I Think You Broke Him – Chapter7 – Settling In

Rating: T

Disclaimer: Not mine, just amusing myself. I promise to put them back when I'm done.

"All settled in, you two?"

"Yeah, thanks," Rory replied with a slight blush.

Meg smirked as Celia disguised a giggle with a cough. Marsha rolled her eyes at what she assumed her younger sisters were on about. Callie and Marshall were oblivious to any underlying unspoken innuendo.

As Maxine and Mrs. Barrett entered with the last trays of food, Marsha kicked Celia under the table and the three did their best to sober themselves.

Rory had turned a bright shade of red that had spread all the way to her ears. Finn simply rolled his eyes and slung his arm around her giving her a quick hug and a small smile. He caught her gaze and winked his reassurance.

The girls noticed Rory's embarrassment and Finn's lack thereof and backed off. They liked Rory and figured it would be a little longer before she'd be used to having sisters teasing her.

"So, do you have any plans for tomorrow?" Marshall asked Finn.

"Well, I thought we'd just take it easy in the morning. Recover from the trip and all. Then in the afternoon I wanted to show Rory around the neighborhood. I thought I'd take her to see Cat. I haven't seen him in a couple of years." Finn had mentioned his old friend to Rory many times and she knew he was looking forward to the chance to catch up with him.

Fin continued describing his and Rory's plans for the next couple of days. He didn't notice Celia's pointed look at Meg and Meg's own silencing glare. Celia just shrugged and decided to stay out of it. It was much safer.

Marsha and Maxine urged Finn to bring Rory out to the vineyards in a couple of days.

"Come out and make a day of it. You can get the full tour, have lunch, all of that."

"And, maybe I can get Meg and Rory's input on a few things before the gala," Marsha added. "Mom and I are stuck. Maybe new sets of eyes with fresh ideas can help.

"Gala?" Rory asked.

"Charity event thingy we do at the vineyards twice a year. Formal, good food, good wine, charge the rich loads of money to attend, and give all of it to the hospital that our Great-great whoever helped to establish. We've made it so exclusive, this year to balance things out, we're auctioning off ten of the tickets on ebay. Raise more cash and make the snobs irritated. Great fun," Marshall explained.

"Very nicely simplified, dear," Maxine told her husband with a roll of her eyes.

"It's coming up pretty quick, isn't it?"

"Oh, yes. We just need some last minute detail things. We've just had such a huge response this year that we're having trouble arranging things."

"How about the three of us come out day after tomorrow? We don't really have plans, so I guess it depends on Meg's schedule."

Meg agreed, excited for the opportunity to see her brother and get a chance to let her mom and sister hear her ideas.

The rest of dinner was spent in the usual manner. It was their time to play catch-up with each other. They were able to do this but rarely. At least once a week, surely, but they had been missing a very important component. Everyone was glad to have Finn home and he was indeed happy to be home.

Rory observed this large boisterous family with amusement and longing in turn. Even Marshall and Callie's description of their architectural problems were made amusing. The longing she felt was two-fold.

On one side, she missed her mom and everything that she knew she was missing out on by being here. She was missing the planning of the penultimate event of her mom and Luke's relationship, during her mom's last weeks as a true Gilmore Girl.

The other side of that longing came from observing Finn in his natural setting. She had gotten to see a side of him that Logan, Colin and Steph had never glimpsed. She was now seeing that side of him fully realized. He was where he belonged. Here he was in his element with the people that helped make him the person he was. She also watched the interactions of his large family and deep down longed for something like it.

She'd always been happy with her mom, but seeing the Stevensons interact showed her another possibility.

After dinner everyone helped Mrs. Barrett clear the table. She shooed the girls out of the kitchen, telling them they needed to spend time with their brother. Finn kissed her cheek as he set his dinner things on the sideboard.

"Thanks, Mrs. B. I haven't eaten so well since the last time I was home."

She smiled and patted his cheek in thanks. "Any requests for breakfast?"

"Anything, as long as it's served with your coffee," Rory said.

Finn chuckled, "You've converted a new disciple."

Rory laughed as she added, "It's the best I've ever had, and, believe me, I've sampled quite a bit in my lifetime. What's your secret?"

"She won't tell us! Absolutely refuses."

"I've told them time and again that they'll each inherit a piece of it when I pass on."

Rory laughed at this teasing, "Luke won't give it to us either. I've always wondered if he was spiking it with some illegal addictive substance or a flavor enhancer."

"Don't think MSG works on coffee, love," Finn supplied.

They said goodnight to Mrs. Barrett and went to join the rest of the family in the basement after changing into sweats and t-shirts, the only proper movie night attire. It had been decided that in order to make Rory feel more at home they'd begin her visit with a movie night. Stevenson family rules. Talking, mocking, popcorn throwing and line-quoting were highly encouraged. Scene reenactments were mandatory.

Rory and Finn eventually wound up at one end of the large sofa. Curled into each other and contentedly relaxed. They were well fed, comfortable and warm.

At some point the Stevensons noticed the sleeping couple.

"Aw, look how sweet. Just like when he was little," Callie observed.

"Why can't he stay like that?" Marsha teased with a giggle.

Meg had retrieved her camera and was currently lining up her shot. She snapped the picture and the two slumbered on. Maxine looked over her daughter's shoulder to see the picture.

"After you print that one, make sure you keep a high quality version of that on your hard drive, Meg," Callie advised.

"Sure. Why?"

"I think we'll blow it up poster size and use it at their wedding reception."

The Stevenson women smiled at each other knowingly. They knew Finn, and they knew it was only a matter of time.

At the end of the evening, Marshall carried a sleeping Rory up to Finn's room as Maxine led a mostly asleep Finn up the stairs. They tucked them into bed and paused at the door for a look back. Already the couple had snuggled closer together. They smiled at each other and shut the door. Marshall put his arm around Maxine as them walked down the hall to their room.