A/N: Trust me when I say that I am not, at least not at the core, a BB shipper. That's just the way this chapter had to work out. It's told differently, from Chris's POV, just to show an outward look into the Literati relationship. This is it, the last chapter... I hope that you enjoyed it, I've enjoyed writing it. Now that it's finished, it means that I can stop procrastinating and actually get to the rest of my stories. Thank you to everyone who read them, I hope that you enjoyed reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them.
Season Two
Nick & Nora, Sid & Nancy 2x05 - Jess's POV
Presenting Lorelai Gilmore 2x06 - Rory's POV
The Ins and Outs of Inns 2x08 - Jess's POV
The Bracebridge Dinner 2x10 - Rory's POV
Richard in Stars Hollow 2x12 - Rory's POV
A-Tisket, A-Tasket 2x13 - Jess's POV
Lost and Found 2x15 - Rory's POV
There's the Rub 2x16 - Jess's POV
Dead Uncles and Vegetables 2x17 - Jess's POV
Teach Me Tonight 2x19 - Rory's POV
Lorelai's Graduation Day 2x21 - Rory's POV
I Can't Get Stared 2x22 - Chris's POV
The list will change with the addition of the rest of the actual stories. This will probably be done rather quickly, as it's just a distraction from my other stories. Anyway, onto the story:
Never Say Goodbye
Lorelai's Graduation Day, Episode 2x21
IC Chapter
Rated K+
Christopher begged a 'be right back' to his daughter as he moved away to take his call. Turning away, he walked over to a grove of trees located a few meters away from the bridge. He flipped open his phone and checked the caller ID, it was Sherry. Taking a deep breath, he opened then closed the phone, unable to face her yet. He knew that he would be hearing hell from her for this, but there was nothing that was going to take him away from this wedding, this happy moment between him and Lorelai… they were ready, they were finally ready.
With that happy thought in mind, he turned around to try to find Rory again, to talk to her a bit more. Instead of finding just his daughter, he turned in time to see her and another boy, another 'not Dean' boy, kissing by the stream. At first the thought didn't register, until she pulled away from him and started to run away. He made like he was going to follow, but ended up staying behind, shuffling. Christopher remembered that shuffle well. He'd been there more than once.
Unfortunately, he wasn't the one in question at the moment. A momentary feeling of rage coursed through his blood and he raced down to where the kid was standing. Before his adversary had time to react, he grabbed the lapels on the kid's collar and shoved him towards one of the trees, where he held him.
"Who the hell are you?" he demanded.
"Who the hell are you?" the kid snapped back, shoving his hands away. Chris didn't allow the pushing. Instead he shoved the boy back into the tree.
"I'm the father of the girl you were just kissing," he roared.
"Chris… Jess?" a voice asked from behind them. It was Lorelai, probably looking for her daughter.
"Jess?" Chris asked the kid, but he received only a cold glare.
"What are you… why are you… how did you get back?" Lorelai demanded from behind them, yanking Chris off Jess and taking his position of authority.
"Jeez, and here I was thinking that this party was for me," Jess scoffed.
"Don't be a smart ass. You caused enough trouble last time you were in town. No one wants you here, why are you here?" she told him, visibly angry and frustrated.
"He was just kissing Rory," Chris offered from behind them, which earned him a horrified glance from Lorelai and an annoyed death-glare from the kid.
"Wait… kissing Rory?" Lorelai repeated, unable to register it. "You jerk! Now you're not just satisfied with breaking her arm, you have to break her heart too?"
"That Jess?" Chris chorused, and went back to slamming the kid against the tree.
"Get off me," Jess growled and shoved him off. Chris lost his balance and ended up in the stream, where he was immediately attacked by a large mass of feathers… with a beak.
"Chris!" he heard Lorelai shout, and soon felt two sets of arms dragging him out of the stream. The feathery mass followed them, pecking at him and squawking angrily.
"Get off!" he heard the kid roar, and was soon relieved of the pain that was the thing's beak.
"That swan is evil," Lorelai hissed, and then knelt down beside him to check his wounds.
"What happened?" Chris asked, completely disorientated.
"Jess pushed you into the stream and the swan came out of no where," Lorelai offered gently, touching his swelling eye. "Speaking of which… you here? Not a good idea." She was looking up at Jess, who was soaking wet from the waist down.
"You're welcome," he shot back at her, shacking his head and storming away.
"Thanks," Chris mumbled unhappily, looking at the boy's retreating back.
Chris watched the moody teenager storm away through quickly-swelling eyes before turning back to Lorelai. "Is he always like that?"
