as she was about
everything else? "Sookie, do you want to talk about anything?" 

"Like what?"

"I don't know," Lorelai said. "But, if you had something that was
bothering you, you'd let me know, right? You wouldn't just keep it
inside and go on dazzling me with your bright, bubbly personality."

Sookie looked confused. "Is this one of those things where you start a
story about 'my friend' but that story really turns out to be about you?
Like, 'my friend has these terrible freckles and wants to get rid of
them, but lemon juice didn't work, so...'"

"No!" Lorelai said, perhaps a little too quickly. "Sookie, come on, I am
not Jan Brady. I was just wondering if you had anything on your mind."

"Is there something I should have on my mind?"

"I don't know, but if you did have something on your mind, you'd tell
me, right?" Lorelai asked again.

"Lorelai, you're not making any sense this morning," Sookie told her
friend, as kindly as she could. "Maybe you should take a break. Go to
Luke's, have some coffee ---"

"NO!" Lorelai exclaimed. Sookie looked at her curiously. "I have to run
the inn. I can't just...take a break every time I feel like it. I have
responsibilities. Is that the mail?" She reached for a stack of papers
that was clearly not the mail.

"Did something happen at Luke's this morning?" Sookie asked, her voice
hushed and dramatic. Lorelai said nothing. "Lorelai?"

"No, nothing happened. Everything's fine," Lorelai said.

"Lorelai," Sookie pressed.

"Everything's fine," Lorelai said again, managing to inject some
lightness into her tone. She glanced at the pile of old menus and
ingredient lists. "This isn't the mail. I'll see you later, Sookie.
We'll have lunch." She hurried out of the kitchen, ready to bury herself
in work at the front desk.

But there was no one at the front desk. In fact, there was no one else
in the entire lobby. The phone didn't ring, and the mail hadn't yet
arrived, so Lorelai was alone with her thoughts.

+ + +

Rory was vaguely aware of footsteps behind her, but she could see the
bus at the stop and didn't want to miss it. She was already running
late, and if she missed the bus, then she'd be late for school. So she
increased her pace, and her shadow did, also. She wondered if she should
be worried that someone was following her, so she turned her head.

Jess. Of course. "What?" Rory asked.

"Nothing." The pause had given Jess enough time to fall into step with
her. His hands were shoved into the pockets of his jeans. "Just thought
I'd say hi."

"Hi," Rory replied, somewhat sarcastically. Jess didn't say anything,
just continued to walk alongside her. "I said hi, aren't you going to
head off to school now?"

"It's a holiday," Jess said.

Rory glanced in the direction of the high school. "Somebody forgot to
tell the other kids," she pointed out.

Jess shrugged. "What do they know?"

"Jess, I have to..." She could see the bus driver was thinking about
leaving her. "Bye," she said decisively, broke into a run, and hopped up
the stairs into the bus. The driver was looking at his watch. "Sorry,"
Rory said as she fished out her bus pass and showed it to him. Even
though she rode the bus every day, and he knew she had a bus pass, he
still had to see it. Every day. She flopped down onto a seat and
unzipped the side pocket of her backpack to retrieve her book.

Jess darted onto the bus at the last possible second and jumped into the
seat next to her.

Rory stared at him, feeling infuriated, but knowing she didn't have a
good reason to feel that way. "What are you doing?"

"Going to Hartford." Jess crossed his arms and settled more comfortably
into his seat.

"That's crazy."

"Yeah, well, crazy seems to be catching this morning." Jess smiled
cryptically.

"What does that mean?" Rory inquired, but Jess said nothing. This is why
she felt infuriated the moment she saw Jess. He did this on purpose.
Made leading statements without following up on them, because he knew it
got to her. "Who else was acting crazy this morning? Jess?" She waited
for him to answer. He didn't, so she opened her copy of "The Heart is a
Lonely Hunter" to where she'd left off.

Jess couldn't bear to be ignored. "You weren't at breakfast this
morning."

Rory shrugged, knowing her silence would bug him.

"I thought you and your mom ate breakfast at Luke's every day."

"Running late," Rory replied. "Did you miss me?"

"Nah, course not," Jess lied casually. 

"Good," Rory said. "What are you planning on doing in Hartford?"

"You know, I bet Uncle Luke misses you when you don't come in."

"Seeing as how we're the bright spot in his morning," Rory said, a
little more sarcastically than was called for.

"Your mom was probably the bright spot this morning."

Rory lowered her book and looked at Jess. He was smirking. "What are you
talking about?"

"Nothing," Jess said innocently. He reached over and put his hand over
hers, tilting the book so he could get a better look at it.

"Jess," Rory said. He was now absorbed in looking at the picture on the
cover of her book. "Did my mom go to Luke's this morning? Did something
happen?"

Jess removed his eyes from the book, although he didn't move his hand.
Rory was too distracted to notice. "Well." He drew the word out, as
though he was trying to decide whether to tell her. "I wouldn't want you
to hear it from anyone else first."

"Something did happen." Rory frowned, recalling Lorelai's strange mood
that morning. But she couldn't think of anything that could have
happened to prompt it. It would have to have been something bad, and
nothing bad ever happened at Luke's. "Did they have a fight?"

"Not exactly."

"Jess, we're three blocks from my school, and you're going to burst if
you don't tell me, so I suggest..."

"He kissed her."

Rory's mouth dropped open. She was stunned. 

"What, like you're surprised?" Jess asked. 

Rory's mind was completely blank. It was kind of a novelty. She tried to
say something, but there was nothing...

"Rory." Jess waved his hand in front of her face.

"I..."

"You just missed your stop," Jess pointed out, and Rory turned her head
to watch Chilton go past through the window.

+ + +

It's not that big a deal, Lorelai told herself. It's just a kiss. I've
kissed lots of guys. Lots of guys have kissed me. It doesn't mean
anything.

But all those people...how many times had someone told her that Luke was
into her? That he liked her? And she always said, 'Come on. Luke? We're
just friends.' How did it turn out that they were right and she was
wrong?

I'm blind. If I'm blind to that, I could be blind to a hundred other
things. And I lied to Sookie - why would I lie? 

Lorelai had no answers for the questions she was asking herself. She
thought she just needed time to deal with it, but that implied there was
something that needed to be dealt with. If this was something that
needed to be dealt with, it meant that it was not nothing. She wasn't
sure why she needed it to be nothing. She just did.

Not to mention she'd been standing at the front desk for more than an
hour, uninterrupted by anyone. If she just needed time, she'd had
plenty. More coffee, she thought. More coffee is the solution to any of
life's problems.

Sookie was on the phone when Lorelai went into the kitchen. She didn't
think anything of it until she realized Sookie was staring at her as she
poured her coffee. "I've got to go," Sookie said quickly as Lorelai
headed back toward the front desk, and then she ran to catch up. 

"Lorelai," Sookie said breathlessly.

"Sookie," Lorelai responded, teasingly, using the same tone. But her
stomach was in a knot. She knows, Lorelai thought. "Who was that on the
phone?"

"Jackson," Sookie replied. 

"How are his squash?" Lorelai asked.

Sookie frowned. "Squash is a fall fruit."

"Strawberries, then?" Lorelai said. It was so easy to distract Sookie
sometimes.

"They're ripening," Sookie said. "He heard an interesting story this
morning from Taylor."

"I bet that red light was on the fritz again. Man, ever since they put
that thing in, it's been nothing but blink, blink, blink..." Lorelai
trailed off when she saw the serious look Sookie was giving her. 

"Why didn't you tell me?" Sookie asked.

Lorelai glanced away. "I don't know. I just couldn't."

