FAR AWAY FOR FAR TOO LONG - Chapter Three
Title: Far Away For Far Too Long
Rating: M (in subsequent chapters)
Pairing: Literati with bits of JavaJunkie
Summary: 11 months after “The Real Paul Anka”: Sometimes you are just too stupid to see what lies directly in front of your eyes. And sometimes epiphany comes too late.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
PICKING UP THE PIECES
The first rays of sunshine tickled Lorelai’s nose when she awoke on the couch in the next morning. How so often at their video evenings together, both of them hadn’t made it into bed any more and had fallen asleep at some point between Pippi in Taka-Tuka-Land and The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie.
Lorelai sat up slowly and took in her surroundings. Obviously, she was the only one on the couch. Rory was nowhere in sight.
“Rory?” she called, her voice still laced with sleep.
“Kitchen.” she heard her respond.
She stood up and shuffled towards the kitchen. She found Rory standing at the window with a far-away look on her face.
“Hey, why are you up so early?” Lorelai asked and sat down at the kitchen table, eyeing her daughter suspiciously.
“I couldn’t sleep any more.” Rory replied, still looking out the window.
“What are you doing?”
“Just thinking.”
“About what?”
“Stuff.”
“Stuff?” Lorelai asked annoyed by the monosyllabic answers she was receiving. “Come on, Rory. Tell Mommy!” she added with a childish voice.
Rory turned away from the window and sat down opposite her mother.
“I was thinking that all my belongings are still in Logan’s apartment and that I have to pick them up eventually. I just don’t want to run across him.”
“Don’t worry. I will take care of that.” Lorelai tried to reassure her daughter.
“Really? Would you do this?”
“Sure!”
“Thanks, Mom!”
“Hey! Why don’t you just stay here for a while? You can have your old room.”
“Well, actually … I have already talked to Paris on the phone this morning. I can move in with her again.”
“That’s great.”
“I think she was even pleased about it. Of course she has held me a long lecture at first about Logan being a jerk and that she always knew that this would end badly one day and that she will neuter him if he dares to cross her path once again.”
“Way to go, Paris!” Lorelai interjected.
“Yeah.”
“Paris Geller - avenger of the cheated ones.”
They burst out in laughter at this crazy thought.
“By the way, have we really decided to buy a monkey and a horse last night?”
“I think that was a dream.” Rory answered, feigning seriousness.
“Thank goodness! I don’t think that our porch could sustain the weight of a horse.”
Lorelai stood up and grabbed the telephone.
“What are you doing?” Rory asked baffled.
“I’m taking care of your little problem.”
“How?”
“Watch and memorize.” Lorelai replied and started to dial. “Damn!” she suddenly cried out.
“What?”
“Our telephone is broken.”
“Mom!” Rory giggled. “The plug!”
“Oh!...Right!” Lorelai put the plug back in and dialed anew. “I was just testing you. …You passed.”
“Who are you calling?”
Lorelai motioned her daughter to be quiet.
“Luke’s Diner?!” answered a squealing voice at the other end.
“Caesar? This is Lorelai. Get Luke to the phone.” she demanded.
“He is upstairs, doing the monthly settlement and he wouldn’t like to be disturbed.”
“That wasn’t a request! If you do not immediately fetch Luke, there soon will be no more caesar salad at Luke’s because there will be no-one with this name anymore to prepare it. Understood?”
“I hate you.”
“Ditto.”
“He fetches Luke.” Lorelai whispered in her daughter’s direction, holding a hand over the mouthpiece.
“What does the whole thing have to do with Luke?” Rory asked.
“Shush! Wait and see!”
“Lorelai?! Luke says he will call you back later.” Caesar told her unnerved.
“No, Caesar. I have to talk to him now. Tell him I’m pregnant and I’m not sure which wallpapers I’d like to have in the nursery.”
“As you wish.”
A few minutes later, she heard a loud thud that sounded like a heavy man, falling down the stairs. She could hear Luke swearing angrily and shortly afterwards he was on the phone.
“You are pregnant?” he asked breathlessly.
“Luke! Calm down! I was just kidding.” Lorelai tried to lull him.
“That isn’t funny. Jeez! I caught at least five bruises and my cook crouches anxiously at the foot of the stairs because he was in the way when I came down.”
“I have to talk to you.” Lorelai cut him off before he could say anything else.
“And that couldn’t wait till later?”
“Rory broke up with Logan.” she didn’t really answer his question.
“What happened?” he asked taken aback.
“He has cheated on her again.”
“What? If I get my hands on him, I will…”
“Luke!” she interrupted him. “We need your help.”
