Official Choices Ch. 02

She glared at him, "You're a prick. She needs you, right now. After what she has just been through? She needs her daddy."

"She doesn't need me. What she really needs is someone to teach her about love." Jonah disagreed, "I know that the two of you have talked about it. That she wants to learn that... With me."

Lorelai crossed her arms, "You're still sounding like a prick."

"I wanted to talk to you without Hannah, because it would be unfair of me to ask this in front of her. The pressure it would put you under." Jonah said slowly, "You wanted to live here, Lorelai. You're good for Hannah. What would you say to Celia and I setting the two of you up in a place of your own? Here, in town."

"The. Fuck." Lorelai's eyes widened.

He shrugged, "I know you haven't been here long, but you're family. We take care of our own. I can't think of a better way to take care of Hannah, than to give her a safe space, with someone she loves."

"I wanna stay with daddy." She said very quickly, and then smiled nervously, "But... I'm sorry. For calling you a prick."

"You weren't entirely wrong."

Lorelai smiled and shook her head, "You're trying really hard for her, aren't you? Scared she's going to be like Aunt Celia used to be."

"I made a few of the same mistakes." He shrugged, "And your temper definitely runs in this family, as well. I'm scared she'll take after either of us, at our worst."

She winced, looking at her scraped knuckles, "I met one of the guys from Hannah's eighteenth. He..."

"I don't want to hear what he did. I'd probably kill him." Jonah interrupted her, sounding dead serious.

She looked up at him, "Can... Can you do me a favour? I need some time to get used to all of this. To get my daddy back. To figure out what I want."

"It was selfish of me to ask."

Lorelai shook her head, "No, it wasn't. You love Hannah. That's obvious. I just need some time, before I think about moving in together. But, for the favour... Can you take her on a daddy-daughter date? She needs something to cheer her up. And... And I think I scared her, earlier."

"You want me to take her out, just the two of us?" He asked with a small smile, "And what would we do?"

"Well, her stomach seems bottomless." Lorelai said with a grin, "So, I guess, a cafe or something. Though, movies means it's harder to put your foot in your mouth, 'cause you have to shut up."

"Ouch." Jonah laughed, "But sure. I'll give Hannah a treat day."

She leaned up off the pillar, "I should get back... And I can't see Hannah, so I guess she's hiding. Tell her... Tell her I love her. Please?"

"Sure."

---

As Lorelai got back to Mateo's, she got a text message. A selfie of Hannah sitting in Jonah's lap, a gummy worm sticking out of her mouth.

She smiled to herself, and then flopped onto the couch. She sent a selfie back, her eyes closed and pretending to sleep.

"You okay?"

She sighed heavily, "Think I set up our first fight. Or worse. I lost my temper and punched an asshole."

"Gross. Shouldn't go punching stuff like that." Her dad joked with her, "Need a nice herbal tea?"

She sat up, "I could go for a distraction, actually. Any chance of seeing your workplace?"

"I was about to head in." Mateo said, walking into view and making her squirm.

He was wearing a white shirt, sleeves rolled up to his elbows. A black tie with a terrible half-windsor hanging around his neck, and a laptop bag swung over one shoulder.

His lower half were faded jeans, and rough sneakers that were probably overdue to be replaced.

In one hand he held a travel mug, and in the other he had his car keys.

Lorelai whipped up her phone and snapped a photo of him, setting it to her background. She grinned at his half-hearted complaint and tucked her phone away, before bouncing to her feet. "Off we go?"

---

There were a half-dozen people in the glass-walled building when they arrived. Mateo had to swipe them inside, after which Lorelai was bombarded with dozens of questions.

Seemed everyone knew she was his long lost daughter.

Thankfully, two big and fluffy furballs interrupted all that, and she quickly found herself sitting on the floor with a giant floof trying to lick her face, as she scruffed its fur.

Mateo set up his laptop, and then was absorbed into the flow. Everyone seemed to be working mostly independently, but they all had questions for her dad. Directions to take, places they were stuck, specialised techniques they'd forgotten.

And every time, her dad seemed to have an answer for them. Smoothly and calmly helping them all out, without making anyone feel the least bit put out, even if they'd been stuck because of something simple.

He was... Incredible.

She fired off a selfie with her and the dog to Hannah and Kirstie, trying not to think about how far the apple had fallen from the tree. How much better her life might have been if Mateo had raised her instead of her lying and neglectful mother.

She didn't really have a lot to complain about her mum. For most of it, it was just the one huge mistake. All the same, she couldn't see herself ever forgiving her.

