Written for the 'Coulda Woulda Shoulda' Ficathon. A unique and entirely unpredictable take on Double Date.

You are now entering Stars Hollow. Something very ridiculous, mildly preposterous, and completely entertaining is about to happen. So hang on to your seats, and enjoy the ride!

In Gypsy We Trust

"He called! He called!" Sookie shouted with glee, as she came barreling out of the inn's kitchen.

Lorelai rounded the front desk and the two women jumped together in a fit of giggles. "Sookie, this is so great! I'm so proud of you for initiating things."

Sookie giggled some more in response.

"So, what did he say?" Lorelai asked anxiously. The jumping had ceased, and now the women were facing each other, leaning on opposite sides of the desk. Michel stood by, visibly disgusted by the goings-on around him.

"Well, I asked him if he'd like to have dinner at Chez Fleur on Sunday."

Lorelai smiled in recognition. "Good choice."

"Jackson thought so too. He said he would love to…"

"Fantastic!" Lorelai beamed.

Sookie continued, "He said he would love to, but his cousin's in town and he's staying with him for the week."

"Okay, no big deal. Just reschedule for next week."

"Yeah…no big deal," Sookie said nervously, her eyes focused on the floor.

"Sook," Lorelai demanded. "What did you do?"

She brought her gaze up to Lorelai's, her face red with guilt. "Um, I might have suggested that we double date with his cousin Rune and you."

"Rune? You just set me up with a guy named Rune?"

Sookie nodded sheepishly. Michel snickered.

"Sookie, no," Lorelai pleaded. "I hate blind dates." She kicked the side of her heel against Michel's shin when he started making kissy faces.

The chef's eyes had returned to the floor. This wasn't a good sign. Lorelai tilted Sookie's chin up and gave her a hard look. "Spill."

Sookie swallowed. "Well, there's one more detail that I haven't mentioned."

"And that is?" Lorelai coached.

"Beau."

"Gonna need a little more, Sook."

"Jackson's brother Beau is staying with him for the week as well."

Lorelai's jaw dropped. "What the hell is this, the Belleville family reunion?" Sookie shrugged uncomfortably. "If Beau is coming, then why do I have to…with Rune?"

"Because Beau and Rune don't get along. Jackson's afraid to leave them alone together."

"Sookie, this is ridiculous. I mean, what? Am I supposed to be dating two men tonight? And I use the term loosely."

"Well, maybe we can find someone else to be Beau's date."

Lorelai considered Sookie's statement for a minute. "Hmm, who's currently on the Stars Hollow singles list?"

"Patty," Sookie offered. They both shook their heads immediately after the name was suggested. "There's Shelly…on Peach."

"I heard she was seeing Angus, the butcher."

"Crap." Sookie sighed.

Michel's freshly manicured fingernails tapped away on the computer keys as the two women continued to ponder.

Suddenly their eyes lit up, and they both shouted in unison, "Gypsy!" Michel's ears perked up at the sound of the mechanic's name. No one seemed to notice.

"Oh, this is perfect!" Sookie squealed. "The three of us…together. We'll be like the three musketeers!" And she was back to giggling like a maniac.

Lorelai shook her head. "Uh, Sook? I think you're forgetting something."

Sookie finally caught her breath. "What's that?"

"We're talking about Gypsy here. It'll be a cold day in hell before she agrees to this."

"Well, we can persuade her. I can be pretty convincing, you know," Sookie boasted.

"No kidding," Lorelai muttered. "I still don't know how I got rooked into this."

Sookie smiled, clutching Lorelai's arm. "C'mon, let's go call Gypsy."

Lorelai sighed, and obediently led the way to her office.

TDTDTDTDTDTDTD

Lorelai's bedroom was a mess of estrogen as the three women prepared for the evening ahead. There were clothes scattered in every corner, makeup on every surface, and shoes piled as high as shoes can be piled.

"Don't even think about it," Gypsy warned Lorelai as she approached with mascara in hand.

"Gypsy, you can't wear eye shadow without wearing mascara. The Queer Eye guys would hang you for that," Lorelai reasoned.

"I can be out that door in two seconds," Gypsy threatened.

Lorelai surrendered, "Okay, fine. No mascara,"

"I'm so happy you're coming out tonight, Gypsy," Sookie commented from the opposite side of the room. She was adjusting and readjusting her orange knit sweater, trying desperately to squelch her nerves.

"You had me at 'free meal'," Gypsy deadpanned.

"Well, it's nice to have you along for the ride," Lorelai agreed. "And who knows, you might actually enjoy yourself. Jackson's a great guy, and a real gentleman. I'm sure Beau's much the same."

"I'm getting hot just thinking about it," Gypsy said dryly.

Before Lorelai could respond, the portable phone rang. She hurried out of the room and snatched it from the hall table.

Sookie carried on a conversation with Gypsy. "You look really great, Gypsy. That jacket of Lorelai's fits you perfectly."

"Yeah, lucky she kept some of her maternity clothes." Gypsy smirked.

Sookie chuckled. "God, what I wouldn't do to have a body like hers."

"Amen, sister."

Sookie had moved on from fidgeting with her clothing, to fidgeting with her hair. She huffed and puffed from her seat, groaning in frustration. Finally, she rose to her feet and began pacing the floor. "I can't do this," she said. "I'm a nervous wreck. I can't do this."

