Jess and Rory

Part 2

Rory gallops over to Luke's, mustard yellow backpack slapping against her wrinkled Chilton outfit. Lorelai had planned to iron it for her favorite (and only) daughter, but feasting on leftovers and binging "I love Lucy" seemed much more important at the moment. Rory's plaid skirt ruffles as she dashes like a rather slow racehorse, white tennis shoes clopping against the concrete as she makes her way towards the diner, dragging a grumbling Lorelai by the arm. She skids to a halt before the door, nearly barging into Taylor.

"Miss Gilmore! My oh my! Watch where you're running, young lady!" The grey-haired man exclaims, clasping his hand over his heart dramatically.

"Sorry, Taylor! I'm kind of in a hurry. Miss Sleepyhead decided to break the alarm clock, hence leading to a much longer time for her to have dreams of sugar plum fairies....and coffee," Rory babbles, a nervous habit, which tends to help her get out of most situations when the recipient of the verbal diarrhea tires of the constant chatter.

Taylor shrugs and shakes his heads, offering an exasperated sigh and an incoherent grumble as he turns and walks away.

"I wonder what got shoved up his butt this morning," Lorelai comments bluntly, rude without her well-needed caffeine boost.

"Mom!" Rory exclaims.

"Fine, I wonder what got shoved up his booty. Is that better, ma'am?" Lorelai says, waving her hand in a pointy flourish at Rory.

Rory sighs and shoulders the creaky door open, lugging her complaining mother along like a sack of rocks. Luke eyes them from behind the counter, sighing visibly as his broad shoulders heave, preparing himself for a banter. He exits from his hiding place behind the bar, heading in the Gilmore's direction as Rory shoves Lorelai into an open seat at an empty table close to the staircase leading upstairs.

Luke offers a mere grumble for his annunciation, alerting the two caffeine addicts of his arrival. Rory jerks her head upwards.

"Food," Rory states, leaving it at that.

"Kind?" Luke presses.

"Unhealthy."

Luke shakes his head in disapproval, but he knows better than to protest. He turns to begin walking away, but falters as he glances at Lorelai's unmoving body, face buried in her arms as she rests her bed-head on the table.

"She okay?" Luke asks quietly, as if he's afraid of Lorelai knowing that he cares for her in the slightest.

"She'll be fine," Rory waves him off, too tired to offer more of an explanation.

Surprising both Luke and her daughter, Lorelai groans loudly, before profoundly mumbling something into her arms.

"Mom, English please," Rory orders with a nudge of her elbow, poking Lorelai in the arm gently.

"Coffee!" The near hibernating woman exclaims, still keeping her head lowered.

Luke simply shakes his head in disapproval once more, turning around to fulfill their orders, but not before Rory catches a rare curl of his stubborn lips. Only Lorelai is capable of making him smile.

A loud thud announces the entrance of a klutz, which Rory responds to with the jerk of her brainiac head. Something tugs in her gut at the sight of the messy boy groggy with no sleep, his dark hair ruffled in a failed attempt at being tamed, spiking as if static.

Honey meets blue.

The earth shifts ever so slightly, though neither can feel it yet.

Jess looks away first.