Chapter Text
Classics, Christmas and Rock And Roll
A Friends and Gilmore Girls Crossover
Uncle Chandler I Love You Holiday Bonus Chapter
S8 Ep 11 The One With Ross’s Step Forward/ S2 Ep 10 The Bracebridge Diner
Notes: I decided to write this new holiday chapter since Matthew Perry dated Lauren Graham and I am currently binging Friends and Gilmore Girls simultaneously. I have developed a theory that Rory’s classmate Paris is related to Monica and Ross so Monica,Chandler, Jennie, Mona and Ross travel to Stars Hollow for a weekend right before Christmas.
For Christmas this year we are going to Stars Hollow, Connecticut. Auntie Monica and Uncle Chandler told me that I have a second cousin there who is my age. Her name is Paris and she goes to this fancy private school called Chilton Academy.
We checked in to our hotel, The Independence Inn, and a girl my age was working at the front desk.
“Welcome to the Independence Inn. What’s the name under reservation?”
Uncle Ross cleared his throat. “Gellar. We have two rooms reserved.”
The girl’s eyes connected with mine. “Hi. I’m Rory, what's your name?”
I smiled at her. “Jennifer but my friends call me Jennie”
I looked at her uniform. “Do you go to Chilton?”
Rory nodded. “Yeah. How did you know?”
“I recognized the uniform. My cousin goes there; we’re in town to visit her and her family. I’m actually going to visit her at Chilton tomorrow!”
“That’s so cool! You should come over and say when she’s in class. I can meet you by the entrance and give you my schedule. That way, you’ll know where I am if your cousin can’t hang out. Who’s your cousin?”Uncle Ross cleared his throat and looked at Mama. “Our niece’s name is Paris Gellar.”
Rory looked at Uncle Ross awkwardly. “Yeah, I know Paris.”
I was desperate to know why her tone had changed so much while talking about my cousin, but I decided to put her out of her misery. I looked at the book next to her on the desk. “What are you reading?”
She exhaled, happy with the subject change. “Pride and Prejudice. Have you read it?”
I shook my head. “No, but I liked Persuasion. Do you like it?”
She grinned. “Yeah. I bet you’ll like it too.”
“I’m sorry, you two.” Mama squeezed my hand gently. I’ve always been the outgoing one in the family, and I could tell my parents were less interested in the conversation than I was. “I’d love to hear more about Pride and Prejudice, but some of us have been driving a very long time and didn’t have the luxury of sleeping in the back.”
Rory laughed. “No problem, ma’am, I’ll get you your keys!” She turned to me. “Since you have your own room, do you want me to come over when my shift is over and we can hang out some more? I basically never see people my own age when I’m on the job. Or we could hang out in the lobby if that’s too Psycho for you.”
“No, that would be amazing! I’ll just hide the kitchen knives.”
“Great! See you in a bit, okay?” Rory handed our room keys to Auntie Monica.
We headed toward our rooms.
Auntie Monica kissed Uncle Chandler’s cheek. “Rory seems sweet doesn’t she?”
Uncle Chandler smiled softly and squeezed her hand. “She does. I’m so happy our sweet girl has made a new friend.” He rubbed my back gently. “Are you nervous about meeting Paris tomorrow baby bunny?”
I nodded. “I hope she’s not snobby like the popular girls at my school who bully me,Uncle Chandler.”
He kissed my cheek. “Don’t be afraid Jennifer. Everything will be okay, We promise.”
I unpacked, and an hour later there was a knock on the hotel room door.
“Who is it?”
“It’s me, Rory.”
I opened the door. “Hey! No wig, no knife. Come on in!”
“So, are you close with Paris?” Rory asked me as we sat on the bed.
I exhaled. “Not at all! My parents passed away a few months ago, and Monica and Chandler adopted me.” I could see Rory open her mouth to say something, but I was tired of condolences, so I interrupted her. “I think Paris is my second cousin. So, visiting her was really more of an excuse for a family reunion. What’s she like?”
“Well, we butt heads a lot. It’s because she’s the queen bee. And she’s dating this guy called Tristan, who’s very arrogant.”
“I gotcha. Well, maybe she’ll get along with me better, since I’m just visiting! Do you have a boyfriend too?”
Rory nodded. “Yeah, his name is Dean. I’ll introduce you to him. How about you?”
“No, I only started my new school this semester, and I haven’t really met anyone I like that much yet. Still finding my friend group.”
“Well, I’ll introduce you to my friends tomorrow!”
I smiled. “What are they like?”
