Author's Note: Surprise, surprise — I'm back for more :)

First of all, thank you all so much for your support, whether you're just a reader, an avid reviewer, or cheer me on from the sidelines. If it wasn't for that, my validation-craving self would not still be writing.

A little background on this story…I don't remember exactly how it came to be, but I know I was tossing around some AU ideas with jumpingcattlehockey earlier this year, and this was one of them. We both agreed it would be an interesting idea to explore. So after loads of encouragement, spitballing, and discussion with her, savvyliterate, and meags09, this fic was born (although I know this will all keep happening as I continue working on this fic - check out their writing in the meantime...you won't regret it).

This is still a work in progress, so please bear with me. I've got most of the beginning written, but the middle is going to take some time. I hope you will stick with me, though! I've got it all outlined and planned.

I want to go ahead and make a general disclaimer that I don't own any of this. It all belongs to the WB (RIP), ASP, and Netflix. Also, just like with In My Head, I don't know that I will always remember to say that I borrowed dialogue from eps. So go ahead and assume if it sounds familiar or extremely witty, it's not mine.

Last but not least, the title of this work: Roots & Wings. I got the idea from a poem I am going to paste at the end of this A/N. If you don't feel like reading it now, it's all good. The main idea is a child asking their parents for only roots and wings — "roots to cling to and wings to set me free."

This chapter titled after a song by Motion City Soundtrack.

I promise the rest of the A/N's will not be this long.

Hope you enjoy :)

Roots & Wings by Denis Waitley

If I had two wishes,I know what they would be

I'd wish for roots to cling to, and wings to set me free;

roots of inner values, like rings within a tree,

and wings of independence to seek my destiny.

Roots to hold forever to keep me safe and strong,

to let me know you love me, when I've done something wrong;

to show me by example, and helps me learn to choose,

to take those actions everyday, to win instead of lose.

Just be there when I need you, to tell me it's alright,

to face my fear of falling when I test my wings in flight;

Don't make my life to easy, it's better if I try,

And fail and get back up myself, so I can learn to fly.

If I had two wishes, and two were all I had,

And they could just be granted, by my Mom and Dad;

I wouldn't ask for money any store-bought things,

the greatest gifts i'd ask for are simply Roots and Wings.

The Future Freaks Me Out

"So you're going through this horrible period of applying to college," Natalie said to Rory.

"It's not so horrible."

"She's got it pretty well covered," Richard added proudly.

"That's right!" Lorelai smiled at her daughter, her eyes glowing with pride.

Natalie and Douglas continued talking with Rory about her applications, relaying stories of disappointments and life plans gone awry after their grandchildren received unexpected rejections. Even though Rory was not terribly concerned, hearing these stories still gave her an unsettled feeling in the pit of her stomach.

The feeling only got worse as Natalie and Douglas continued to press her about which schools she was interested in.

"Where did you apply, dear?" Natalie inquired.

"Harvard."

"No word yet?" Douglas asked her.

"I'm not supposed to hear back for awhile."

"Where else?"

What's with the third degree, Douglas? Rory wondered. The thought of where this conversation would likely end up made her extremely anxious.

"Where else?" She managed to say.

"Where else did you apply? Your alternates?"

Natalie added, "We're so curious, it's like we've been going through this ourselves."

"Well, I'm pretty much counting on Harvard," Rory said, hoping that would be a good enough answer to end the conversation.

"Well, you didn't apply to just Harvard, did you?"

Apparently not. Rory shifted in her seat uncomfortably. "Well, no."

This got Lorelai's attention. "No?"

Natalie seemed to catch the surprise in Lorelai's voice. "Am I prying?"

Yes Rory thought, but said, "No."

"We applied elsewhere?" Lorelai asked.

You say we like you're the one who is going to college. Like you're the one having to make a life-changing decision, Rory thought bitterly. But as soon as this crossed her mind, she immediately felt guilty. She knew her mother had worked tirelessly to make sure she could achieve this goal.

Your goal or her goal, a voice inside her asked.

It's my goal, too. I've worked my whole life for this, she assured herself.

Then why haven't you told her —

Her internal debate was interrupted by Lorelai asking if Chilton really wouldn't allow her to apply to only one school.

"Pretty much," Rory told her.

"Why didn't you tell me that?"

"I was going to."

The other adults jumped to her defense.

"You have to be safe."

"My grandson – six schools."

"Same with Dustin."

Lorelai barely heard them. "Where else did you apply?

This was exactly the conversation Rory was hoping to avoid. "Just at some other schools."

"Well, if you're aiming at Harvard, that would be Princeton, Yale, maybe Vassar, Wesleyan," said Douglas.

"Certainly Yale because of Richard's connections, yes?" Claude asked.

Natalie agreed. "I would assume so."

Rory was growing more uneasy by the second. "Those are the kinds of places, yup."

Lorelai couldn't believe what she was hearing. "The kinds of places or the places? Rory?"

