Chapter Nine

Colin lounged broodily in the car's passenger seat as Finn drove the trio towards Stars Hollow. His Aussie friend appeared to be his usual jovial, joke-cracking self, but he had picked Colin and Robert up that morning bright-eyed and with no signs of hangover symptoms, so Colin knew he wasn't the only one entirely focused on Rory's situation.

"...just can't believe you both abandoned me to that circus on my own! Oh, the betrayal!" Colin rolled his eyes and glanced back at Robert through the rear-view mirror. He was sprawled out across the entirety of the back seat, and from the sounds of things was launching into his third overly dramatic re-telling of Logan's wedding.

Apparently, Honor's husband Josh had taken one of the groomsmen suits and stood with Robert, so that both Honor and Odette's best friend could stay in the wedding party. Odette's cousin, who was supposed to be the third bridesmaid, was told she had to sit in the audience like everybody else so that the sides were balanced and still looked intentional. Logan had pulled out his most charming facade for the day, and Robert said that he almost started wondering if the whole affair with Rory had been a dream, because even to him Logan appeared nothing less than hopelessly in love with his bride.

No doubt the worst part of all of it for Robert was the dinner afterwards. Not only did he have to stand and give a heart-warming speech for the groom, but he was seated directly next to Logan through all five courses. Logan split his time and attention between flirting with his blushing bride and whispering to Robert on his other side, trying desperately to explain himself and get information on Rory all while maintaining an expression of joy and peace that would make the wedding guests swoon.

Logan always had been quite the actor.

"Look alive, look alive gents!" Finn quipped, quite happy to interrupt Robert's back-seat drama as they drove into the town center of Stars Hollow. Rory had given them very specific parking instructions, and sure enough they pulled up to the street across from a house proclaiming "Kim's Antiques" to find Rory sitting on the curb grimacing down at a coffee cup, and obviously guarding the parking spot for them.

"Well hello there, beautiful!" "Darling, you look radiant!" "What on Earth did that poor coffee do to make you hate it so?!" Robert, Finn, and Colin all spoke over each other as they tumbled out of the car, successfully coaxing a small but warm smile from Rory.

"Hello, thank you, and it's decaf - I think if all health classes highlighted the fact that p-pregnancy means you lose caffeine, there would be a lot fewer pregnant teenagers in the world." It was a solid attempt at her usual brand of humor, but the shaky quality to her voice and the slight hesitation over the word 'pregnancy' weren't missed by any of the guys. Their Reporter Girl was scared, and none of them was quite sure how to fix it.

Chapter Ten

"I thought Logan said something about being hired to write a biography, some Snoppesire lady?" Robert asked, the current topic of conversation being Rory's career prospects.

It was getting late now, and the boys had commandeered a corner of Taylor's Old-Fashioned Soda Shop. They were probably all procrastinating more than anything at this point, even Rory hardly picking at her scoop of ice cream. They had stopped by the Dragonfly earlier, as part of Rory's tour of Stars Hollow, and despite Rory's half-hearted objections had booked rooms for the next few days. None of them planned on leaving until they were sure Rory had some semblance of a plan at the very least.

"Naomi Shropshire. But she pulled out. And since I had been working on the first few chapters 'on spec' to get her interested, there was no reimbursement for my time or travel up to that point. Hell, practically everything's been 'on spec' for nearly a year now," Rory continued, grabbing a napkin from the middle of the table and starting to twist it harshly between her hands. "It's the only reason Condé Nast gave me an assignment. They were putting me off and putting me off after they asked for that meeting, I should have realized then that something had spooked them. Well, someone… and then Mitchum offers to get a meeting to stick for me! God, I'm such an idiot, he must have had such a great laugh over that, stringing me along and getting me so excited when he had already made sure that I would never be getting a chance to write for GQ."

The boys looked on with worry as Rory worked herself up into a rant, talking louder and faster with every sentence. Robert tried to pull the now shredded napkin gently from her hands and Colin left his hand resting on the nape of her neck after brushing some loose strands from her face, but none of them knew what to say, or even if they should say anything. Only Finn seemed somewhat calm, for while he was also watching Rory with concern, he kept his hands folded together on the table, and had an almost patient aura around him.

Rory was oblivious to all of it.