"I'm so happy for you, Lorelai!" Sookie cried.

Lorelai looked at her suspiciously. "Wait, are we talking about the same
thing?" she asked.

Sookie nodded vigorously. "You and Luke! I think it's great!"

Michel had appeared, apparently from nowhere, to listen in on their
conversation. "You and the hamburger man?" he sniffed.

"Jealous?" Lorelai asked. Michel looked like he was about to get huffy,
so she ordered him back to the front desk. And then she waited to make
sure he had actually gone. 

"What's wrong?" Sookie asked Lorelai.  "This is great! Why do you look
like something's wrong?"

"I'm just not sure this is such a good thing, Sookie," Lorelai admitted.

"Why wouldn't it be?" Sookie blinked, as though she didn't understand.

"It's Luke, Sookie."

"Luke adores you, honey," Sookie pointed out. "And you've been on your
own since the thing with Max -"

"There's a reason for that, Sookie," Lorelai said seriously.

"I know it took you some time to get past that, but -"

"I hurt him, Sookie. I hurt Max, just like I hurt every other guy who's
stupid enough to get close to me," Lorelai said. 

"You're worried you're going to hurt Luke," Sookie said, and Lorelai
just nodded. "I thought you liked Luke."

"I do like Luke. We're great friends. I'm just not sure I _like_ Luke,"
Lorelai said.

"You're not sure," Sookie said. "You don't know?"

"I don't know."

"So it's possible you do like him," Sookie said brightly.

"But it's possible I don't...Sookie, I don't want to ruin a great
friendship. I don't. I wish this had never happened," Lorelai said.
Sookie just looked at her, and Lorelai knew she'd disappointed her
friend. Which was crazy. Sookie had no reason to be disappointed. Except
Sookie only wanted Lorelai to be happy, Lorelai knew that. 

"Lorelai," Sookie said seriously. "Obviously you're going to have to
figure out what to do about this."

"I know."

"I just want you to consider one thing, before you fly off the handle or
go on a road trip or decide that from now on you're only going to eat at
Al's Pancake World." Sookie held Lorelai's gaze. "Great
friendships...great friends...they make the best lovers."

Lorelai pressed her lips together and nodded her head. It wasn't advice
she'd wanted to hear. "I will keep that in mind," she said as positively
as she could.

end of part 1
-2-

+ + +

Rory jumped up from her seat, but Jess was blocking her path to the
aisle. "I've got to get to school."

"Why?" Jess asked.

"Because I don't just ditch every time I feel like it," Rory explained.
"You can be a juvenile delinquent if you want to, but I don't."

"Right. Harvard. The big dream. I forgot," Jess said.

"You're not moving," Rory pointed out. She sank back into her seat, and
pressed the bell to let the driver know to stop at the next stop.
"There's nothing wrong with having a goal, Jess."

"Nothing wrong with not having one, either," he pointed out.

Rory couldn't really argue with that. She looked down at the book she
was holding on her lap, but didn't open it. She turned her head and
looked out the window, watching the miles pass between her and school.
Her digital watch beeped the hour. She was late.

"You're already late, why don't we go have some fun?" Jess suggested.

"I have to go to school." The brakes of the bus squealed as it pulled to
a stop. Rory got up, and after a moment's glare, Jess rose and allowed
her to exit the bus. He was right behind her.

"You're already late," he said.

"You already said that," Rory pointed out.

"You can't miss just one day?" Jess asked, and to his delight, Rory
seemed to hesitate. He raised his hands to indicate the world around
them. "It's a nice day. Feels like spring's here. I can't tempt you?"

He had her until he mentioned tempting. This was Jess. This wasn't Dean.
Jess wasn't really a friend, he wasn't someone she knew she could trust.
Her instincts said she could, but her instincts were also pointing out
that it was a gorgeous day and she hated walking late into class. She
hadn't missed a day of school in a really long time. Just one day
couldn't hurt. Could it?

"I have to go to school," Rory insisted, strolling to the traffic light
so she could catch the bus on the other side and return to Chilton.

"Hey, isn't that Mark Twain's house over there?" Jess asked. 

Rory stopped and looked where he was pointing. "So?"

"Great American writer. You ever been there?"

Rory shook her head.

"I'm surprised at you." Jess's tone was teasing. "Mark Twain lived in a
city you come to on a daily basis and you've never bothered to pay him a
visit?"

"His house. Not him," Rory pointed out.

"I bet it'd be fun," Jess pressed. "Connecticut Yankee..."

"Have a nice time," Rory said. The light changed and she moved to cross,
but Jess grabbed her hand. She turned and looked at him.

"Come on." He pulled her hand in the direction of the historical
building. "Please?"

Rory rolled her eyes, and glanced at her watch. By the time the bus came
and she got back to Chilton, she'd have missed well into second period.
"Okay." She'd barely relented when Jess broke into a run, dragging her
along behind him. He gave a little skip for good measure.

+ + +

The phone rang at the front desk. "So it does work," Lorelai said,
sorting through the mail, which had just arrived. The phone continued to
ring, even though Michel was standing right next to it, playing computer
solitaire. "You can hear that, right?" she asked.

He sighed, and picked up the received. "Independence Inn, Michel
speaking." He paused. "It is for you." He set the phone down.

Lorelai picked it up, stretching the phone cord like a trip wire in
front of Michel. She moved closer to where the phone's base was, or
tried, but Michel was in the way. "Move it."

"My game -" Michel protested. Lorelai shoved him. "Ouch!" He grabbed the
mouse and dragged it with him.

Finally they'd shuffled their positions behind the desk. "This is
Lorelai Gilmore," she said into the phone.

"And this is Headmaster Charleston." He needn't have bothered - she
would have recognized those dour tones anywhere. "Are you aware your
daughter is not in school this morning?"

"She was running late this morning," Lorelai said. "It's possible she
missed the bus and..."

"It's eleven a.m., Ms. Gilmore. Your daughter has had plenty of time to
catch any one of the next seven buses. This is an unexcused absence. A
second will be possible grounds for suspension. Good day, Ms. Gilmore."

Lorelai stood there with the telephone in her hand. "What time is it?"
she asked Michel.

"Eleven-oh-two," he replied.

Lorelai nodded, instantly feeling panic flood through her. "Call the guy
in room 27 and tell him he missed check-out again. He has to go this
time because we're overbooked this weekend and no one's cancelled. I
have to go." She tossed the phone to Michel, and with shaking hands
picked up her car keys.

"Where are you going?" Michel demanded.

"I have to find Rory." Lorelai broke into a run, then realized she'd
parked in back, and reversed her direction, flying through the kitchen.
She ran into Steve, one of the waiters, and her keys clattered to the
tile floor.

"Lorelai?" Sookie inquired, calmly picking up the keys and handing them
to Lorelai.

"Rory's school called. She's not there. I don't know where she is." The
keys jangled in Lorelai's trembling hands.

"Maybe she missed the bus."

"It's eleven, Sookie. We had a fight this morning, and I don't know
where she is."

"Lorelai, calm down. This is Rory. I'm sure there's a good reason. It's
not like her to go off without telling anyone."

"You're right, it's not like her. And it's not like her to talk back to
me, either, or to hang around with guys who are trouble. It's like me to
do those things. Rory's acting exactly like I did at that age, and I
haven't done anything to stop her."

"Lorelai, listen to yourself," Sookie suggested. "This is Rory."

"I can't. I have to find her." Lorelai pushed past her friend.

+ + +

"Pretty interesting," Jess said, gliding along the red stanchions
separating the public from the furniture that had once belonged to the
author of Tom Sawyer.

Rory nodded.

