The Other Gilmore

After the Goodbye

Frankie awoke the following morning with a pounding headache. She, Colin, and Finn had congregated at Finn's apartment, where they continued the party by themselves. There was music, a lot of alcohol, and, if Frankie's memory served, strip poker?

She furrowed her brows, glancing down at herself and sighing with relief when she saw that she was, indeed, fully clothed in last night's costume. When she looked around the apartment, however, she noticed a very naked Colin, and a semi-naked Finn, both passed out on chairs in the living room.

She shook her head and chuckled, but that only caused her hangover to worsen, so she slowly made her way to the kitchen to brew a pot of coffee. To her dismay, however, Finn had no coffee in sight.

"Crap," she whispered. As she turned to leave the kitchen, however, she bumped into the counter and her elbow knocked a container over, creating a very loud crashing sound.

"What the hell was that?" Colin exclaimed, bolting upright.

"Was that a gunshot?" Finn asked, holding his head.

"That was me, I'm so sorry," Frankie sheepishly admitted, poking her head out from the kitchen. "I was looking for coffee."

"Oh, yeah, I don't have any at the moment." Finn stood up and stretched, squeezing his eyes tightly shut. "Can we turn down the sun?"

"Where are my clothes?" asked Colin, perplexed.

"To my recollection, at least one article of your clothing was used as a pirate flag after you lost strip poker," Frankie replied, walking over to the living room and sinking down onto the couch. "Seriously, can we turn down the sun? 'Cause that would be great."

"That's what I'm saying!" said Finn. "It's too bright."

"Can we find my clothes, please?"

"Check the balcony." Frankie pointed over shoulder towards the sliding glass doors. "I can't move until I get coffee."

"You're going to have to move to get coffee though, love," Finn pointed out as he slipped on a shirt.

"A catch-22. Great."

"Can you walk?"

"I think so."

"They're not out here!" Colin yelled from the balcony, covering himself with two pillows.

"Bathroom?" Frankie shouted back, still not moving.

Colin rushed past and into the bathroom. "Aha!"

"Ready?" Finn asked as Colin emerged from the bathroom, now fully clothed.

"Yes. Coffee. Now."

"Thank God," Frankie muttered, standing up slowly. "Do you have sunglasses or a hat I can borrow?"

Finn tossed Frankie a pair of sunglasses. As soon as she put them on, her headache subsided slightly. "Thank you. Alright, boys, let's go."

The trio made their way slowly down the street, shielding their eyes as best they could from the blinding sun. After many, many cups of coffee, Frankie felt more like herself, and decided to hail a cab to get back to Stars Hollow.

"Alright, boys," she said, placing her hands on their shoulders, "I'm out of here. Thanks for the fun night. At least, what I can remember."

"You're leaving?" Colin asked. "No, you can't leave yet! There's still so much more we need to do!"

"Like what?"