The Other Gilmore

After the Chaos

It was the morning after the party, and Rory had left to pick up Lane's backpack from the house with Lorelai. Frankie was alone at the Gilmore residence, unable to get up from her position in bed, replaying the events of the previous night in her head. She wasn't sure how long she had been lying awake when Rory came home.

"Frankie?"

The younger twin didn't call back. She continued to stare at the ceiling in silence.

Rory cautiously opened the bedroom door. Seeing her sister lying in bed, she walked in and gently sat down next to Frankie. "Hey."

She glanced over at Rory in acknowledgement, but said nothing.

"You okay?"

Frankie nodded curtly, but continued to stay silent.

"You know, mom's kinda impressed."

"With?"

"Aha, you can speak!" Rory grinned, but quickly cleared her throat when she received a scowl of annoyance from her sister. "You. I told her about the fight, and she's kind of impressed."

Frankie sat up onto her elbows and frowned. "Why? It was bad."

"Yeah, but she said that two boys fighting over you and getting the cops called to bust a party is impressive."

Frankie shook her head and flopped back down. "It's not. It was bad."

Rory tilted her head to the side, studying her sister. "What happened, anyway? You left before I had a chance to ask."

"I went upstairs to be alone, found Jess, got into an argument, went to leave, and Dean stopped me. He saw that I was crying, I told him to leave it alone, but he didn't," she said with a shrug. "Is Kyle okay?"

"Oh, he's fine. Just cleaning up the mess. His parents are pissed, and I guess they called Luke to assess the damage."

Frankie closed her eyes tight and sighed. "Great."

"It's not your fault. You know that, right?"

"It is, though. They were fighting because of me."

"No, they were fighting because of them. You were just a catalyst."

Frankie gave her sister a look. "Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

Rory paused, then gave a tentative smile. "Yes?"

The younger twin chuckled and shook her head. "Well, it doesn't."

"Hey, at least you're talking more. Now, come on. Let's get food."

"I'm not hungry."

Rory scowled. "Yes, you are. I know you. Come on."

Frankie groaned as Rory pulled her up and out of bed, leading them into the kitchen to grab snacks.

Lorelai came home that evening to report that Fran from Weston's Bakery had died. On the way to the funeral the following day, the trio reminisced about Fran, and what a sweet and wonderful woman she was. As they passed by Luke's, Frankie glanced through the window and saw Jess behind the counter by the register. She sighed, then turned back to the conversation just as they approached Ms. Patty, who was crying on a bench.

"Now it all starts," the dance teacher said through tears.

"What all starts, honey?" Lorelai asked as she sat next to the woman.