"I was thinking we could get some lunch after this, are you hungry?"
Jess asked.

"I brought my lunch," Rory pointed out. 

"I didn't," Jess said. "I'm buying. Anyplace you like."

"I could probably get to school for fifth period," Rory said.

Jess sighed. "You just don't know how to have fun."

"Maybe your idea of fun and mine are different." Rory smiled.

Jess looked at her sincerely. "Lunch?" he persisted. "I saw a big park
on the way here...I think it might have had a carrousel. Even if it
didn't, we could have a walk around, maybe feed some ducks."

Rory hesitated. "Okay," she agreed. "But I want to go to the gift shop
first. See if they have anything really tacky as a souvenir."

"You got it," Jess agreed.

+ + +

Rory wasn't at the house. It was the first place Lorelai went, and the
only place she could think of. "Rory?" she yelled, walking through the
living room and pushing open the door to her daughter's empty room.
"Rory!?" she hollered again, but there was no answer.

Where would she have gone? Rory wouldn't have gone off by herself, would
she? Lorelai remembered when Rory had gone to Emily's, the last time
they'd had a big fight. But that had been a big fight. And Lorelai
couldn't call Emily and ask whether Rory was there without raising
serious questioning from her mother. Emily would panic. No, Lorelai
decided, if Rory had gone to her grandparents' house, then Emily would
have called so Lorelai wouldn't worry. There were no messages - Lorelai
had checked, several times. That meant Rory wasn't there.

This didn't make any sense, Lorelai thought. But it was happening, and
she had to deal with it. She got back into the car. The only thought she
could come up with was to find out if Lane or Dean had any idea where
Rory was. That meant a trip to Stars Hollow High.

Wait...cell phone. Rory had a cell phone. Lorelai could just call her.
Why was she freaking out when she could just call Rory? Lorelai grabbed
her phone and began dialing as she drove toward the high school. She
glanced up two seconds before she would have hit a pedestrian, and
jammed on the brakes.

The pedestrian looked up and she saw it was Luke.

I don't need to deal with this right now, Lorelai thought. "Sorry!" she
called through the window.

Luke eyed her warily, then approached the car. "What's wrong?"

"Rory didn't make it to school today." Lorelai tried her hardest to keep
her voice even.

Luke's face tightened into a hard, ugly frown. "Neither did Jess," he
said tersely. "Damn it."

Lorelai was already reaching for the passenger door lock. "Get in."

Luke climbed into the Jeep and sat tensely beside her. Lorelai glanced
at him and saw he was holding her cell phone, which she must have
dropped onto the seat. "You shouldn't use these while you're driving,
you know."

"I know. I was calling Rory," Lorelai said. "Finish dialing, would you?"

Luke held the phone up close to his face, squinting at the small keys.
"I don't know how to work these things," he grumbled.

"Press '5' then 'send.'"  Lorelai looked from him to the road and back
as he found the right buttons, then looked to her. "Put it up to your
ear," she suggested impatiently.

Luke did, and heard a warbling ring. "It's ringing."

+ + +

Rory's cell phone rang from the pocket of her backpack. The other museum
patrons looked at her as though she'd just committed a heinous crime.
She saw the incoming call was from her mother's phone and instantly felt
guilty, knowing she'd be in trouble. She took a deep breath and answered
it. "Hi, Mom."

"This isn't your mom," a rough male voice startled Rory on the other end
of the line. "Although you've scared her out of her mind. Where are
you?"

"Who is this?" Rory demanded, suddenly worried something had happened to
Lorelai while she was off goofing around.

"It's Luke," he said, as though Rory should have known.

"Is my mom all right?" Rory asked.

"She's driving. Where are you?" Luke demanded.

"Hartford."

"Is Jess with you?"

Rory glanced at Jess, who was watching her curiously. "He's here." There
was silence for a moment and Rory thought the call had been dropped.
"Luke?" she said, and saw Jess flinch with the realization they were now
both in trouble.

"We'll be right there," Luke said.

+ + +

"I'm going to kill her," Lorelai declared, clenching the steering wheel.
"Move it, jerk!" She hollered at the slow-moving car in front of her on
the freeway.

"Calm down," Luke requested, clinging to the handstrap. "I'm sure this
is Jess's fault."

"That's not exactly reassuring," Lorelai pointed out. "Why can't you
control him?"

"Control him?" Luke scoffed, his voice rising. "He's 17!"

"That's no excuse."

"Could anyone control you when you were 17?" Luke challenged.

"No," Lorelai snapped. "Why do you think I'm worried?"

"She's not like you, Lorelai," Luke said.

"Gee, thanks," Lorelai said.

"That's not what I meant," Luke said quickly.

"I know. She's a good kid. A smart kid. Which is why I can't understand
why she's doing this."

"Maybe there's a good explanation," Luke offered.

"She's 16!" Lorelai cried. That was the explanation.

"Could you  slow down a little?" Luke cringed as the Jeep bounced off a
pothole. "He's not going to get her pregnant before we get there."

"If I wasn't driving, I'd sock you for that," Lorelai threatened,
increasing her speed just to spite him.

Luke figured it would be safer if he didn't say anything at all.

+ + +

"She's going to kill me," Rory said to Jess as they made their way out
of the museum, to the bench where they'd arranged to be picked up.

"We could run away," Jess suggested. Rory couldn't be sure if he was
serious.

"Running away doesn't solve anything," Rory said. "My mom's been running
away from things her whole life."

"It wouldn't be so bad to grow up and be like her, you know," Jess said.

Rory just looked at him. "I love her, but I don't want my life to turn
out like hers."

"How do you know what you want?" Jess asked. "Sounds like you just know
what you've been told all your life."

Rory didn't say anything.

"'Go to Harvard.' 'Be a good girl.' 'Don't turn out like Lorelai.' - you
think I don't see it? Everyone's telling you what to do - or what not to
do. When are you going to do what you _want_ to do?" Jess asked.

"This is what I want to do," Rory insisted.

"Then why are you so miserable?"

"I'm not!" She took a second to think about it, though. "Maybe you
should take your own advice."

"I do what I want," Jess told her.

"Then why aren't you happy?" 

He'd really gotten her riled. Jess smiled, and she looked at him like he
was insane. "We only get so many days on this earth, Rory Gilmore. It's
better to take a chance and have it turn out bad than spend your whole
life wondering what might have been."

"Is that what you told Luke this morning?" Rory challenged.

"No," Jess said. "It's what he told me." Rory seemed surprised by that,
because she continued to look at him even as Lorelai's Jeep pulled up to
the curb. "They're here." Jess stood, picking up Rory's heavy backpack.

"I can carry that myself," she insisted, trying to grab it back from
him.

He wouldn't let her have it. "No need."

"Get in the car," Lorelai ordered from the driver's seat.

"Mom, I'm sorry, "Rory said.

"We'll talk about this at home," Lorelai informed her.

"I didn't mean to worry you," Rory continued apologetically. Lorelai
said nothing, so Rory put her head down and got into the backseat with
Jess.

"Hi, Uncle Luke," Jess said, smiling. "You two have a nice drive?" His
question seemed to insinuate something more.

"Keep your mouth shut," Luke suggested.

"What?" Jess asked, as though astonished by the command.

"Jess," Rory said, cautioning him.

"Keep your mouth shut or I'm sending you back to Liz," Luke said.

"I bet she'd have something to say about that," Jess retorted. He and
Luke were stuck with each other, and they both knew it.

Luke turned around in his seat. "You don't know when to stop, do you?"

"What're you gonna do, Uncle Luke, hit me?" Jess demanded.