"Lorelai?" One of the guys waved to her, "You were interested in editing, right?"

She pushed aside the slobbering floof and came bouncing over, "Yeah. You mind if I watch?"

"You familiar at all with this?" He showed her a video editor on his computer screen, a project open and in progress.

She pulled up one of the seats, "Little bit. Mostly cutting and timing. I haven't got the hang of masking or anything like that."

"Perfect." He replied and pushed her a piece of paper with a bunch of stills physically pasted onto it, with handwritten timing notes all over it.

Lorelai looked at it intently, noting a lot of arrows about reordering things. Swapped pieces of voiceover and so on. She spoke with a lot of hesitation, "Doesn't look that different from what I'd do."

"It's a simple one." He shrugged, "Mind cutting it together for me? I need to take off to see a client."

"Wait, what?" She said in terror.

He shrugged, "You don't have to. It'll just save me some time, and it'll give you something to point to say it's your work. Low budget, low priority, too. Not something you can really screw up."

She bit her lip, "I can give it a try."

"Awesome. Just follow the notes, if you can." He stood up, "Teo. I'm off to see the Cluckers. I gave Lorelai the Red Easter."

"Sure, Tim." Her dad didn't seem the least bit concerned, more focused on what he was doing.

Well, if he wasn't worried, then she was going to do her best. Give him something to be proud of her for.

Her daddy had been so proud of her just for existing, and it had made her feel good, but it hadn't been earned yet. This time, she was going to earn it.

Prove to him she was good at something.

---

Lorelai's phone scared the hell out of her, interrupting her flow.

She picked it up, and checked the called ID before answering. Her mum hadn't called since yesterday. Seemed she'd got the picture that Lorelai didn't want to talk to her.

"Hey, Kirstie." She answered, walking away from the desks and out into the entrance. "What's so important?"

Her friend's voice came back anxious, "You didn't screw up the address you sent me, right, babe? It was the number thirty-two, right?"

"Yeah..." She said slowly and then she realised. "No way. You're there, aren't you?"

"You went home, already?" Kirstie asked in disappointment.

"Actually, I'm at daddy's work." Lorelai laughed, "They're letting me edit together a real ad! I'm sure someone else will have to fix all my mistakes, but it's an actual TV advert."

"That is... Awesome." Kirstie said in surprise, "After getting your photos yesterday, I kinda got jealous. Looked like you were having fun with everyone, babe."

She laughed, "So you came down... Wait. It's already freaking midday?! I kinda lost track of time, there. We'll meet you for lunch. I'll text you a place, once I talk to daddy."

"Can't wait to meet him."

Lorelai frowned, "Play nice. I've barely got him back, Kirstie. No scaring him."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm not a total idiot."

They said goodbye, and Lorelai went to go back into the main room, and found it had automatically locked her out. She knocked nervously on the glass.

Mateo stood up, walking over and swiping to unlock it, he smiled at her as she stepped inside, "Sorry I've been ignoring you. How are you coping?"

"I've really been enjoying it." She said excitedly, and then frowned, "But uh... Can we do lunch, now?"

"Lunch." He started, looking over at a clock, "Oh, damn. Where did the time go? I was planning to show you one of my favourite places, down along the shore front."

Lorelai grabbed his arm, "That sounds perfect. Oh. Um... My friend came down, today. She's a bit weird, but she cares about me, and... I'm pretty sure she wants to check you're not taking advantage of me or anything."

Mateo squeezed her hand, and waved at the group, "I'll be back after lunch. Suze, don't forget that you've got a three o'clock, today."

The woman waved, "Yeah, got it locked. Taking them to the Whitetail."

"Sounds perfect." He agreed, and then paused to stoop and pat the dogs goodbye as well. "See you Hunter, Sammy."

With that, the two of them headed outside and started walking down the street with Lorelai still holding onto him. Her firm and strong daddy.

She intertwined her fingers with his, and looked up at him, "You working on anything fun, today?"

"A new set of wine labels. Pretty stoic stuff, I'm afraid. What about you? Is a TV advert too boring?" He asked her cautiously.

She shook her head, "I'm doing something that might end up on TV. That's exciting as shit. I kinda got lost in it, like you do. Guess that's another family thing, huh?"

"You should tell your friend to meet us at Number Two. The locals can tell her where it is." Mateo said, and then smiled at her, "The art is in the blood."

When he smiled at her, whenever he smiled at her, she felt like she was the only person who existed. The only person who mattered.

"Uncle Jonah asked me to move in with Hannah. That he'd get us a place of our own."

