A Different Life

nine

The flight attendants were passing through the cabin preparing for descent into London so Rory knew that was her cue to go and put on proper clothes. She looked over at Finn, he had fallen asleep halfway through the Lion King. Rory wished she could take this opportunity to give him a closer look but she knew she needed to get changed before the seatbelt sign came on again. In the cramped bathroom Rory switched out her yoga pants to a pair of seven for all mankind jeans, a plain black armani blouse and a light Gucci jacket with a pair of heeled boots. She quickly fixed her hair into a sleeker bun than the previous messy one and actually put makeup on which she hadn't bothered to do for the flight. As she was finishing up she heard the dig of the seat belt sign so she rushed back to her seat to tidy everything up for landing.

Finn was still asleep as the plane landed, after the plane taxied towards the gate Rory leaned over and gave Finn a shake.

"Five more minutes."

"Finn, we've landed, it's time to get off the plane you can't have five more minutes." Rory laughed.

"Rory? You're here? I thought that was a dream."

"No Finn, not a dream, come on, it's time to get off this plane. I can't wait to get a stretch and a proper walk."

"Now I know I must be dreaming, Rory Gilmore would never willingly want to go for a walk!" Finn said with a yawn.

"Well Rory who hasn't walked around in eight hours does. So get your butt in gear or I'll walk on without you."

"You wouldn't abandon me, kitten," Finn said with a pout as he followed her out of the cabin into the terminal. "When did you get time to change? You look gorgeous, all grown up since college!"

"Thanks Finn, most people do tend to grow up over five years," she said marching towards passport control. "Where are you heading in the city? Do you have a ride picking you up?"

"I was just going to grab a cab, did you want to share? I'm going towards Kensington, we have a hotel there."

"I actually have a car picking me up, I'm going to Knightbridge, Kensington is on the way I can give you a ride if you'd like?" Rory offered, not really ready to say goodbye yet.

"If you are sure it wouldn't be too much trouble love, that would be great."

"No trouble at all Finn. Let's get our bags and find our ride."

They made their way to baggage claim, where Finn helped Rory get her bag while mocking her for having a bright blue Gucci suitcase, which she argued made it easier to spot on the luggage belt. As they made their way through to arrivals Rory spotted Alfred her driver, after her first trip she had asked him to stop holding a sign for her as she preferred to be inconspicuous.

" This is us," Rory said, grabbing Finn's hand to make sure he didn't lose her in the crowd. As she did she felt a jolt of electricity but she set it aside for now, and continued striding through arrivals dragging her suitcase with one hand and Finn with the other.

"Alfred!" Rory exclaimed, hugging the older gentleman.

"Miss, let me take your bag for you," said Alfred, he always enjoyed his young employer's casual attitude.

"Alfred, this is Finn Morgan, I told him we would drop him off at the Morgan Hotel in Kensington, so just an extra stop this morning."

"No problem Miss, I picked up your usual coffee for the drive, Mr Morgan do you need me to make a stop on the way to the car for coffee for you?"

"No thank you Alfred, I will be ok until I get to my hotel," Finn replied while following Rory and Alfred out towards the car. He was pleasantly surprised to see them stop at a Mercedes S class sedan. Alfred opened the door for Rory and she slid in, he went to the other side and opened the door for Finn. While Alfred was loading the luggage in the trunk, Finn whispered to Rory, "I do believe you have been holding out on me Miss Gilmore."

"I have no idea what you are referring to," Rory replied with a smirk, as Alfred got into the driver's seat and glided the car into the early morning traffic.

They passed the majority of the ride with small talk, both tired as the flight had been the red eye and neither had got more than an hour's sleep. As they got closer to Finn's hotel Rory asked for Finn's cell.

"Why kitten?"

"So I can put my contact number in, so if you decide you want to meet up you can call me."

"That would work, here you go."

Rory had just finished typing in her details as they pulled up to the Morgan Hotel, she jumped out and gave Finn a hug goodbye, at the same time as the hotel's concierge came to meet him.

"Mr Morgan, you didn't tell you you were bringing Miss Gilmore with you." said the concierge while nodding at Rory.

"Don't worry I'm not staying," Rory replied while climbing back into her car.

Finn leaned in through the window to give her a final kiss on the cheek goodbye, "mind telling me Kitten, how my concierge knows you by name?"

"Well Mr Morgan, that's for me to know and for you to find out," Rory replied with a laughing smirk as Alfred pulled away from the curb leaving a dumbfounded Finn staring at the departed car.

Rory loved her London apartment, that she had inherited from Lorelai the first, it was a six bedroom penthouse, with an outdoor terrace, it overlooked Hyde park and had full security and a twenty four hour concierge. It somehow managed to be opulent and homey at the same time. The bathrooms were where the opulence kicked in, all marble and chrome, combined with the foldback doors in the main living room which opened onto the terrace. Rory had converted one of the bedrooms into a library during one of her first visits as she loved to read while on the terrace. The terrace is where she now found herself with her laptop, she had just woken up from a nap, she made sure not to sleep too long as it made the time change harder. She had just opened her work email, when her message tone on her cell rang.

She was surprised to see it was from Finn:

Kitten, I can get us tickets to the Lion King tomorrow night if you would like to accompany me?

That sounds wonderful, would you like to do dinner as well, either before or after the show? She quickly replied before she could think of all the reasons to say no.

How about an early dinner and drinks after the show?

Sounds great Finn,

Text me your address and I will pick you up at five.

You don't have to do that, I can meet you at the restaurant.

I insist Miss Gilmore, my mother would have my hide if I didn't pick you up.

Rory texted Finn her address, then laid back with a sigh. She wondered at how Finn had quickly bounced back into her life. Back at Yale, Rory had a crush on Finn, she had even hoped he would ask her out while her and Logan were casual but overtime her and Logan got more serious and Finn became a good friend. Seeing him yesterday had been a surprise, albeit a pleasant one. He looked good, age had certainly done him plenty of favours. Shaking her head quickly as if to remove those thoughts from it, Rory bounced up and decided to go out for the day after all, figuring if she kept busy she couldn't over think. Afterall she was on vacation, she was meant to be going with the flow.