Time to bite the bullet, Rory thought. "Princeton. . . um, Yale."

"Yale?" Lorelai asked incredulously.

"Yes?" Richard said.

"Yale, Dad?" She could not believe her parents would go to these lengths, behind her back nonetheless, to get Rory to attend their beloved Yale.

"Oh, this is the first I'm hearing about it, Lorelai."

"Oh, bull."

As the adults continued to argue, Rory tried her best to defend herself. Although everything she said was the truth, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt knowing she had other irons in the fire that she was not yet willing to discuss.

Rory was grateful for the silent ride home; it gave her plenty of time to mull over the events of the evening.

She really had intended to tell Lorelai about her other applications; it was not unreasonable or unusual for someone in her position to keep their options open and apply to a couple of backups.

Rory groaned inwardly at the thought of having to tell her mother that she had not limited herself to exploring the idea of attending only Princeton or Yale rather than Harvard. Based on how well Lorelai received the news of those applications, Rory could only imagine how her mother would feel about her applying to schools that were at least an hour further away from home than Princeton was.

Hey mom! Just wanted to let you know I also applied to UPenn. Don't worry - it's over 3 hours away on a good day!

Though that might not go over terribly once Lorelai got used to the idea; Harvard wasn't exactly close either. But the thought of having to tell her about the other schools…Rice, Notre Dame, Stanford…how can I tell my mom I may be moving across the country?

Truthfully, Rory was a little surprised her mother was so shocked and appalled that she had allowed herself to have a myriad of choices. After all, she had three bus books so she could pick and choose what to read depending on her mood. She was planning on taking at least a dozen books on their Europe trip because who could know what would strike her on a six week excursion? What was wrong with wanting choices?

But Rory knew Lorelai wouldn't see it as keeping her options open — not at first at least. She would see it as her daughter trying to get as far away from her as possible; she would think Rory was trying to escape her. Even though Rory was only doing what she thought would be best for her future, Lorelai would take it as a very personal slight, and would be devastated.

It wasn't as if Rory had given her mother no consideration when she made her choices of where to apply. She knew it would be hard for the both of them to be far away from each other. They could easily talk on the phone or chat with a webcam, but she knew it was not the same. She had also weighed the pros and cons of Lorelai soon beginning to pursue her dream of opening her own inn with Sookie, which would leave her little time to potentially jet around the country to visit her daughter, but would provide her with a big distraction.

The thought of going months at a time without seeing her mother made Rory physically ache inside. But, as she reminded herself time and time again, that's what happens when you go to college; it's what normal people do. Even though the life she and her mom had was anything but ordinary, and though Rory was nothing but thankful for the relationship she had with Lorelai, she couldn't help but crave a little bit of normalcy as she transitioned into this new phase of her life.

Lorelai used the silent drive to process all the information she had received that evening. Rationally, she knew Yale would be just as good of a choice as Harvard, but its ties to her parents and the life she was "supposed" to have made her feel extremely uneasy.

The two Gilmores were making their way toward Sookie's when Rory finally broke the silence.

"Are you mad?" she asked nervously.

"No, I'm not mad."

"You seem mad."

"What are you feeling?

"I wouldn't know how to word it."

"Try."

Lorelai did her best to explain the thoughts running through her head to her daughter, and Rory tried to give her the reassurance she desperately needed. It didn't calm her anxious mind as much as she would have liked, but she knew that she would feel better once she had some time to wrap her head around the idea of Rory going to Yale or Princeton.

After they stopped by and chatted with a very intoxicated Sookie, the girls headed to the diner for a coffee.

"Get more trash cans!" They heard Jess yell.

"I don't need more," Luke insisted.

"You make me run around town for a place to dump this!"

"Just dump it in one of Taylor's bins. It gets out of here and it'll drive Taylor crazy. It's a win-win."

The two men continued to bicker after Lorelai and Rory greeted them. Jess tried to get the girls to help him convince Luke to buy more trash cans, but his uncle waved him off. "Just go."

"You got any coffee?" Lorelai asked.

"That I've got. Hey did I see flames coming from Sookie's place about a half ago ago?"

"Yeah, why?" Lorelai replied as she and Luke walked into the diner.

Rory followed Jess down the sidewalk. He started to speak but she silenced him with a kiss. "Hi."

"Hi," he said, thrilled by her enthusiastic greeting.

"Later." Rory started to walk away, but Jess stopped her.

"Or you can walk with me to ditch the garbage in Taylor's cans. It'll be fun."

Rory grinned at the mischievous glint in her boyfriend's eyes, and the two walked toward Doose's. As they got closer to the market, Dean emerged from the darkness and began to approach Jess. When he noticed Rory he seemed to change his mind and skulked away. Rory felt a twinge of guilt.

"I'm sorry if he has been bothering you," she said quietly.

"Not your fault."

"It is my fault. I treated him horribly."