Mateo stumbled, "Wow. That's a huge step. And fast."

"I turned him down." Lorelai giggled, "I think he was more thinking roommates than girlfriends. Just wants someone to help him look out for Hannah. He's worried about her."

"We all are." Mateo replied quietly, "After her birthday... Hannah wanted to be a princess locked in a tower. Jonah to be her dragon. I hadn't seen her laugh since it happened, until she saw you."

Lorelai's hand clenched tight on his, "I get fucking angry, thinking about it. She's... She's so beautiful. Sweet. Why the fuck would anyone do that to her?"

"I don't have any answers for you."

She took a deep breath to calm down, "I... I love her, daddy. So... Thanks. For pushing me to take the first step, yesterday."

"I noticed."

She grinned and looked at his face, "So... Enjoy the morning show?"

"I thought the point of exploring things with Hannah was so we wouldn't cross that line?" Mateo sounded exasperated, but he had definitely just remembered it.

She shrugged, and remembered to text Kirstie.

When she looked up, she noticed a sign for a marine sanctuary that they were passing. "Hey, is that where Aunt Celia works?"

"Sometimes." He nodded and pointed a hand in the opposite direction, "But mostly up that hill. That's where the research lab is. She'd love it if you visited her, one day."

Lorelai gave a small smile, as she struggled not to cry, "My family might not be perfect... But shit, you guys make me feel home. Mum used to get mad if I even called her for an emergency when she was at work."

"Oh, Ruby." Mateo gave a disappointed sigh.

She tried to distract herself, by asking a question she was pretty sure she knew the answer to. "You fucked Celia, didn't you?"

Mateo stumbled again, and she burst out laughing, "That's why New Year's moved to separate rooms. Uncle Jonah not interested in sharing?"

He coughed nervously, "Uh... I was the one who got jealous, actually... You're just going to keep asking me, aren't you? Ruby... Enjoyed Jonah a bit much, for my liking."

Lorelai felt confusion, looking at him, "In what fucking world is Uncle Jonah a better fuck, than you? I mean, I can kinda see what Hannah sees in him, but shit, you're ten times hotter."

She felt her stomach fill with butterflies waiting for his response, but as his face contorted she realised she'd shocked him into silence. She wanted to do an excited backflip.

She'd thought it was going to be so hard to get her daddy to see her as an actual woman, and it really wasn't.

Breaking down his guard to think about the possibility of the two of them was still off the table, but she'd be able to get there eventually.

Be able to get her daddy to take her cherry, in the same bed where she'd been conceived.

Lorelai suddenly wanted a bathroom and ten minutes to herself.

A triplet of messages arriving on her phone distracted her, and spared Mateo from having to come up with a response.

The first was another selfie from Hannah, this one with the redhead holding Jonah's hand as they walked into the indie theatre near their houses. She seemed bright and perky, and Lorelai found herself feeling a bit of jealousy, even if both of them were currently working on their dads.

The second was also a selfie, this time from Kirstie. The goth was currently standing outside the beachside restaurant, and looking as stunning as usual. It really ticked off Lorelai how she couldn't pull off either a choker or fishnet gloves whilst they always suited Kirstie.

All the happiness she'd been feeling was killed by the last message.

She stopped walking, jerking Mateo's arm, and wordlessly held out her phone to him as she began to cry.

She really, really didn't want to cry.

All the same, hot and angry tears welled up in her eyes, before they began to trickle down her cheeks and drip from her chin. Steaming as they hit the hot concrete path beneath her feet.

"Oh, for fuck's sake!" Mateo's usually calm demeanour evaporated.

She would have been surprised that he'd cursed, if she had the room to feel anything but betrayal, depression, and sheer bloody hatred.

"Fuck it. I'll take you to Two, and whilst you and your friend eat, I'll deal with the cops. Don't let anyone make you leave." He ordered her.

Lorelai glumly nodded, taking back her phone from him as they resumed walking. The place in question was only a half-block further.

She didn't notice how long it took.

For the most part, her brain was empty. Unable to hold onto any sort of thought except the fact she hated her mother and wished that she was dead.

"Triss!" A squeal pierced her veil, and then arms wrapped around her, lifting her off the ground and spinning her around. Kirstie grinned at her, before her face fell.

The woman spun to Mateo, holding onto Lorelai protectively, "The fuck you do to her?"

"Fuck off, Kirstie!" Lorelai exploded, "Don't you ever talk to him like that, again!"

The goth took a step back, "Oh shit. My mistake. Please don't kill me."