“I’m on my way.”
“Oh, and bring pancakes” she added before he could hang up. “And coffee…lots of coffee”
GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
A couple of minutes later, it knocked at the door.
“Our breakfast is here.” Lorelai announced, hurried to the door and tore it open.
“You’ve got wings, baby.” she said with a flirtatious smile and wrested the bag and the coffee out of his hands. “What would I do without you?”
Luke followed her flabbergasted into the kitchen.
“I’m pleased to see you, too.” he commented and sat down next to Rory at the kitchen table.
“Hey, Rory! You know I am not particularly good in such things. But are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Thanks, Luke!”
“How can I help you?”
Lorelai took a sip of her coffee and eyed Paul Anka who seemed very interested in a slice of pizza of the previous day.
“You must help me to get Rory’s stuff from Logan’s apartment.” she told him.
“That goes without saying. We can take my truck.”
“Don’t forget to bring Mr. Snuggles with you under any circumstances.” Rory chimed in.
“Who is Mr. Snuggles?” Luke asked and looked confusedly at Lorelai.
“Rory’s favorite cuddly toy. The one she has ever since she was born.” she told him.
“Oh, the pig!”
“It’s a bear.” Rory called indignantly.
“But it‘s pink!” Luke tried to reason.
“So what?” Lorelai asked, not getting the point.
“Ah, forget it!” Luke surrendered. He knew that it was pointless to argue with a ‘Gilmore Girl’. “When do we hit the road?”
“Pronto, at best. Let’s get it over with ASAP.”
“Okay, come on.”
Lorelai grabbed her purse and went to the door with Luke hot on her heels. Before she left the house she turned around one last time and called: “Rory, can I take a message? A kick or something like that?”
Rory remained silent.
“Has she said something?” Luke asked Lorelai, not sure if he’d missed her response.
“You shall remove the cap and undo the first buttons of your shirt because that looks more dangerous.”
“Why do I ask at all!?” he stated grumpily.
“Because I’m irresistible.” she answered, batting her eyelashes.
GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
When they arrived at the apartment, Lorelai’s hope to find it emptily changed into disillusionment when she spotted Logan’s car in front of the building. She looked up at the facade and sighed.
“Here we go!”
They entered the hallway and went straight to Logan’s apartment door. Luke knocked and they waited tensely for the door to open.
After a couple of seconds which to Lorelai seemed like an eternity, Logan tore up the door. His initially eager facial expression changed at the sight of Luke and Lorelai in disappointment.
“Where is Rory?” he asked. “I have to talk to her and she isn’t answering her cell phone.”
“Hmmm… maybe she isn’t answering her cell because she called it quits!?” Lorelai answered venomously and squeezed past Logan followed by Luke. “We are here to get her stuff.”
“Does that mean she isn’t giving me a chance to explain what happened?”
“Exactly.”
“But…” Logan started but was cut off by Luke who had planted himself in front of him and angrily snatched off his cap.
“You have intermission now. Isn’t there some girl you can amuse yourself with? If not then stay out of my way and try to breathe as little as possible. I need a lot of oxygen and I can easily get angry if one breathes too much away. Understood?”
“But I….” Logan tried again.
“Understood?!”
“Yes, Sir!”
Luke spun around and followed Lorelai into the living room.
“Luke, you’ve forgotten the buttons.” she teased.
“Shut up!”
GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
Luke and Lorelai spend the next half-hour packing Rory’s stuff in boxes while Logan watched the hustle and bustle quietly with a glass of whiskey in his hand.
Lorelai had already gone down to the truck when Luke dragged the last box of books towards the door. Suddenly, he noticed that they had forgotten the most important thing.
“Where is Mr. Snuggles?” he asked Logan.
“Who?”
“Don’t make such a fuss!” Luke demanded. “Rory’s cuddly toy.”
“The pig?”
“It’s a bear.” he growled.
“But it's…” Logan tried to argue but he was interrupted by Luke.
“Pink. I know. Don’t ask! Where is it?”
“In the bedroom, under the bed.”
Luke fetched the cuddly toy quickly and scowled at Logan while leaving.
“Stay away from Rory. If you call her, bother her or merely breathe in her direction, I will pull your limbs out one at a time. Capice?”
Logan nodded dumbfounded and Luke looked at the bear skeptically.
“A bear! What a load of rubbish!”
He slammed the door loudly and left the house with the last box.
On the drive back to Stars Hollow, Lorelai eyed Luke up from the side.
“Luke?” she purred.
“What?” he answered sullenly.