Jess snorted. "And you think he was Prince Charming or something? He dumped you in front of everyone at the dance marathon, Rory."

"I deserved it after what I did. I —"

"No, Rory!" Jess interrupted, tossing the trash into the garbage cans roughly, causing some of the contents to spill out. "Shit." He and Rory picked up the detritus in silence, the tension between them sitting thickly in the air.

Jess sighed. "I just don't get why this guy is on such a pedestal with you and your mom. It seemed to me that he was kind of possessive and controlling."

Rory didn't say anything. Jess ran a hand through his hair. "Listen I'm not trying to pass judgement on your relationship with Dean —" Rory cocked an eyebrow at him. "Okay maybe I am. But I don't want you to think you deserved that crap at the dance marathon. I know I'm not exactly Steve Hale, but I would never treat you like that."

"I think that's the most words I've ever heard you speak at once. And you tossed a Full House reference in there? Wow!" Rory teased. She took his hand and laced her fingers through it. "I know you wouldn't, and Steve Hale isn't my type anyway."

The two walked happily back toward the diner.

"How was thanksgiving at the grandparents?" Jess asked. He felt Rory stiffen slightly.

"Um...well we have definitely had worse dinners."

"What happened?"

"My mom found out about Yale."

"It didn't go well?"

"I'd say somewhere between the Carter and Reagan administrations."

"She seemed okay when you guys got here."

Rory nodded. "She's adjusting. Processing."

"And how are you?"

Rory didn't respond right away.

"Rory?" Jess stopped walking and turned to searched her face for some clarity.

"What if…" she began anxiously. "What if I didn't go to Harvard? Or Yale? Or Princeton?"

Jess gave her a quizzical look. "Are you saying you don't want to go to college?"

Rory shook her head. "No! Of course not. I just…"

Jess placed a hand on her arm and lifted her chin so they could make eye contact. "Hey. Talk to me."

"What if I wanted to explore my options a little more? Those aren't the only prestigious universities in the U.S. They aren't even the only ones in New England."

"O…kay?"

"There's Columbia and Brown and UPenn and Dartmouth, and those are just the Ivies. What if I don't want to limit myself? What if I want to see what else is out there?"

Jess wasn't sure what to say. "Is this your way of telling me that you're looking at other schools?"

Rory nodded.

"Schools outside of New England?"

Rory nodded again and Jess felt his insides clench. Neither of them spoke for a moment. Jess knew he should ask, but couldn't bring himself to form the words.

"UPenn is one of the other places I applied," Rory said quietly. "That's still in New England."

"Where else?" Jess mumbled.

"What?"

"Where else, Rory?" he asked with more bite than he intended.

Her eyes widened, taken aback by his tone. "Um…"

"Rory! Mommy scored some of Luke's rolls! Let's get home and see just how full we really are!" Lorelai called from the diner steps.

Rory looked at her mother, back to Jess, then to her mother again, unsure of what to do. "Jess is gonna walk me home Mom! I'll see you in a few minutes!" Lorelai waved goodbye and began walking to the Crap Shack. Rory turned her eyes to Jess. "Walk me home?"

The two walked in silence for most of the journey. Rory finally grabbed his hand and pulled him to a halt. "I applied to three other back up schools besides UPenn."

"And I repeat: where else?" Jess asked, growing annoyed.

"Rice, Notre Dame, and Stanford."

Jess was shocked. "Texas? Indiana? California?! You can't be serious."

"Why not? What's wrong with those places?"

"Oh man, you have gotta be kidding me…"

"They're great schools Jess!" Rory said indignantly. "Why is it so ridiculous that I would want to apply to several top-tier universities?"

"They're thousands of miles away!"

"You think I don't know that? Do you really think I would make this kind of a decision lightly? That I would consider leaving my town, my friends, my family, or you without giving it any thought? That I would even think about practically abandoning my mother without making a thorough pro/con list?"

Jess felt a wave of guilt wash over him. Of course she would have put a lot of thought into this — she was Rory Gilmore, the girl who buys three highlighters, just in case. "You're right."

"This doesn't change anything between us. It won't," she insisted. "Besides, we don't even know that I'll get in."

Jess put his arm around her and kissed the side of her head as they resumed walking. "Yeah, right. Those schools would be morons to deny you. They're lucky you gave them the time of day."

When they reached the Crap Shack, Rory hesitated before kissing him goodnight. "Jess? Could you maybe not say anything to anyone about this?"

He scoffed. "Who would I tell?"

"It's just…I haven't told my mom about the other applications yet, and I don't want her to find out about it from someone else. I need to tell her myself and I need to tell her in my own time."

"I won't tell. Scout's Honor."

Rory smiled. "Thanks. And thanks for walking me home." She kissed him goodnight and bounded up the stairs into her house.

A/N: As a reminder, Natalie, Douglas, and Claude are all friends of Richard and Emily who attend Thanksgiving Dinner, in case that confused anyone.