Gypsy was many things, least of which, an expert at dating. However, she did her best to console her friend. "Look, out of the three of us, you have the best deal. You at least know who you'll be sitting next to at dinner tonight. And you should be able to keep your food down, you know, 'cause he's not a troll, or anything. So, you have nothing to worry about. Just relax."

Just relax. That made sense. Sookie took a deep breath and did exactly that. Lorelai walked back into the room a moment later with a bewildered expression on her face. Sookie immediately picked up on it. "What is it, hon?"

Lorelai thought before responding, "Oh, um…a sale. There's a sale on, uh, celery at Doose's. Listen, I'm just gonna run to the store for a minute. You guys just sit tight. I'll be back in a jiffy. Ooh, that's on sale, too. Peanut butter. Peanut butter, and celery...and raisins. Ants on a log!" she rambled her way out of the room and down the stairs before either Gypsy or Sookie could react.

On her way out the door, Lorelai ran into Rory and Lane, who were likewise dressed for an evening on the town.

"Where you girls off to?" Lorelai asked.

"Oh, we're catching a movie with Dean," Rory answered.

"Yeah, very casual," Lane added.

Lorelai smiled. "Okay, don't stay out too late, and mock mommy proud," she said the latter part specifically to Rory.

Rory nodded. "I promise there will be a plethora of mocking."

Lorelai kissed her lightly on the cheek. "Oh, there's my Harvard-bound girl using fancy words again.

Lane and Rory said their final goodbyes, and then they were off on an adventure of their own.

Lorelai had an entirely different goal in mind, as she too stepped into the night, and headed for the diner.

TDTDTDTDTDTDTD

When she reached Luke's, she casually stepped inside and smiled warmly at the man refilling the coffee pots. There were a few tables occupied, but the patrons were quietly absorbed in their conversations and the food on their plates.

"You have no idea how much I need this tonight," Lorelai told Luke as he slid a full mug towards her, and she took a seat at the counter.

"You're all dressed up," he remarked.

Lorelai smiled. "I am."

Luke simply nodded in return. Lorelai rolled her eyes.

"Aren't you curious as to why I'm dressed up? I had a great segway planned," she told him.

He clasped his hands together, and rested his elbows on the counter. "Why are you all dressed up?" he asked with artificial enthusiasm.

She laughed. "In a word, Rune."

Luke raised his eyebrows. "What's a Rune?"

"Still trying to figure that one out."

"Well, what does this Rune have to do with you?" Luke asked, trying a different angle. It never failed, no matter how preposterous the conversation, Lorelai always managed to reel him into it.

"Rune is Jackson's cousin," Lorelai stated as though it was obvious. "Jackson and Sookie are going on their first date tonight." Luke nearly smiled at that revelation. "And Rune just so happens to be tagging along. So that sticks me with Rune."

"Ah. Blind date."

Lorelai nodded, shuddering.

"So, what are you doing here, then? Playing hooky?"

"Um, not exactly," Lorelai said. "See, there's Beau…"

"Beau?" Luke asked, his head starting to spin.

"Yeah, Jackson's brother. Well, he was supposed to be joining us as well."

"So, you're accompanying two men tonight?" Luke questioned, a tinge of jealousy evident in his voice.

Lorelai smirked. "Not quite. 'Cause we landed the big fish." When Luke gave her an exasperated look, she continued, "Gypsy's going to be Beau's date…that is to say, Gypsy was going to be Beau's date."

"She chicken out?"

Lorelai shook her head. "He did."

"Aw, geez, that's rough."

"Jackson just called about a half hour ago. And now I have to explain things to Gypsy, who happens to be at my house right now, all dolled up and ready to go, poor thing."

"Well, she's pretty thick-skinned. She'll recover," Luke said.

Lorelai sighed. This wasn't going to be easy. "It just breaks my heart, though. She's so excited, Luke. You should have seen the smile on her face. I've never seen Gypsy smile so much in all my life. And when she broke into a verse of 'How Deep is Your Love', I had to get out of the house. I just couldn't face her."

Luke grunted. "What are you getting at, Lorelai?"

"Got any plans tonight?" She wiggled her eyebrows.

He glared at her. "You're in the wrong place. Last time I checked, this was a diner, not a pick-up bar."

"C'mon, Luke! You and Gypsy would make a great couple. You're both, uh, very handy…"

"No, not a chance, never in a million years," Luke barked, as he crossed his arms, closing himself off from any further debate.

"Please, Luke. Just for one night. It's not going to kill you."

He stood firmly, maintaining his resolve.

"I'll do anything," she pleaded. "Name your price."

Luke sighed. "How about you pay your tab for starters."

She beamed. "Yes, absolutely. First thing tomorrow."

He poked his head into the kitchen, catching Caesar's wild movements in time with Chubby Checker. He turned around and glanced past Lorelai, noticing that the diner was nearly empty. Sunday nights were usually pretty dead, anyway. Finally, he looked at Lorelai head on. "Give me ten minutes, I just need to clean up a bit."

She squealed with delight. "Luke, you are the best!" She grinned at him, her eyes sparkling with pure joy.

Luke couldn't help but smile in return. He quickly informed Caesar of his plans, got the go ahead, and moved behind the curtain, with his trusted matchmaker and fashion expert close in tow. Luke shook his head and led the way upstairs.

TBC…