"Would it make a difference?" Luke asked rhetorically. He wasn't going
to hit Jess. After a moment, he turned so he was once again facing the
windshield.

"Ms. Gilmore, would you please turn up the radio? I like this song,"
Jess said, as though nothing in the world was wrong. Lorelai cranked the
stereo, but it couldn't drown out the silence.

end of part 2.

-3-

+ + +

The strained air in the car was only more uncomfortable after the
dropped off Luke and Jess and covered the short distance from the diner
to the Gilmore house. Lorelai waited until they got out of the car to
say, "You're grounded."

Rory just nodded.

"I trust you to make your own decisions, Rory, but it would make me
happy if you didn't spend any more time with Jess," Lorelai continued.

Rory half-nodded.

"Rory?"

"What?" Rory demanded. "What do you want me to say? I already said I was
sorry."

"At least acknowledge -"

"Yes, mother," Rory snapped.

"Rory," Lorelai warned.

"Yes, mother," Rory repeated.

Lorelai was furious, but she didn't want Rory to know. She wanted them
to be able to talk about this, but it looked like they couldn't. Rory
was acting just like Jess.

No, that wasn't it. Rory was acting just like teenage Lorelai.

"I just don't want you to get hurt," Lorelai said.

"Being hurt is a part of life," Rory said. "And Jess wasn't hurting me."

"You didn't go to school so you could be with him," Lorelai said, amazed
at her calm. "If that's not him hurting you, then it's him influencing
you to hurt yourself."

"That's my choice," Rory said defiantly.

"Not when it affects other people," Lorelai pointed out.

"What about when you make decisions that affect other people?" Rory
demanded.

"What?" Lorelai didn't understand the sudden change in focus from Rory
to her.

"Your decisions affect me, but I don't see you asking me about them,"
Rory said.

"What are you talking about?" Lorelai cried.

Rory just shook her head. "Can I go to my room and start being grounded
now?"

"Is this about me not marrying Max? Again?" Lorelai asked, still not
understanding.

"No," Rory said. "This is about me. I decided not to go to school, okay?
And Jess just happened to be there. It's got nothing to do with you, or
who you date or don't date, or marry or don't marry, or kiss or don't
kiss."

Now Lorelai understood.

"But I don't tell you who you can be friends with," Rory continued. "So
I'd appreciate it if you'd return the favor."

"Jess told you," Lorelai surmised.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Rory demanded.

"Because..." Lorelai didn't have a good answer. "I didn't think it would
be a big deal."

"I bet it was a big deal to Luke," Rory said.

"Rory, I've always tried to keep that part of my life separated from our
life," Lorelai said. "You know that."

Rory shook her head. "That not going to work with me anymore."

Lorelai held up her hands out of frustration. "I don't know what to say
to you, Rory. I don't know what you want from me."

"I want you to figure out your own life before you tell me how to live
mine," Rory said, quite seriously. And then, before any more argument
could erupt, she went to her room and closed the door.

Lorelai let her go, sinking onto the couch with a deep sigh. The kid had
a point. How many times and how many different ways had she heard those
same words over the last year? She had to sort out her own feelings and
deficiencies if she was to have any hope of showing Rory how to lead a
normal, healthy life. Just because Rory ordinarily did so well on her
own didn't mean Lorelai could sit back and watch.

The telephone rang and Lorelai reached over and picked it up. "Hey."

"Lorelai? What happened? Did you find Rory?" Sookie sounded worried.

"Yeah, we found her." Lorelai instantly regretted the pronoun, knowing
Sookie would call her on it.

"'We'?" Sookie asked.

"I kind of ran into Luke," Lorelai admitted.

"Luke."

"But it wasn't like that, Sookie. He was looking for Jess, and as it
turned out, Jess and Rory were together."

"Why?" Sookie asked.

"I guess they decided to ditch school together. I'm not really sure.
Rory hasn't been forthcoming with the details. I'm not sure I want to
know the details," Lorelai said.

"But she's okay."

"Aside from being mentally scarred by my recurring romantic failures?
Rory's fine," Lorelai responded.

"Oh, honey, don't blame this on yourself," Sookie said.

"It's true," Lorelai groaned. "I guess there's not much I can do about
it, though, unless Sherman and Mr. Peabody want to come over to my house
with the Wayback machine."

"I don't think you'd want them to do that," Sookie said.

"I don't," Lorelai agreed. "I'm sure it'll all blow over in a couple of
days. I just hate fighting with her."

"Nobody said raising a teenager would be easy," Sookie pointed out.

"Thanks for looking on the bright side," Lorelai retorted. "How are
things at the inn?"

"It's been slow all day," Sookie reported.

"You're not just saying that to make me feel better?"

"Why would I do that?" Sookie giggled. "I better go, the dinner rush is
about to start. See you tomorrow."

"See you," Lorelai said, but Sookie was already gone. She leaned back on
the couch and looked around, finding herself with nothing to do. She
could watch the news on TV, but it just wasn't the same without Rory.

+ + +

Lorelai knocked softly on Rory's door around six o'clock. "Rory?" There
was no answer, so Lorelai tried the handle. Locked. Her heart
immediately started pounding. She just knew Rory had locked the door and
gone out the window, to run away to meet Jess. Trying to quell her
fears, she knocked again. "Rory?"

The door opened. Rory had a red mark on her cheek and her hair was
tangled. She'd obviously been asleep. "What?"

"Are you okay? It got kind of quiet."

"I'm fine," Rory replied, rubbing her eyes. They were red already.
Lorelai hated the thought that she'd been crying.

"I was just wondering if you, uh, you know, wanted to get some dinner."

"I'll eat later," Rory said, and started to close the door.

"There's nothing in the fridge, I checked."

"I'm not hungry anyway," Rory replied, and again started to close the
door.

"I feel like a salesman here," Lorelai said, glancing down at the foot
she'd playfully wedged between the door and frame to keep it from
closing completely. "I don't want us to be fighting anymore."

"We're not," Rory said, although Lorelai didn't particularly believe
her. "I'm just not hungry, that's all."

Lorelai looked at her daughter carefully. "Okay," she said, taking her
foot out of the doorway and taking a step back. "Last chance," she
offered. "Want me to bring something back for you?"

"I said I wasn't hungry," Rory repeated. "Besides, I'm not in the mood
for whatever part of the world Al's Pancake World is focused on this
week."

"Who says it has to be Al's?" Lorelai asked.

"Don't you say?" Rory pointed out. "I figured you're too chicken to go
to Luke's by yourself, or you wouldn't be standing here."

"Rory, that's not really..."

"Kind? Appropriate?" Rory demanded. "It's true, though."

"Never mind. I'm sorry I asked you," Lorelai bristled. "I'm going to go
have dinner by myself. Better company, anyway."

"Fine," Rory said, and closed the door firmly.

"You don't want me to give a message to Jess?" Lorelai yelled annoyingly
through the door. Rory ignored her. It was probably just as well.

+ + +

"What can I get for you, Ms. Gilmore?" Jess was working the counter at
Luke's, an apron wrapped around his hips.

"Burger and fries," Lorelai said. "And coffee."

"Coffee, coming right up," Jess replied, setting a cup down in front of
her and filling it. Then he stood back, as though he was waiting for
something.

"You get your tip at the end," Lorelai pointed out.

"Right. I forgot," Jess said, sarcastically.

"Rory's grounded," Lorelai told him.

"I figured," Jess nodded.

"I'd like it if she didn't hang out with you anymore."

"Isn't that Rory's decision?" Jess pointed out.

"Yes. It is," Lorelai admitted. She could hear people whispering behind
her. "How many?" she asked Jess.