“Will you undo the buttons for me tonight?”
“But the cap stays put.”
Rating: M (in subsequent chapters)
Pairing: Literati with bits of JavaJunkie
Summary: 11 months after “The Real Paul Anka”: Sometimes you are just too stupid to see what lies directly in front of your eyes. And sometimes epiphany comes too late.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
PICKING UP THE PIECES
The first rays of sunshine tickled Lorelai’s nose when she awoke on the couch in the next morning. How so often at their video evenings together, both of them hadn’t made it into bed any more and had fallen asleep at some point between Pippi in Taka-Tuka-Land and The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie.
Lorelai sat up slowly and took in her surroundings. Obviously, she was the only one on the couch. Rory was nowhere in sight.
“Rory?” she called, her voice still laced with sleep.
“Kitchen.” she heard her respond.
She stood up and shuffled towards the kitchen. She found Rory standing at the window with a far-away look on her face.
“Hey, why are you up so early?” Lorelai asked and sat down at the kitchen table, eyeing her daughter suspiciously.
“I couldn’t sleep any more.” Rory replied, still looking out the window.
“What are you doing?”
“Just thinking.”
“About what?”
“Stuff.”
“Stuff?” Lorelai asked annoyed by the monosyllabic answers she was receiving. “Come on, Rory. Tell Mommy!” she added with a childish voice.
Rory turned away from the window and sat down opposite her mother.
“I was thinking that all my belongings are still in Logan’s apartment and that I have to pick them up eventually. I just don’t want to run across him.”
“Don’t worry. I will take care of that.” Lorelai tried to reassure her daughter.
“Really? Would you do this?”
“Sure!”
“Thanks, Mom!”
“Hey! Why don’t you just stay here for a while? You can have your old room.”
“Well, actually … I have already talked to Paris on the phone this morning. I can move in with her again.”
“That’s great.”
“I think she was even pleased about it. Of course she has held me a long lecture at first about Logan being a jerk and that she always knew that this would end badly one day and that she will neuter him if he dares to cross her path once again.”
“Way to go, Paris!” Lorelai interjected.
“Yeah.”
“Paris Geller - avenger of the cheated ones.”
They burst out in laughter at this crazy thought.
“By the way, have we really decided to buy a monkey and a horse last night?”
“I think that was a dream.” Rory answered, feigning seriousness.
“Thank goodness! I don’t think that our porch could sustain the weight of a horse.”
Lorelai stood up and grabbed the telephone.
“What are you doing?” Rory asked baffled.
“I’m taking care of your little problem.”
“How?”
“Watch and memorize.” Lorelai replied and started to dial. “Damn!” she suddenly cried out.
“What?”
“Our telephone is broken.”
“Mom!” Rory giggled. “The plug!”
“Oh!...Right!” Lorelai put the plug back in and dialed anew. “I was just testing you. …You passed.”
“Who are you calling?”
Lorelai motioned her daughter to be quiet.
“Luke’s Diner?!” answered a squealing voice at the other end.
“Caesar? This is Lorelai. Get Luke to the phone.” she demanded.
“He is upstairs, doing the monthly settlement and he wouldn’t like to be disturbed.”
“That wasn’t a request! If you do not immediately fetch Luke, there soon will be no more caesar salad at Luke’s because there will be no-one with this name anymore to prepare it. Understood?”
“I hate you.”
“Ditto.”
“He fetches Luke.” Lorelai whispered in her daughter’s direction, holding a hand over the mouthpiece.
“What does the whole thing have to do with Luke?” Rory asked.
“Shush! Wait and see!”
“Lorelai?! Luke says he will call you back later.” Caesar told her unnerved.
“No, Caesar. I have to talk to him now. Tell him I’m pregnant and I’m not sure which wallpapers I’d like to have in the nursery.”
“As you wish.”
A few minutes later, she heard a loud thud that sounded like a heavy man, falling down the stairs. She could hear Luke swearing angrily and shortly afterwards he was on the phone.
“You are pregnant?” he asked breathlessly.
“Luke! Calm down! I was just kidding.” Lorelai tried to lull him.
“That isn’t funny. Jeez! I caught at least five bruises and my cook crouches anxiously at the foot of the stairs because he was in the way when I came down.”
“I have to talk to you.” Lorelai cut him off before he could say anything else.
“And that couldn’t wait till later?”
“Rory broke up with Logan.” she didn’t really answer his question.
“What happened?” he asked taken aback.
“He has cheated on her again.”
“What? If I get my hands on him, I will…”
“Luke!” she interrupted him. “We need your help.”
“I’m on my way.”
