"That Elusive Soulmate – Part 4"
AUTHOR: Ann
EMAIL: DadStock@aol.com
SPOILER: Takes place after "The Bracebridge Dinner"
RATING: PG
PAIRING: Lorelai/Christopher
SUMMARY: When Christopher visits again, Lorelai has to deal with some lingering feelings for him.
DISCLAIMER: I own nothing; all characters belong to Amy Sherman-Palladino and the WB.

Part 4

* * *

That evening, Lorelai walked into her house slightly before five and was met with an unusual aroma. As she took off her jacket, she sniffed the air a few times, then followed the smell toward the kitchen. "What is that I smell?" she called out.

As she reached the entryway to the kitchen, she stopped as she saw Christopher at the stove stirring something in a huge pot. He glanced at her and said, "Hey. You’re home."

She narrowed her eyebrows. "What are you doing?"

Christopher laughed and said, "Cooking dinner. You’ve seen it done before, haven’t you?"

Lorelai smiled. "Yes, once or twice." She walked over to the pot and looked into it. She gasped and said, "Chili! You made homemade chili! Your specialty!"

He smiled. "Yup. I know you love it."

"Wow, you’re such a good houseguest," Lorelai said, an excited smile on her face. "Is Rory home?"

Christopher shook his head. "She was here but she ran to the store to get something for school," he replied.

"Ah, so we’re all alone," Lorelai said with a smile. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply. Christopher, still holding the ladle in his hand and trying not to drip anything on Lorelai’s back, returned the kiss.

As they broke apart, he smiled and said, "Wow, that’s just for cooking some chili? What if I make a complete Turkey dinner – what’ll that get me?"

"Hmm, try it and find out," Lorelai flirted. She gave him another kiss and said, "I’m gonna go change."

Lorelai went up to her room and changed out of her work outfit into jeans and a sweater. She walked back downstairs just as Rory walked through the front door carrying a bag from the market.

"Hey kid," Lorelai said, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "How was your day?"

"Good," Rory replied. "Hold this please." She handed Lorelai the bag as she removed her coat and hung it up.

"What’d you buy?" Lorelai asked as she peeked inside. "Ah, folders and pens. You went wild in the store, huh?"

Rory nodded. "Yup. I was gonna buy some white out too but I didn’t want to seem too crazy to the other shoppers." She took the bag back and headed into the kitchen with Lorelai right behind her.

Christopher gave the chili a final stir, turned off the burner and said, "Okay guys, dinner’s ready. Grab a bowl."

"Yum! It smells great," Lorelai said, walking to the counter.

"Yeah Dad, it really does," Rory said, inhaling the aroma deeply.

"Thanks," Christopher said. "There’s bread too." He gestured to a basket of bread next to the chili and started ladling the chili into bowls.

As Rory went to put the shopping bag in her bedroom, Lorelai glanced from the bread to Christopher and gave a nod of approval. "Wow, I’m impressed. This is quite the well-balanced meal you have here. Uh, if beans and meat and bread is well balanced. I’m not really sure how they balance those things. Some sort of special scale, I guess." She shrugged.

Christopher laughed. "I don’t know either," he said. "I’ll look into that for you." As Rory walked back into the kitchen, Christopher handed her a bowl of chili.

"Thanks." Rory grabbed a piece of bread from the basket and a soda from the fridge, then walked into the living room. Lorelai and Christopher did the same. They slipped Jaws into the VCR and watched while they ate dinner.

* * *

The next morning at the inn, Lorelai went into her office to use the phone. She called her house, and after several rings Christopher finally answered. "Hello?"

"Hey. What are you doing?" Lorelai asked.

"Hey. Uh, cleaning actually," he replied.

"Cleaning?" Lorelai asked, surprised.

"Yup," Christopher said. "Vacuuming, dusting, laundry."

"Oh, wow. Uh, thanks," Lorelai said. "Well, I was thinking I’d come home for lunch today and we could eat together."

"Sounds good to me," Christopher said. "You want me to make something?"

Lorelai smiled at how sweet and maid-like he was being. "Nah, we can order in. I’ll be there around 12."

"Can’t wait," Christopher said. "Bye."

"Bye."

* * *

A few hours later, Lorelai walked into the house and found Christopher reading a magazine on the couch. He immediately got up and greeted her with a kiss. "Hey," he said.

"Hi," Lorelai said, smiling. She glanced around the room, which was noticeably cleaner than from when she had left that morning. "Wow, you cleaned the whole house?"

He smiled and shrugged. "I had some free time during my busy morning of sitting."