He glanced behind her. "Four or five. But you know, maybe they're not
all talking about you and Uncle Luke."

"Where is 'Uncle Luke'?" Lorelai inquired.

Jess shrugged. "I don't keep track."

Great, thought Lorelai, another person hiding out to avoid seeing me.
Just what I needed. "Hey, maybe I'll have that burger to go," she told
Jess. 

He nodded, and went back to the kitchen for a moment. "Ms. Gilmore, do
you mind going back in the storeroom and getting some takeout
containers?" Jess asked her when he returned. "I really shouldn't leave
the register."

"No problem," Lorelai said, setting her purse on the counter and getting
up.

"You know where it is, right?" Jess called after her.

"I've been there before," she told him, and headed back to the
storeroom. The door was open and the light was on. 

"Weird," Lorelai shrugged, and started looking around for the take-out
containers. She stopped short when she saw Luke, sitting on a stepstool,
reading a magazine. "Luke," she said. "What're you doing here? I
mean...what kind of magazine is that?"

Luke looked at her doubtfully, but tilted the magazine so she could see
the cover. Entertainment Weekly. "It's Jess's," he said quickly, lest
she think he was interested in entertainment. "What did you think it
was?"

"Never mind," Lorelai said quickly. "How come you're hanging out in the
storeroom?"

"Why are you back here?" Luke asked, getting up. "Customers aren't
supposed to be -"

"I guess Jess was feeling short-handed. He sent me back here to get some
takeout containers."

"We don't use takeout containers. There's Tupperware in the kitchen, he
knows that," Luke said. He shook his head and said, irritated, "Jess."

"He knew you were back here hiding out from me and decided to stir up
some trouble," Lorelai surmised. "Look, I'm sorry. I'll just go."

"Lorelai, you don't have to -"

"No, I do," she said, turning to exit the storeroom. She reached the
door and pushed on it, but nothing happened. "Luke?" She tried the
handle. It turned freely, but the door didn't budge.

Luke frowned and came up next to her, trying the door. "Must be stuck,"
he said, shoving it with his shoulder. The door didn't give. 

"Or Jess shoved something in front of the door," Lorelai said.

"Why would he do that?"

"Why does that kid do anything?" Lorelai pointed out. She put her hands
into the pockets of her jeans and moved away from where Luke was
standing. "At least we won't starve."

+ + +

There was a tapping at her window. Rory turned her head, but didn't see
anyone, so she told herself it was her imagination and settled in more
comfortably with her book. 

The tapping came again. "Did you lock yourself out?" Rory demanded,
getting up and expecting to see Lorelai lurking outside. Instead, she
was surprised to see Jess. Rory opened the window and leaned out. "What
are you doing here?"

"Can I come in?" Jess asked.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Rory said.

"Why? Your mom's not home," Jess pointed out. Rory looked at him
curiously. "I saw her at the diner. I think she's gonna be there a
while, so it's safe."

"I still don't think it's a good idea," Rory told him. Then his words
connected in her mind. "When you say you think she's going to be there
for a while, what exactly does that mean?"

"I'll tell you if you let me come inside," Jess offered.

"I'll find out anyway," Rory rebuked his offer and reached to pull the
window closed.

"Rory, please," Jess said.

She hesitated. "I'm sorry, Jess," she said finally, and closed the
window, drawing the blinds closed. But she'd hesitated, and that itself
was enough to make Jess smile.

end of part three.

-4-

+ + +

"Why would he do this?" Luke wondered aloud, pacing the short length of
the stockroom.

Lorelai had appropriated both the stepstool and the issue of
Entertainment Weekly. "He probably thought it would be funny. Isn't that
his primary motivation for all his pranks?"

"You think this is just a prank?" Luke asked.

Lorelai nodded, seemingly engrossed in reading an article about the
salaries of the cast of Friends.

"What is so damn interesting?" Luke demanded, pulling the magazine out
of her hands.

"Hey, all you had to do was ask nice," Lorelai pointed out. He tossed
the magazine away. She looked at him. "I was trying to make this less
awkward."

"Why would this be awkward?" Luke asked, but he sighed.

"Because of this morning," Lorelai said gingerly. "I don't want to talk
about it any more than you do, but -"

"Who says I don't want to talk about it?" Luke asked.

"I'm sorry, what would you like to say about it?" Lorelai shot back. And
Luke was silent. "As I was saying, I don't want to talk about it any
more than you do, but since we're stuck here, maybe now would be a good
time to address some things that need to be addressed."

"Why do I feel like I'm in for a lecture here?" Luke asked.

Lorelai closed her mouth. "Fine. Never mind. You don't want to talk
about it, let's talk about something else."

There was complete silence between them.

"How 'bout those Yankees, huh?" Lorelai attempted.

"It's just pre-season," Luke grumbled. "Can't tell anything from
pre-season. Hell, the Cubs won in pre-season. Was it really that bad?"

Lorelai shook her head, a smile touching her lips. "It was nice."

"Because if it was that bad, you can tell me," Luke told her, as though
she hadn't spoken. "I'm open to criticism. And..."

"Luke," Lorelai said, to stop him. "It was fine. It was nice. It was a
nice kiss."

"What kind of word is 'nice'?" Luke wanted to know.

"Nice is...nice," Lorelai said. "It's a perfectly good word. What word
did you want?"

"You couldn't think of a better word than that?" 

"I repeat, which one did you want?" Lorelai demanded. "Gimme that
magazine back, it had plenty of words in it. I'll find one for you." He
didn't move to pick it up from where he'd tossed it. Lorelai waited.
"Think it's going to be a rainy spring?"

"Not much snow this winter. Probably means it'll be dry all year," Luke
speculated.

"What I don't understand is, why," Lorelai said.

"I think it has something to do with the jet stream," Luke replied.

"No, I mean...why," Lorelai said, meeting his eyes.

He looked away quickly. "You know, today's the anniversary of my dad's
death."

"I'm sorry," Lorelai said, sincere. "I didn't know."

"And I was thinking about it, this morning. Thinking about him. My Dad.
How he never really lived his life after my mom died."

"Maybe that was enough," Lorelai suggested.

"No," Luke said. "He had the shop, he had me and Liz, he had the town,
his reenactments, but that was it. And he seemed like he never fully had
the capacity to enjoy even that after she was gone."

"Your mom died young?" Lorelai asked. She thought she remembered, but
she wasn't sure. Luke nodded. "Maybe that was too much for him to get
over. Maybe he couldn't stand to take another chance."

"That's what I was thinking this morning," Luke said.

"But that's not bad. There's nothing wrong with that. Hey, look at my
parents, I'm not sure they've ever taken a chance on anything. And they
do okay," Lorelai said.

"There's more to life than okay, though," Luke said. "I just was
thinking about it, and Rachel, and how she left a while ago now and..."

"Luke, it's okay. Everyone goes through these periods in their lives
when they feel like there might be something more out there."

"Do you?" Luke asked.

Lorelai thought about it, and then she nodded. "There's things I want,
things I wonder about, things I'll never have."

"Don't you regret the things you'll never have?" Luke asked.

"How can I regret it if I've never had it?" Lorelai replied, working to
keep her tone light. Of course she had regrets. Everyone did. She could
have married Christopher, and who knows, by some small miracle that
could have turned out to be a better life than the one she'd made for
herself. But she'd made her decisions a long time ago.

"But what if you could have it?" Luke said.

Lorelai giggled. She couldn't help it. "This is the part of the movie
where you pull out the magic mirror or offer me three wishes, right?"

Luke smiled ruefully and shook his head. "I came to the realization this
morning that I don't want to be like my dad."