“Oh, and bring pancakes” she added before he could hang up. “And coffee…lots of coffee”
GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
A couple of minutes later, it knocked at the door.
“Our breakfast is here.” Lorelai announced, hurried to the door and tore it open.
“You’ve got wings, baby.” she said with a flirtatious smile and wrested the bag and the coffee out of his hands. “What would I do without you?”
Luke followed her flabbergasted into the kitchen.
“I’m pleased to see you, too.” he commented and sat down next to Rory at the kitchen table.
“Hey, Rory! You know I am not particularly good in such things. But are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Thanks, Luke!”
“How can I help you?”
Lorelai took a sip of her coffee and eyed Paul Anka who seemed very interested in a slice of pizza of the previous day.
“You must help me to get Rory’s stuff from Logan’s apartment.” she told him.
“That goes without saying. We can take my truck.”
“Don’t forget to bring Mr. Snuggles with you under any circumstances.” Rory chimed in.
“Who is Mr. Snuggles?” Luke asked and looked confusedly at Lorelai.
“Rory’s favorite cuddly toy. The one she has ever since she was born.” she told him.
“Oh, the pig!”
“It’s a bear.” Rory called indignantly.
“But it‘s pink!” Luke tried to reason.
“So what?” Lorelai asked, not getting the point.
“Ah, forget it!” Luke surrendered. He knew that it was pointless to argue with a ‘Gilmore Girl’. “When do we hit the road?”
“Pronto, at best. Let’s get it over with ASAP.”
“Okay, come on.”
Lorelai grabbed her purse and went to the door with Luke hot on her heels. Before she left the house she turned around one last time and called: “Rory, can I take a message? A kick or something like that?”
Rory remained silent.
“Has she said something?” Luke asked Lorelai, not sure if he’d missed her response.
“You shall remove the cap and undo the first buttons of your shirt because that looks more dangerous.”
“Why do I ask at all!?” he stated grumpily.
“Because I’m irresistible.” she answered, batting her eyelashes.
GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
When they arrived at the apartment, Lorelai’s hope to find it emptily changed into disillusionment when she spotted Logan’s car in front of the building. She looked up at the facade and sighed.
“Here we go!”
They entered the hallway and went straight to Logan’s apartment door. Luke knocked and they waited tensely for the door to open.
After a couple of seconds which to Lorelai seemed like an eternity, Logan tore up the door. His initially eager facial expression changed at the sight of Luke and Lorelai in disappointment.
“Where is Rory?” he asked. “I have to talk to her and she isn’t answering her cell phone.”
“Hmmm… maybe she isn’t answering her cell because she called it quits!?” Lorelai answered venomously and squeezed past Logan followed by Luke. “We are here to get her stuff.”
“Does that mean she isn’t giving me a chance to explain what happened?”
“Exactly.”
“But…” Logan started but was cut off by Luke who had planted himself in front of him and angrily snatched off his cap.
“You have intermission now. Isn’t there some girl you can amuse yourself with? If not then stay out of my way and try to breathe as little as possible. I need a lot of oxygen and I can easily get angry if one breathes too much away. Understood?”
“But I….” Logan tried again.
“Understood?!”
“Yes, Sir!”
Luke spun around and followed Lorelai into the living room.
“Luke, you’ve forgotten the buttons.” she teased.
“Shut up!”
GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
Luke and Lorelai spend the next half-hour packing Rory’s stuff in boxes while Logan watched the hustle and bustle quietly with a glass of whiskey in his hand.
Lorelai had already gone down to the truck when Luke dragged the last box of books towards the door. Suddenly, he noticed that they had forgotten the most important thing.
“Where is Mr. Snuggles?” he asked Logan.
“Who?”
“Don’t make such a fuss!” Luke demanded. “Rory’s cuddly toy.”
“The pig?”
“It’s a bear.” he growled.
“But it's…” Logan tried to argue but he was interrupted by Luke.
“Pink. I know. Don’t ask! Where is it?”
“In the bedroom, under the bed.”
Luke fetched the cuddly toy quickly and scowled at Logan while leaving.
“Stay away from Rory. If you call her, bother her or merely breathe in her direction, I will pull your limbs out one at a time. Capice?”
Logan nodded dumbfounded and Luke looked at the bear skeptically.
“A bear! What a load of rubbish!”
He slammed the door loudly and left the house with the last box.
On the drive back to Stars Hollow, Lorelai eyed Luke up from the side.
“Luke?” she purred.
“What?” he answered sullenly.
“Will you undo the buttons for me tonight?”
“But the cap stays put.”