Rory smiled. “My best friend Laine works at the antique store her mom owns down the street. She’s in a band.”
My eyes lit up. “That’s so cool! My aunt Phoebe plays the guitar. Does Laine play any instruments?”
“She’s the lead singer and she plays bass guitar. They have a rehearsal tomorrow after school; you can come if you want, they always want more of an audience.”
“So, what other books would you recommend to me?” I asked.
Rory’s eyes lit up. “We just finished reading The Picture Of Dorian Grey in Mr. Medina’s class. It’s such a crazy story. You can borrow my copy if you want.”
I smiled. “Sure.” I reached into my backpack, wanting to give her something in exchange. “Do you like Shakespeare?”
Rory nodded. “I sure do. What do you have with you?”
“As You Like It, Hamlet, Merry Wives, Winter’s Tale, Macbeth, All’s Well, and Romeo and Juliet. Which one do you want to borrow?”
“All’s Well. I haven’t read that one yet!.”
“It’s really good! I think you’re going to like it!”.”
Rory checked her watch. “Thank you so much! I should probably head off soon. When are you coming to school tomorrow?”
“Lunchtime. So, let’s hang out in the afternoon.” Rory hugged me. “I can’t wait!”
I squeezed her. “I can’t wait either.”
Paris did not end up being half as bad as I expected. After school, she even came with Rory and me to watch Laine’s band rehearsal.
During a break, Laine came over to me. “It’s so nice to meet you, Jennie. Do you play an instrument?”
I nodded.”My aunt Phoebe has been teaching me to play the guitar. I’m getting better at learning my chords.”
“What did you think about Chilton?”
“It’s beautiful there. I especially liked Mr. Medina’s English Class. He asked me to write a poem as part of the holiday magazine.”
“I can teach you how to put your poem to music if you want.”
I grinned. “That sounds so awesome, thank you Laine.”
“You’re so welcome.”
Once the rehearsal resumed, I turned to Paris. “Do you like Disney movies?”
Paris shook her head. “Not anymore. I’m sort of outgrowing them.”
My jaw dropped. “You’re never too old to watch a Disney movie. What movies do you like?”
“Romance, Horror, and Documentaries.”
“Do you like Scream?”
Paris shook her head. “It’s pretty anticlimactic, obviously. I like The Shining and Halloween . Have you seen any of those?”
I shook my head. “My friend Rachel said the book version of The Shining is really scary. I’m not sure I’ll like the movie.”
Paris rolled her eyes. “How old are you?”
“I just turned fifteen in August, why?”
“You seem pretty immature to me if you still like Disney movies and you think The Shining is too scary.”
I sighed. “I did see The Sixth Sense recently and really enjoyed that.”
“The Shining isn’t really scarier than Sixth Sense. Plus, they both have little boys who can see ghosts. Plus, The Shining is Kubrick, so it’s automatically better than anything Shyamalan could come up with..”
I nodded. “Ok. I’ll give The Shining a shot then.”
Auntie Monica picked us up at Rory’s house at 5:00, and we walked back to the inn. Uncle Ross, Uncle Chandler, and Mona were waiting for us at the restaurant.
Uncle Chandler wrapped me in a hug. “There’s Daddy’s best girl. Did you have a good time this afternoon?”
I nodded. “I sure did. Mr. Medina said I can write a holiday poem for the school literary magazine and Laine is helping me put it to music.”
He kissed my forehead. “You are so creative, my love.”
Uncle Ross pulled Paris into a strong hug. “It’s so great to see you again, honey. Monica and I can hardly believe you’re in high school already.”
“Yeah, it’s great seeing you guys again too! I really wish I saw you guys more often. It’s been, what, six years?” Paris glanced up at Mona. “I’m so sorry, I don’t believe we’ve met! I’m Paris! I didn’t catch your name.”
Ross smiled. “ This is my girlfriend, Mona. We met at Monica and Chandler’s wedding and have been dating ever since.”
She shook Mona’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“It’s nice to meet you too.”
Once everyone was seated, Auntie Monica smiled at Paris. “Thank you for showing Jennie around your school today.”
Paris smiled. “You’re so welcome. We had a great time.”
“Can we get a copy of the literary magazine with her poem in it?”
“It’s online on Chilton’s website. I can email you the link, her poem should be up in a week or so.”
“Great!”
“What’s your favorite class, Paris?” Uncle Ross asked.
Paris swallowed a bite of her salad. “Philosophy. This week our conversation was more holiday-centered. Our main debate topic was ‘Should Christ be kept in Christmas’.”