"You're not," Lorelai said. "You've got the diner, you've got..." She
searched and came up with nothing. "There's Jess, and..." Failed again.
"I'm sure your dad was a great guy, Luke."

"But he just gave up, and he was still young. Young enough. He could
have tried again."

"This isn't the conversation by which you try to explain to me how you
ended up on the next 'Survivor' is it?" Lorelai asked.

"No, this is the conversation by which I'm trying to explain why I
kissed you this morning," Luke said, looking into her eyes, and Lorelai
suddenly felt as though all the air had been sucked out of her lungs.
"And why I'm thinking I want to do it again."

"Luke, we shouldn't," Lorelai said. "I mean, there's probably a limited
supply of air in this storeroom, or some kind of fumes,
or...claustrophobia. Getting to us. Making us do, and say..." He was
touching her face now and it made it difficult to think. "Things
that...Luke..."

It was too late. His mouth was on hers again, just as soft as it had
been that morning. But bolder this time, not as tentative, not as quick.
And it occurred to Lorelai just how long it had been since she'd been
kissed, but it was more than that. He'd been right to suggest that nice
just didn't cover it.

"I knew I should have gone to Al's Pancake World," Lorelai moaned when
he released her.

"I'm sorry," Luke said, taking three giant steps back. The expression on
his face just about broke her heart.

"Luke, I didn't mean..." Lorelai stopped. She didn't know what she was
trying to say. "Don't listen to me, I don't know what I'm talking
about."

"No, it's fine," Luke said. He'd turned away from her now, so she was
looking up at his shoulders and the brim of his baseball cap from her
perch on the low stool.

"Luke, don't be like this," Lorelai pleaded. 

"Like what?" Luke snapped, turning, and she could see it was taking all
his energy not to be wounded.

A part of her was angry with him. "How did you expect me to react?"
Lorelai demanded. "Friends don't just go around kissing friends for no
reason. You and I had an agreement."

"We did?" Luke blinked with surprise.

"An unspoken one, but yeah, it was an agreement. If, hypothetically, at
some time or other, I started thinking I might have some kind of
feelings for you, I didn't bother you with them. And you were supposed
to reciprocate! It's not like that between us, Luke."

"Like what?" Now he looked smug. Like he'd pushed her into admitting
something.

"We're friends. That's all," Lorelai said.

"You said you had feelings for me."

"Hypothetically. I said, hypothetically."

"So you don't have --"

"No," Lorelai replied quickly.

"Not even hy--"

"No," Lorelai said again, and looked at the storeroom door. "When do you
think Jess will come back and let us out?"

"Knowing him? It could be never." Luke's old, familiar negativity
returned. He sat down on the floor and picked up the Entertainment
Weekly, flipping through it to where he'd left off.

"You don't have to sit all the way over there," Lorelai said. She
scooted all the way over on the stepstool. "I think there's room here."

"'s okay," Luke said, not looking up from the magazine.

"It'd be a lot more comfortable," Lorelai pressed.

"Fine, if you're going to nag me about it," Luke said, getting up and
sitting down on the stepstool next to her. It was a little of a tight
fit, and his thigh pressed against hers.

"I don't nag," Lorelai insisted. He nodded, and now she could see to
read the magazine from over his shoulder, if she tilted her head just
right. Just right ended up being resting her head against his shoulder,
but after a moment's initial surprise, Luke didn't seem to mind. It was
a very nice shoulder, Lorelai thought. "You're blocking the light."

"You're not reading it anyway," Luke pointed out. "I haven't turned a
page in half an hour."

"I was gonna complain about that next," Lorelai joked. She could hear
his heart beating through his shirt. She could feel every breath he
took. It sent wonderful, warm feelings through her, being close to
someone this way. Not someone. Luke.

"Lorelai?"

"Hmm?"

"I want to kiss you again."

She knew she should lift her head and move away from him, but she
didn't. "That might be okay," she said.

"Might?"

"Hypothetically?" She couldn't say the word with a straight face.

Luke cracked a smile. "So...?" There was a hint of question in his
voice.

"Door's locked, I won't run away. Now might be a good time to go for
it," Lorelai replied. She didn't know why she couldn't reply seriously.

"Don't sell yourself short," Luke said.

"Don't you," she replied.

"You're not exactly second choice," Luke told her.

"Luke?" Lorelai said, picking up her head and looking him in the eye. "I
never, ever though I'd say this, but you talk too much." She wound her
hand around the back of his neck and kissed him. His mouth was warm and
wet against hers and he shuddered lightly as she stroked his neck with
her fingers. When the kiss reluctantly ended, she sighed. "I could get
used to that."

Luke just nodded. But he got up from the stepstool and walked to the
door. "Maybe we should see about getting out of here." He bent down to
examine the door hinges. "I think there's a screwdriver around here
somewhere."

Now Lorelai knew how it felt, all those times she'd been the one to
leave.

end of part four.
-5-

+ + +

Rory sat up in bed, suddenly awake. The house was too quiet. Something
wasn't right. "Mom?" she called, looking at the clock as she sat up. It
was around ten. 

No answer came from the rest of the house, so Rory shoved aside the
schoolbook she'd been reading when she fell asleep. It tumbled to the
floor and landed with a loud noise, but she didn't pay attention. She
opened the door to her room and stuck her head out into the dark
kitchen. "Mom?"

The living room was dark, too. Rory flicked on the lights and leaned up
the stairs. This wasn't right. Changing direction, she went to the
window and looked out. The car was in the drive, but Lorelai probably
would have walked to Luke's. But that had been at dinnertime. Hours ago.

Remembering Jess's words, Rory ran up the stairs, bursting into her
mother's empty room. She frowned, but turned on the light and picked up
the phone. First she started to dial Jess's number, but then she thought
the better of it and called the diner instead.

The phone just rang and rang on the other end.

Rory slammed the phone down and ran back down the steps, barely pausing
to grab her jacket on her way out of the house.

+ + +

Taylor Doose stood outside the diner. The "Open" sign was still facing
outward, and all the lights were on inside, but the place was empty and
the door was locked. He turned away for a moment, back toward his store,
digging his hands deep into the pockets of his cardigan on the cool
spring night. 

There'd been a lot of talk around town during the day about Luke and his
behavior that morning. The boy was clearly out of his mind. Forgetting
to turn off the lights wasn't against any town ordinances that Taylor
could think of offhand, although closing up early wouldn't win Luke any
points from the Stars Hollow Business Association. 

Taylor started across the street to return to his store. Rory Gilmore
was hurrying toward him...or rather, toward the diner. "Hello, young
lady," Taylor said.

"Have you seen my mom?" Rory asked. She nodded to the diner's windows.
"Is she --?"

"No, it's all closed up," Taylor said.

Rory frowned, but then nodded. "Okay. Thanks, Taylor." He didn't move.
"I said, thanks Taylor."

"Aren't you out after curfew?" Taylor inquired.

Rory ignored him and walked up to the door of the diner, looking inside.

"Maybe I should get the police down here," Taylor said.

Rory turned to him with a serious expression on her face. "Maybe you
should," she agreed. Taylor looked surprised, and she gestured toward
the window. "My mom's purse is in there. She wouldn't just leave it."
Rory bit her lip, her eyebrows drawn together.

Taylor leaned in and saw the small bag resting on top of the counter.
"Let me go call." He hurried back toward his store.

Rory took a couple of steps backward. "Jess!" she shouted. No movement
from inside the apartment over the diner, although the lights were on.
"Jess!"

"Rory?" Jess appeared a moment later, leaning so far out the window she
worried he'd fall. "Change your mind?"