She tilted her head and smiled at him. "Christopher Hayden, I can’t believe how much you’ve changed." She leaned in and kissed him, then pulled back and thought for a moment. A smile formed on her lips. "Okay, now let me do something for you."

He smiled and shook his head. "You letting me stay here is already enough, Lor." He paused and said, "But, you know, if you were going to do something for me, what did you have in mind?"

Lorelai smiled and said, "Well, hmm. Who in this room has a stripper fantasy?"

Christopher’s mouth dropped open slightly, then a smile slowly formed on his lips. He let out a small laugh. "Are you serious?"

She smiled. "Let’s go upstairs." She grabbed his hand and led him up the stairs and into her room, closing the door behind them.

* * *

Almost an hour later, Lorelai turned to Christopher, who was lying next to her on the bed. "So, is your fantasy fulfilled now?"

"I would definitely have to say yes to that," Christopher said, sliding over closer to her. "You’re sure you’ve never done that professionally before?"

Lorelai smiled and shook her head.

Christopher smiled. "Well, I’m telling you if you ever lose your day job, you’ve got a definite backup plan."

Lorelai laughed. "Good to know. Thank you." She glanced at the clock. "Ugh, I have to get back to work soon. We never did get around to eating lunch together. Sorry."

Christopher leaned over and kissed her. "Trust me, I completely forgive you for interrupting our planned lunch to show me your lap dancing skills. And I also forgive you for being one of those low-class strippers who sleeps with the customers."

Lorelai laughed. "Thanks for saying low-class stripper instead of prostitute." She kissed him. "And I do thank you for all the dollar bills. I’m keeping ‘em."

Christopher laughed. "Okay, now you’re getting a little too close to being a prostitute, but that’s okay." He stroked her face with his fingertips. "Hey."

"Hmm?" Lorelai said.

He rested his hand softly on the side of her face as he leaned down and kissed her deeply. He pulled back and said, "I love you."

She smiled. "I love you too." Lorelai felt a chill run through her body as the words came out of her mouth. That was the first time in a very long time that she’d said that to someone and meant it with all of her heart. They kissed again as Christopher wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closely against his body in a warm embrace.

* * *

That Friday night, Christopher joined Lorelai and Rory at dinner once again. Emily opened the door, and she raised her eyebrows in surprise at seeing Christopher. "Christopher!" Emily said with a smile. "I didn’t know you were still in town." She stepped back so that they could come inside.

"Uh, yeah Mom," Lorelai said. "Sorry I forgot to tell you he’d be joining us again." They walked inside and took off their coats.

"Oh that’s fine. You go make yourselves comfortable in the living room. I’ll have the maid set another place setting." Emily walked away. They hung up their coats, then walked to the living room. They poured themselves some drinks and sat down. Soon Emily and Richard joined them. Richard greeted the guests and walked over to get himself a drink.

They sat down and Richard asked, "So Christopher, we didn’t know you’d be here. How long are you planning to stick around?"

Christopher, Lorelai, and Rory all glanced quickly at each other and smiled.

Emily noticed and said, "What’s going on?"

"Oh, well, the thing is, I’m staying with these lovely ladies until I find my own place," Christopher said. "I’m moving back to Connecticut."

Emily gasped. "Oh, that’s wonderful!"

"Well, I say that’s great news," Richard said.

"Oh, I bet you’re thrilled about this, aren’t you?" Emily asked Rory.

Rory smiled. "Definitely. I still can’t believe it."

"So what are your work plans?" Richard asked. "I trust that you obviously won’t be commuting to Boston."

"Uh, that’s right," Christopher said. "I’ll be working at the Crawford and Finch Accounting Firm in Hartford."

"Ah, we know Fred Crawford very well. He’s a good friend of ours," Emily said.

"Oh, small world," Christopher said.

"Sure is," Lorelai said, taking a sip of wine.

"Hmm. You’ll be doing accounting?" Richard asked.

"Uh, no," Christopher said. "I’ll be handling all of their technology stuff. You know, setting up their computer accounts and handling any technical problems that may arise."

Richard nodded and seemed impressed as he said, "Well, that sounds very interesting."

Lorelai laughed "Hah! I just fell asleep listening to him explain it."

Christopher laughed. "Thanks for the support."

The maid walked in to announce dinner. Emily, Richard and Rory walked into the dining room, followed by Christopher and Lorelai. Emily and Richard took their normal spots at either end of the table, and Lorelai and Rory sat across from Christopher.

Throughout the meal, Christopher and Richard talked about the stock market, Rory talked about school, Lorelai talked about work. Emily and Richard discussed their possible future travel plans.

During the lulls in conversation, Lorelai and Christopher kept glancing at each other and smiling. It was as if they were teenagers; they’d give each other a shy, flirty smile and then quickly glance away.