“Any topics related to Hanukkah?”
Paris shook her head. “No, but I should do some research to bring to my next class, though! People get so heated over saying ‘Happy Holidays’ instead of ‘Merry Christmas’ that it’s like they forget there literally are other holidays people are celebrating. We’re not just watering down Christmas. Chilton’s pretty WASPy, so I’d love to be able to come in with actual information about Hanukkah.”
“Well, I can help you there!” Uncle Ross beamed. “I’ve been teaching my son all about it, so I’ve been brushing up on the history!”
“Are you going to include the Holiday Armadillo?” I asked, giggling at the memory.
“Sorry, the holiday…what?” Paris asked, notebook and pen already in hand. “I know the Jews wandered the desert, but I didn’t know there were armadillos in the Middle East.”
“No, don’t write that down!” Ross laughed, clearly embarrassed. “It’s…it’s a long story. I’m sure Janine would love to tell you later.”
We sat and talked a while longer, then moved to the holiday festivities in the lounge, where they had Christmas karaoke! sang All I Want For Christmas Is You and Last Christmas. Between songs, Laine helped me put my poem to music. It was incredible hearing my words come to life like that!
After karaoke, I went into Uncle Chandler and Auntie Monica’s room and we watched It’s A Wonderful Life on TV with Uncle Ross and Mona.
Eventually, I snuggled down under the covers.
“Hi baby angel.” Uncle Chandler whispered.
“Hi Daddy.” I whispered and gave his cheek a butterfly kiss.
“You are everything to us, Jennifer Ava.” His lips kissed my forehead gently.
“I know.”
Auntie Monica’s hand moved in gentle circles up and down my back.
“Did you find it easy to get along with Paris, honey?”
I nodded. “Aside from her thinking I am immature because I still like Disney movies, we get along decently. How is she related to us, again?”
“Her mother’s father is Grandpa Jack’s cousin.”
I nodded slowly. “Are we meeting Paris’s family this weekend?”
Auntie Monica shook her head. “They’re going to be visiting Paris next week for Hanukkah.”
“Can Paris, Rory, and Laine come to Westchester to visit us once we move to our new house?”
Auntie Monica kissed my cheek softly. “Absolutely. The four of you can have a sleepover. I’m sure they’d love to meet your cousin Savanna and the rest of your friends.”
“I love you, Mama and Daddy.” I whispered.
“We love you too, baby girl. Merry Christmas.” Uncle Chandler replied.
“Merry Christmas.”
I nestled my head on Auntie Monica’s chest and shut my eyes.
I woke up two hours later visibly shaking.
Protective arms wrapped around me. “Daddy’s right here, Jennie. What’s wrong?”
“I had a nightmare.. because of the movie.”
Uncle Chandler pushed my hair from my forehead and kissed it softly “Which scene, baby?”
Tears were flowing down my cheeks. “The one where George is with Clearance in the bar and Mr. Gower shows up all crazy-eyed because he killed the little girl.”
“It’s just acting, sweetheart,like you do in your plays.”
I buried my face into his chest. “I had a bad flashback to when you were drunk when you broke up with Kathy. How you could have hurt me if Uncle Joey and Rachel hadn’t taken me across the hall.”
He rocked me back and forth. “Daddy will never, ever hurt you. Can’t you trust me?”
I nodded slowly. “I love you, Dada.”
“I love you too, Angel. Daddy’s right here and I’m not going anywhere. Go back to sleep, okay?”
I inhaled the scent of his aftershave and closed my eyes.
Auntie Monica’s hand rubbed my back gently. “ Is she alright?” She whispered
He squeezed her hand gently. “She always will be when I am here to protect her. Please promise me that you’ll help me on my path to staying sober Monica. I don’t want her to ever be scared of me like she was when I broke up with Kathy.”
She kissed his cheek softly. “I promise.”
Uncle Chandler pulled the sheets up around us and his lips grazed my forehead. He then smiled at Auntie Monica. “There’s our sweet angel.” He whispered.
Tears were in her eyes. “Our beloved girl brings me so much joy. I’m hurting inside knowing how much your alcoholism scares her.”
He kissed her forehead. “I know honey. Will you two go to AA with me?”
Auntie Monica nodded. “I love you.”
“I love you too. Let’s get some sleep okay?”
Auntie Monica kissed my cheek. “Sleep well, my sweet girl. Mama loves you so much.”
I returned her kiss. “ Night night Mama. I love you too.”