"Come down and open the door!" Rory called.

"Gee, I don't know if I trust myself with you this late at night," Jess
yelled back, sarcastic.

"Just get down here, please!" Rory replied.

Jess waved a hand and nodded, and disappeared back through the window.
It took longer than Rory expected before he appeared at the door to the
diner and pulled the door open. "What's up?"

Rory pointed past him. "What's my mom's purse doing on the counter?"

"She must have left it," Jess said easily.

"And Luke didn't notice when he closed up?" Rory pointed out.

Jess shrugged.

"What's that mean?" Rory asked.

"Haven't seen him," Jess said. Rory looked at him like he was crazy.
Jess smiled -- he was starting to appreciate the charm of that
expression.

"You haven't seen Luke," Rory said slowly.

Jess shrugged again. "That's what I said."

"My mom's missing, and so is Luke," Rory said.

Jess smirked. "You think they're at Mark Twain's house?"

"That's not funny," Rory said, but she was smiling in spite of herself.

"I telephoned the police," Taylor reported, returning from his store.
"They should be here at any moment."

"What's he doing here?" Jess asked Rory, nodding to Taylor. But then he
saw Miss Patty coming from her studio across the street, and Kirk
running from the gazebo, just as the town's only police car pulled up,
lights blazing. "Is this the Stars Hollow equivalent of a rave?"

"Jess, where are they?" Rory demanded.

"How should I know?"

"Jess, this isn't funny any more," Rory said seriously.

"Who's laughing?" Jess replied, and Rory had to admit he had a point.

+ + +

Trying to take the door off its hinges hadn't worked. Luke had resigned
himself to both the cuts on his hands from the slipping screwdriver, and
to the fact that they were stuck in the storeroom. He'd sat back down
next to Lorelai with a sigh.

"You're bleeding," she said, reaching for his hand and holding it up
where she could see it. Luke had good, strong hands -- warm, and
slightly rough. She hadn't noticed before.

"It doesn't matter," Luke assured her, but he didn't pull his hand away.
After a moment, he folded his fingers around hers. He couldn't help the
burst of surprise he felt that Lorelai just let him hold her hand.

Then she yawned and shattered his last shred of illusion.

"Sorry," Lorelai said, trying to shake off the yawn. "It must be late."

"It's been a while," Luke said. Neither of them was wearing a watch.
Funny they had that in common, he thought.

"I could really go for some coffee," Lorelai said softly, letting her
head rest against his shoulder for the barest second.

"You're remarkably calm," Luke observed.

Lorelai laughed. "I'm a zombie," she said.

"If you want to get some sleep..." 

Lorelai straightened up, widening her eyes in an effort to revive
herself. "I hate feeling like I'm not doing anything. I'm just sitting
here, waiting for something to happen."

It was a feeling with which Luke was well-acquainted. "Here." Releasing
her hand, he shrugged out of the flannel shirt he was wearing and draped
it awkwardly around her shoulders.

Against the cool skin of her arms that was exposed by the t-shirt she
was wearing, the flannel felt hot. Luke's shirt. Luke's body heat.
Luke's shoulder, which she was just going to rest her head against for a
second while she closed her eyes...

That's exactly how they were discovered, some time later, when the
storeroom door flew open and half the town stood there staring, led by
Rory and Taylor.

Luke could feel his face turning red, and the thought of blushing
visibly was almost as embarrassing as the situation. "Lorelai," he said,
nudging her.

"Five more minutes," she mumbled.

"Now," Luke said, and a desperate sort of plea crept into his voice.

"Bossy," Lorelai grumbled, picking up her head and blinking against the
light. Suddenly Rory and Taylor and Miss Patty and Kirk and everyone
else came into focus. "Tell me this is a nightmare."

"Believe me, I wish I could," Luke told her, getting to his feet.

Lorelai winced inwardly, because she wasn't waking up. That meant this
wasn't a dream. She winced again as she rose from the stepstool, stiff
from sitting in the same position for such a long time.

"Okay, show's over. Nothing to see. Move along," Luke said, hands
outstretched to herd people away from the open door to the storeroom. He
frowned at the door, wondering just how it had come to be open.

"At least it's not Miss Patty's yoga mats," Rory said, lingering so she
could tease her mother.

"I'm surprised you feel like bringing that up," Lorelai informed her
pointedly.

"Nice shirt," Rory tried again.

Lorelai glanced down at Luke's flannel shirt, which she'd put her arms
through the sleeves of without thinking. The sleeves hung loose around
her wrists. "What time is it?"

"Way past your bedtime," Rory grinned.

Lorelai paused, attempting not to become angry at how much sheer glee
Rory was deriving from this, and the knowledge that she'd never hear the
end of it.

"It was almost a shame to wake you up," Rory continued.

"For the love of god, be quiet," Lorelai suggested, knowing it would do
no good.

"You make a cute couple."

"Now you've gone too far," Lorelai informed her daughter firmly. "What
was blocking the door?" She paused outside the door to the stockroom,
looking at it, expecting to see some evidence that they'd used force to
get it open. But it just stood there innocently, mocking her.

"Nothing," Rory replied.

"Ha, try again," Lorelai said.

"It wasn't even locked," Rory said, her wide blue eyes curious.

"It was earlier," Lorelai told her.

"Mmm-hmm."

"Why else would we have been in there all this time?" Lorelai said. Then
she held up her hand. "On second thought, don't answer that." Rory
followed her into the diner. Luke was standing behind the counter.
"Coffee, please," Lorelai said.

"It's brewing," Luke replied. He glanced at her purse, sitting on the
counter. "Don't forget that."

Lorelai nodded, settling onto one of the stools. Various townspeople
were milling about on the sidewalk. Some of them were less obvious than
others about staring in through the diner's windows. Lorelai turned to
Rory. "Maybe you should head home, kiddo. You've got school in the
morning."

"I'm not sure that's such a good idea," Rory said, still teasing.
"Leaving you two crazy kids alone..."

"Go," Lorelai ordered. Rory shot her an exaggeratedly puppy-eyed look,
which was spoiled by her devilish smile. "Now," Lorelai insisted,
"before I start thinking you were behind this."

The way Rory frowned left no doubt as to her absolute lack of guilt.
"Behind what?" But she slid off the stool she was occupying. "Don't keep
her out too late," she said to Luke, who was pouring coffee into one of
his oversized mugs. Luke and Lorelai both watched until the door closed
behind Rory.

"Coffee," Lorelai sighed ecstatically, just breathing in her favorite
scent in the entire world. After just one sip, she felt immensely
better. "Your coffee is the best in the whole world," she told Luke.

"You're biased," he said.

"Not when it comes to coffee," Lorelai told him. But she dropped her
gaze to the cup. "This is awkward."

"Doesn't have to be," Luke said.

"Luke. Are you crazy? Half the town is out there comparing notes."

"Let 'em," he suggested. Then he did something completely unexpected. He
poured a second cup of coffee and came around to the customer side of
the counter, taking a seat on the stool next to hers. He drank some of
the coffee and looked around. "Looks different from out here."

"Luke, we should talk about this," Lorelai said, seriously.

It was a moment before Luke agreed. "Yeah." Somewhat reluctantly, he
turned and looked at her. "I guess this is the part where I apologize."

"If this was a romance novel, maybe," Lorelai replied. He looked blank.
"Or a soap opera. Those guys are always all, 'I'm sorry I kissed you'
but they never mean it." She glanced at him. "You wouldn't mean it."

"Lorelai --"

She set her coffee cup down. "Just don't," she said. "It's late. Neither
of us is thinking straight."