"Dad... Dad is the only fucking person in my corner. Fuck everyone." Lorelai growled through her tears and stormed into the restaurant.

The waitress who came up to seat her hesitated, "Welcome to... Are you okay?"

"Not really. Table for three, I guess."

"Phillips." Mateo said smoothly, gliding in with Kirstie, "Just some personal stuff, Adi. Not going to be a fuss."

Lorelai wiped at her face, "Adi? I guess you eat here, a bit."

"I'm a friend of Teo's niece." The waitress smiled warmly, picking up some menus for them, "Can I take it that you're the infamous Lor?"

She shook her head to try and focus, "Infamous? What's Hannah been saying about me?"

Adi shrugged, "Not much. But some of the boys have. You really took a swing at one of them?"

"He bad mouthed Hannah. After what he did."

The waitress stopped at one of the tables, "I wish I had your guts. I wouldn't be scared to drink at a party. Anytime you wanna do something, text me."

She scribbled a number on a napkin, and left them to it.

"I want to know what that was about?" Kirstie asked, sounding far less confident than earlier.

Lorelai shook her head.

She didn't want to talk about it.

Mateo kissed her forehead, "I'll be out front. Order anything you feel like, Lorelai."

Somehow, even in her current mood, she felt her downstairs purr when he said her name. It broke through, and she smiled up at him gratefully, "Thanks, Daddy. I mean it. Thankyou. For everything."

He waved as he left.

"Now can I know what's going on?" Kirstie asked in concern, "I thought you'd be excited to see me. Even if I jumped to the wrong conclusion. Did you get dumped?"

Lorelai shook her head, "No, Hannah and I are fine. I think... No. It's mum."

"Aw, fuck."

She nodded grimly, "I didn't respond to her calls. She just text me to say she's filed a missing person's report. Accusing dad of kidnapping me."

"Fucking bitch." Kirstie exclaimed, "That... Bitch."

Lorelai shrugged, "I doubt it'll go anywhere. I'm an adult. And I'm pretty sure dad filed a similar report when I was a kid. But it's going to suck balls to fix."

"Yeah." Kirstie leaned over and hugged her.

Then the goth flicked open the menu, "Distraction time! We going to break our diets?"

It was a joke.

Back in high school, when they'd just met, she and Kirstie had gone on a diet to try and drop some holiday weight. The diet had lasted about an hour. Exactly as long as it took for them to realise Lorelai had packed brownies for her lunch.

"This place feels fancy." She said, taking in the white tablecloths, the rugged wooden architecture. The menus were a plain and crisp font, and the prices made her stomach turn.

"Um... I don't know if I can afford this." Kirstie whispered.

Lorelai frowned, "I think it'll be dad's treat. I'll work out something with him if it wasn't. Don't worry about it."

"Hannah says hi." The blonde waitress reappeared, "She also said to tell you that she's jealous and you should try the seafood basket."

She looked up at her, "She texts her friend instead of her girlfriend. Excuse me whilst I pout."

Adi knelt beside the table, "Really!? Hannah finally got a girlfriend? She's always been telling me about who she finds hot, sexy dresses 'n stuff. But she's always been turned down when she asks a girl out. This is awesome!"

"She was... Persistent." Lorelai gave a small smile, "I mean... I've never been into girls before. Ask this one, she kept trying it on. But Hannah got to me. I already miss her."

Kirstie laughed, "I thought Triss was as straight as they come."

"Triss?" Adi asked in confusion.

"Old name." Lorelai said with a glare at her friend, "I hate it. My birthname was Lorelai. So that's the one I want. My family situation is a bit screwed up."

Adi nodded, "Yeah. I can't imagine. Hannah used to talk about her disappearing cousin... So... Um... Can I ask about that?"

She flushed, looking down, "Yeah. We're cousins. I know, it's kinda bad but -"

"Who really gives a shit?" Adi shrugged.

Lorelai smiled, "So, anyways... Seafood basket? Kirstie?"

"Same for me, I guess. And a date, if you're available."

Adi laughed as she scribbled on her pad, "Right to the point. My kind of girl. But I'm afraid I don't pick up dates at work. Personal policy. You'll just have to see if you can't meet me again, outside work. Maybe a party, with Hannah?"

"She's still grounded." Lorelai tried to cut through the awkward flirting, "So you should probably just give up, Kirstie."

Adi didn't take the out, "I dunno. I like a girl who makes an effort. Be back in a few."

As she left, Lorelai looked to her friend who was staring at the waitress. "How did you even know she was gay?"