After the meal, Richard invited Christopher into the study to talk more in depth about his new job responsibilities. Before they retreated, however, Richard showed Rory a new book he’d found, and she promptly went into the living room and started reading it. Lorelai and Emily sat at the dining room table with coffee.

"So Lorelai, how do you feel about Christopher coming back?" Emily asked.

Lorelai took a sip of coffee. "I think it’s great Mom. I’ve never seen Rory so happy."

Emily nodded. "Mm hmm. I noticed you seem pretty happy about it too."

Lorelai shrugged. "I’m happy about it, sure. It’ll be great for Rory to have him so close."

Emily shook her head slightly. "I’m talking about you Lorelai, not Rory."

"What about me, Mom?" Lorelai asked, taking a sip of coffee.

Emily shrugged. "Well, just with Christopher around now, it would be nice if you two were to get back together again. It’s not too late to -."

"Whoa," Lorelai interrupted as she held up her hand. "Stop Mom. Don’t get into this."

Emily sighed. "I just think that it would be nice for Rory if you -."

"Mom, stop, please," Lorelai said. "I know you’re still bitter about that fact that me and Chris never got married but I really, really don’t need any advice on this right now. I can take care of things myself." Lorelai exhaled loudly and stirred her coffee.

Emily stared at Lorelai for a moment curiously. "Lorelai, if I didn’t know better, I’d say that you agree with me."

Lorelai looked at her and scoffed. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, you’re calm. You’re not shocked like you normally get when I suggest things," Emily said. "And judging by the looks you and Christopher were sharing tonight, I’d say that maybe the idea of you two getting back together isn’t as farfetched as you want me to believe that it is." She smirked at Lorelai.

Lorelai’s mouth dropped open slightly as she stared at Emily. She bit her lip for a second. "I. . uh, that’s not. . .you know, uh, we should go. Thanks for dinner." Lorelai stood up and walked out of the dining room. She passed the living room and said, "Come on Rory, time to go." She walked to Richard’s study and stuck her head through the doorway. "You ready to go?"

Christopher and Richard both looked at her in the doorway. "Oh, uh, yeah," Christopher said. He turned to Richard and shook his hand. "Nice chatting with you Richard. I’ll probably see you next week."

"Yes, next week," Richard said. "Goodbye. Bye Lorelai."

"Bye Dad."

Christopher walked over to Lorelai and they walked down the hallway. "Everything okay?" Christopher said quietly.

"Yup, I’m just ready to go," Lorelai said, walking quickly towards the front door.

Emily and Rory were standing by the front door. Lorelai and Chris grabbed their coats and said goodbye, Rory called goodbye to Richard who was standing near the end of the hallway, and the three guests walked out to the car.

As they pulled into Lorelai’s driveway, Christopher turned off the car and started to get out. Lorelai put her hand on his arm and said, "Wait a minute." She turned around and pulled her keys from her pocket. She handed them to Rory. "Rory, go inside. We’ll be in in a minute. I have to talk to your dad about something."

Rory glanced back and forth between them. "Is everything okay?"

Lorelai smiled. "Yes, it’s fine. We’ll be right in."

Rory gave her a doubtful look, but slowly got out of the car and walked inside. Christopher stared at Lorelai, waiting for her to say something. Finally he said, "Lorelai, what’s wrong?"

Lorelai sighed and turned her body to face him. "I couldn’t lie to her."

Christopher narrowed his eyes. "What? Who?" he asked. "Rory?"

Lorelai shook her head. "No, Emily. She was telling me that since you’d be around more, that we should try to get together again," Lorelai said. "And I didn’t want to tell her that we were already doing that, so I was gonna just tell her that was a crazy idea. But I.. I.. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t get myself to say that, I couldn’t think of a witty remark to change the subject, I couldn’t tell her ‘No Mom, that’s a bad idea.’ My mind went blank, it went numb. And it was because of you. It was because of us."

Christopher stared at her for a moment before he said, "So you’re saying that your mom said she wants us to get together again, and you didn’t know how to respond to that because you didn’t want to tell her about us, but you also didn’t want to lie about us?"

Lorelai nodded. "Exactly! I didn’t want to lie about us because . . .it’s just something that’s so important to me. Just bringing up the subject made me get this tingly feeling inside like. . .I don’t know. I mean, I’ve never felt so strongly about something or been so happy with someone or been so in love before. It’s just, this is the best thing that’s happened to me in a long. . .time." Her voice trailed off and then she sighed. "Okay, that sounds cheesy, I know. Forget it." She looked down at her hands.

Christopher smiled and tilted her head back up. "Hey, I feel the same way."