"I love you," Luke said, very seriously and deliberately.

Lorelai made a small sound that almost could have been a whimper. He'd
never seen her look so distraught.

"I have --" Luke began, but he was interrupted by Lorelai putting her
hands on either side of his face and kissing him ferociously. She broke
away just as suddenly, dropping her hands and dashing out of the diner.

She didn't realize until she got home that she was still wearing Luke's
shirt.

end of part five.

-6-

+ + +

Lorelai looked at the flannel shirt which lay, carefully folded, on top
of her dresser, ready to be returned to its rightful owner. Except she
wasn't quite as ready to let it go. Not quite yet.

"Rory, come on!" she called as she walked down the stairs. "I'm driving
you to school."

"I can take the bus," Rory said. She was sitting in the living room,
paging through one of her school books, her oxfords up on the coffee
table. She didn't look up.

"I said I'm driving you. Come on, let's go," Lorelai ordered, standing
in the middle of the room with keys in hand, waiting for Rory to close
the book and jam it into her already stuffed backpack.

"What about breakfast?" Rory asked innocently, still not looking up from
her obviously fascinating studies.

"We'll grab something on the way," Lorelai said.

That's when Rory looked up. "You can't avoid him forever."

"Who's avoiding?" Lorelai asked, too casually. She hated to do it,
because it felt like she was lying to Rory, the one person in the world
she would never lie to. "I don't want you to be late. And I have the
feeling Headmaster Charleston's going to want to talk to both of us."

"Wouldn't want to be late for that," Rory muttered, finally closing the
book and putting it away. But she didn't get up. "Mom, we should talk
about this."

"There's not really anything to talk about."

"What were you and Luke doing in the storeroom?" Rory asked.

"Probably the same thing you and Jess were doing at the Mark Twain
house," Lorelai replied.

"I've never kissed Jess," Rory said quietly, and for some reason it felt
like a big admission.

Lorelai sat down on the couch opposite her. "How do you feel about
that?"

Rory shrugged, looking away.

"What about Dean?" Lorelai asked. Rory still didn't say anything, still
didn't meet her eyes. "It's okay if you break up with Dean, you know,"
Lorelai said. "You're still so young and --"

"What's being young got to do with anything?" Rory demanded. 

"I just meant -" Lorelai backtracked, knowing she'd said the wrong
thing.

"My feelings are just as real as yours. Age doesn't have anything to do
with that," Rory said.

"I know that, sweetie," Lorelai said. "It's just that I know you haven't
really done this before, and that's hard."

"But I have broken up with Dean before," Rory said softly.

"Are you going to break up with him again?" Lorelai asked, in just as
soft a tone. Almost holding her breath for the answer.

Rory shrugged her shoulders. "You don't want me to."

"I want you to be happy, Rory. That's the only thing I've ever wanted,"
Lorelai told her.

"Why does it have to be so hard?" Rory asked, picking at invisible lint
on her plaid skirt.

"I don't know, babe," Lorelai admitted. "I sure as hell don't have it
figured out."

"What are you going to do about Luke?" Rory asked, looking up.

Her daughter's intense scrutiny made Lorelai feel as though the tables
had turned. "I don't know," she said honestly.

"Luke's a really good man," Rory offered helpfully.

Lorelai nodded, then sighed. "I know," she said. "I know." She opened
her mouth to ask Rory what she thought she should do, but when she
looked up, Rory had gotten to her feet and put her backpack on. She was
ready to go to school now, so the question never got asked. "Maybe you
should take the bus today," Lorelai said.

Rory nodded, and started toward the door. But she looked back before she
got there, and her path circled back to Lorelai, who she put her arms
around and hugged, hard. Lorelai couldn't help smiling, and Rory smiled
back. "Have a good day, Mom," Rory said, and then headed out, letting
the front door bang closed behind her.

Lorelai took a deep breath and left the house.

+ + +

Jess was perched on the back of the bus bench when Rory got there
several minutes before the bus was expected. She hesitated. Her first
instinct was to avoid him. But she turned her head and saw Lorelai going
into the diner. Rory straightened her shoulders and continued along her
path to the bus bench.

"You were responsible for shutting them in the stockroom last night,"
Rory said.

"Who?" Jess asked, but he was smiling. Rory raised her eyebrows at him,
and his smile faded. He slid down to sit next to her on the bus bench.
"Some people need a shove in the right direction."

"Who appointed you to do the shoving?" Rory asked. As she waited for an
answer, Jess just stared back at her with clear eyes. "What?" she
demanded, and knew instantly that she shouldn't have, because the look
in his eyes changed. He moved in to press his lips against hers. They
only made contact for a single second, before Rory drew back, jumping to
her feet. "The bus is here."

She got up and joined the line of riders, fumbling for her bus pass.
When she looked back, Jess had disappeared from the bench. But beyond
that, on the lawn on the high school, she saw Dean. Their eyes met and
she knew he'd seen the entire thing. He shook his head slightly and
turned away, to go into the school as the first bell sounded. Rory put
her head down and got on the bus.

+ + +

Lorelai walked up to the counter. The diner was fairly busy, and there
were no counter seats available, so she just stood. It took a few
moments for Luke to look in her direction. "Coffee to go?" she
requested.

He leaned against the counter. "It's danish day," he pointed out.

"Just the coffee, Luke," Lorelai said.

He started to say something -- perhaps to point out that danish day was
her favorite and that she should have a pastry, too -- but stopped, and
instead poured coffee into a paper cup and stuck a plastic lid on top.
Lorelai reached for it before he'd finished with the lid, and their
fingers brushed. He withdrew his hand immediately. 

"Sorry," she said.

"Lorelai, about yesterday --" Luke began, but when he met her eyes, he
stopped.

She nodded. "About yesterday."

"Don't feel like you have to --"

"I don't," Lorelai said.

Luke nodded. "Good." Another moment passed between them.

"Anyway, I was walking past the movie theater and noticed they've got
some weird foreign double feature playing tonight," Lorelai said
quickly. "So I was thinking --"

Luke frowned. "Are you asking me out?"

"Not quite. Let me finish," Lorelai requested, then took a deep breath
and picked up where she'd left off. "So I was thinking that you probably
hate foreign films and I only like to go if I can make fun of them,
which drives Rory crazy, because she's a strange alien child who likes
foreign films, so maybe I could let her know about it and give her some
money for some popcorn and an extra ticket so she wouldn't have to go
alone, and you and I could watch a real movie. At my house."

"What constitutes a real movie?" Luke asked, as though was what his
decision would be based on.

"Rambo? Titanic? Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory?" 

Luke's eyebrows rose, but the grin that had been forming finally broke
out. "Titanic?" he asked, as though it was unfathomable.

"It was just a thought." Lorelai diverted her attention to making sure
the lid was firmly on her coffee cup before she picked it up.

"That sounds nice," Luke said.

Lorelai looked up, slightly surprised, because she'd been convinced he
was going to say no after all that. "Nice," she repeated.

Luke nodded. "What time?"

"Eight?" Lorelai suggested.

"I'll get Cesar to watch the diner," Luke offered.

"Eight it is," Lorelai said. Wishing her feet would begin to carry her
toward the door, but she just kept standing there. "Bring Red Vines."
That must have been what her feet had been waiting for. She flashed him
a grin and sipped her coffee on her way to the door. Her smile still
hadn't faded even as she rounded the corner, well on her way to work.

This was going to work out okay.

Maybe even better than okay. Although that remained to be seen.


the end.


Feedback would make my day.


-- 
_______________________________
Megan
eponine119@worldnet.att.net
www.eponine.net