"Pretty much," she sighed, and helped him to his feet.
"Mom?" Rory called from somewhere near the bridge. Seconds after her question, there was a 'crash'.
"Rory?" Lorelai returned, and they rushed over to the bridge to see what was going on.
Rory and Jess were standing awkwardly a few feet away from each other. Jess was holding his head and Rory was rubbing her forehead. The second that they appeared, the swan incident seemed to disappear, replaced instead with the reminder that the two teenagers had been kissing earlier.
"You kissed Jess!" Lorelai accused childishly.
"What?" Rory asked, paling visibly and sending a withering glare in Jess's direction.
"You're right… it is deadly," Jess stated to Rory with a painful nod. Almost like it was a trigger word, a smile broke out on her face. The two teenagers shared a moment as the two adults stared at each other wondering what the hell was going on.
"Uh… hello with the kissing?" Lorelai finally said, breaking the staring contest.
"Aren't you still with Dean?" Chris put in behind her, holding his head delicately.
"Oh my God, dad, what happened to you?" Rory inquired, suddenly noticing the large bruises developing on his face.
"The swan," Lorelai offered with a shrug, and then gave an evil look at the bird, which was swimming happily in the stream below them.
"It is evil," Rory shrugged, and touched his face gently, as though to test whether or not it hurt.
"I'll be fine," Chris brushed off, and then set his eyes on Jess again, who was standing awkwardly to one side.
"Back to the whole 'you kissed Jess' issue," Lorelai intervened again, hoping that, sooner or later, the conversation would be back on track.
"It was nothing," Jess sighed, turning his head upwards in frustration. Chris had been here too.
"It wasn't nothing," Rory objected quickly, and had to answer to the questioning eyes of both parents. Jess shook his head. Chris recognized the look, it was usually the one given when the girlfriend screwed things up.
"So what was it then?" Lorelai pressed, grabbing Rory's hand and the back of Jess's jacket. She led them back the way they'd come, so that the rest of the wedding party wouldn't see them.
"It was nothing," Jess bit out again while attempting to shrug off Lorelai's hands.
"Well, my daughter says it was, so I'm going to believe her," Lorelai told him.
"It was just… a 'welcome home'!" Rory attempted, but the tired looks from the other three people involved made her bite her lip and stay quiet.
"Look, I came home, she was shocked, and she did something stupid. It happens, it won't happen again," Jess stated, it was the longest thing he'd said the entire conversation.
"It won't?" Chris attempted to put in, but it was greatly muffled by his swelling lip. How many times did the damn swan get him?
"Don't talk," Lorelai scolded him lightly, her fingers running over his injuries again before she turned back to the teenagers. "Like Chris said: 'it won't'?"
"No," Jess scoffed, but Chris's eyes were drawn to his daughter, who was looking more and more crushed by the second.
"Rory?" he inquired, seeing the start of tears in her eyes.
"I guess it won't," she mumbled out, wrapping her arms around her waist and turning way from them sullenly.
"Am I missing something?" Lorelai asked, putting at hand to her forehead in frustration.
"No, you're not missing anything. We already told you what happened, now can I go home?" Jess requested with raised eyebrows.
"No, you can't," Rory finally snapped from beside him. There were tears running down her face and her mouth was drawn into a line that could only mean trouble in the Gilmore household. "What about what I want?"
"What are you talking about?" the kid replied, obviously confused.
"What if I want it to happen again?" she suggested, stunning all people involved.
"Uh…" Jess trailed off.
"Dean?" Lorelai squeaked, obviously attempting to distract her daughter.
"I'm… I'm tired of Dean," Rory told her with a sad shrug. "I want… something different."
"Different?" Chris mumbled through his swellings.
"Yeah… different," Rory nodded, and turned to Jess with a hopeful smile.
"I can work with that," he told her with a small nod and a smile. Chris watched in horror as their hands grasped one another's and Rory glanced away, a blush rising on her cheeks.
"Perfect," Lorelai hissed and sighed. Giving up on her daughter, she turned back to him. "We need to get you some ice."
"Ice would be good," he attempted, but it sounded more like gibberish, even to him.
Lorelai took his hand in her own, which was squeezing rather tightly, and dragged him away. He was hesitant, he didn't want to leave Rory with the hoodlum, but he couldn't bring himself to tear them away. The look on her face was so happy, content. It was the same look that he'd had with Lorelai so many years ago, before they'd had Rory. Normally that would have startled him, but he knew that Rory wasn't Lorelai. She was smarter, she'd be careful. Content with that, he turned back to Lorelai as they walked, ignoring the faint ringing of his cell phone.