Lorelai smiled. "You do?"

"Absolutely, Lor. When I went to Boston the other day, I thought about you the entire time. On the 2-hour drive there and the 2-hour drive back here, all I thought about was how when I got here, I’d get to see you. I’d get to see your smile, I’d get to hear your laugh, I’d get to run my fingers through your hair and tell you how beautiful you are." Lorelai smiled shyly. Christopher continued, "And I don’t like hiding it either because I’m so in love with you and it’s like trying to hide a piece of . . . me, of who I am." Christopher laughed. "Now, *that* was cheesy."

Lorelai laughed. "Hon, that was beyond cheesy. That was a cheese pizza with extra cheese and a side of cheesy bread." She paused and added, "But I loved it."

Christopher clasped his hands around one of hers and stroked it with his thumb. "So what do we do now?"

Lorelai thought for a moment. Then she said, "Okay, we’ll tell Rory on. . . Wednesday that we’re back together."

"Okay," Christopher nodded. "Why Wednesday?"

Lorelai shrugged. "It was the first day that popped into my mind so it must be God given sign."

"Oh, must be," Christopher said, smiling. "Okay, we should go inside."

"Yeah." She glanced towards the house and scanned all the windows to make sure Rory wasn’t watching. "Coast is clear." She leaned forward and kissed him. "Let’s go."

They got out of the car and went inside. Rory was sitting at the kitchen table reading. She looked up when she heard the front door close, and as they walked into the kitchen she asked, "Everything’s okay, right?"

Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Yes, everything’s perfect. I promise."

"Yup, perfect," Christopher said. "Except for the fact that today’s society contains way too many boy bands and female pop singers."

"Ah, I’ll see what I can do about that Dad," Rory said. She smiled at him before she went back to her reading. Christopher walked into the living room with Lorelai following close behind him.

* * *

On Monday night, Rory hung up the phone after talking to Dean and walked into the living room. Lorelai and Christopher were both reading on the couch. Rory sat down in the chair across from them and said, "Tomorrow Dean has a big test in math."

"Oh yeah?" Lorelai said, looking up from her book.

Rory nodded. "Yeah. He’s been studying really hard the last few days. That’s why we haven’t been able to go out much. But to celebrate it being over, we’re gonna go out tomorrow night."

"Sounds good," Christopher said.

"Yeah, so I just wanted to let you know that I won’t be home for dinner," Rory said. "And we’ll probably go to a movie after, so I probably won’t be home until nine-ish."

"Okay, but this time watch the movie please," Lorelai said, rolling her eyes. "You know, every time you guys kiss in public I have like 30 townspeople coming up to tell me."

Rory rolled her eyes. "Tsk. Exaggerate much?" She stood up and walked back into her bedroom.

Lorelai glanced towards Rory’s bedroom until she heard the door close, then leaned over to Christopher and whispered, "Hey, we should go on a date tomorrow too. I mean, it’ll be the first time we’ll be going out without Rory."

Christopher smiled. "Sure. But not around here. I mean, she’ll see us," he said quietly.

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, we’ll go into Hartford. I’ll make reservations somewhere tomorrow."

"Have a place in mind?" Christopher asked.

Lorelai smiled and nodded. "I know somewhere that you’ll love. Well, I love it, I don’t know if you’ll love it."

Christopher smiled at her suspiciously. "Where, Lorelai?"

Lorelai shrugged and went back to reading. Christopher grabbed her book and put it behind his back. She laughed and said, "Come on!"

"Since you’re not telling me, there must be something wrong with this place. So tell me what’s wrong with this place so I can plan my excuse for not being able to go," he said.

She smiled. "There’s nothing wrong with it. There are nice round tables."

"Lorelai," Christopher prompted.

"And really great food."

"Lorelai."

"Ooh, and a nice selection of wine."

Christopher sighed. "Lorelai."

"And maybe. . . a dance floor." She tilted her head back against the couch and bit her lip, smiling up at him.

Christopher let out a small laugh. "Dancing, huh?"

Lorelai nodded. "Please?" She clasped her hands together and pouted at him. "Pretty please?"

He smiled. "Ooh, you know I love seeing you beg." He sighed. "Dancing it is, then."

Lorelai gasped. She smiled and sat up quickly. "Aw, really?"

He smiled at her excitement. "Yes, I will take you dancing."

"Ah, I love you!" she said quietly. She quickly turned around to make sure Rory wasn’t nearby, then she hugged him and gave him a kiss.

He pulled slightly back, their lips lingering only centimeters apart. "I love you too," he said. Lorelai smiled and leaned in for another kiss. A few seconds later they broke apart and went back to reading on the couch.

End Part 4