"...and of course it's so obvious now, looking back on it. I mean, a piece covering people waiting in lines in New York City? Lines! How could I not piece together that the company couldn't afford to offer me a legitimate piece. Though maybe I did realize it on some level, otherwise I still don't know what could ever have convinced me it was a good idea to sleep with a Wookiee!"

"Wait, what?" Apparently the Wookiee comment was finally too much for Colin to let pass. Watching Rory freeze and then turn to him with wide eyes, however, made it clear that she hadn't realized quite how far her rant had gone. With her face flushed a dark red and her eyes closed tight, Rory reluctantly mumbled a quick explanation of her one night stand. Despite their best efforts not to, the boys were all poorly fighting back grins when Rory finally braved peeking at their faces. The grins didn't last long, though.

"I know, I know," Rory whispered, hanging head with an expression of stark shame. "I'm a big fat wookiee-humping loser with no future." *

"Whoa, that is not even close to what we were thinking! And most definitely not true!" Colin said firmly, the first of the three friends to recover from their shock at such a self-loathing statement.

"Kitten, I need you to look at me," Finn's voice cut in, uncharacteristically solemn. Almost against her will, Rory found herself looking up to meet his eyes. "I realize you've made some less than stellar choices these past few years, but unless there are some major secrets you're still hiding from us, the person those choices have hurt the most is you love. And while I hate that, I'm certain it doesn't make you a bad person. And Rory Gilmore is not, nor has she ever been, any caliber of a loser," He ended decisively.

"But Paul, and Odette…"

"Odette has had her own affairs, Rory, and no doubt will continue to do so," Robert cut in firmly, though his expression gentled at the lost look Rory gave him in return. "I don't really care to imagine the reasons why Logan didn't just tell you that, he must have known you felt guilty about Odette, but they both knew the other wasn't faithful. Their marriage is a business merger, after all, not a love story. Affairs will be a regular part of their lives, no doubt there are even parameters written in to their pre-nup." Rory gaped at the matter-of-fact explanation, mouth opening and closing several times before she managed to wrap her mind around this new revelation. Then, anger and shame took over.

"Then why was Mitchum so hell-bent on destroying my life? Why me? Am I really so far below his precious family that I'm not even good enough to be the slutty mistress on the side?!" To her surprise, Colin was the first to respond - and with an amused snort no less. She would have felt hurt over it, if an explanation hadn't been so quick to follow.

"Hardly. Quite the opposite, really. Affairs are expected, but they are meant to be discreet, kept to the shadows; had with attractive but shallow women who are content to have their 'relationship' dictated entirely at the whim of Logan's schedule, and placated in between with sparkly gifts to keep them from getting any ideas of being 'needy' and reaching out on their own for his attention. You, however, would never be content with such an arrangement, and Mitchum knew it. You were a distraction to Logan. You encouraged him to be his own person, and thereby challenge Mitchum's absolute rule. You refused to be kept to the shadows, hidden from the public eye, and therefore you were a liability. And you, perhaps only you of all the women Logan could pursue, had a real chance of tempting Logan to throw away all of Mitchum's carefully built plans just to be with you."

Rory could only stare at Colin for a long moment after that surprising tirade. Eventually she frowned and turned away, staring blankly into the distance while processing this brand new perspective on her time with Logan. It was Finn who eventually pulled her back to reality.

"I suppose you're the only one who can really decide if you hurt this Paul character, Rory, but be honest with yourself. Because I can't see you stringing someone along who is honestly invested in you and your relationship, most especially not someone who truly loves you." He leaned in closer, so his next words were whispered directly in her ear. "Yale's Drunken Confessions Club, membership of two, remember? I know about Dean, and Jess, and Lindsey. I know you grew up from those experiences, I remember how much the guilt affected you… even if you don't." And leaving Rory swarmed with memories from her college days, the boys made their goodbyes and promised to meet her at Luke's in the morning for breakfast.

Chapter Eleven

Rory played absently with her keys as she neared her mother's house. As wonderful as it was to have her friends spend the day with her, it had been a long day. And Finn's parting comments about their 'Yale's Drunken Confessions Club' had left her with even more to think about. It had started on accident, one of the night's that Dean had canceled on her because Lindsey needed the car, or he had to pick up an extra shift at work… the details had faded over the years, but she did remember Finn sidling up next to her at the bar she had found herself in and - after many, many shots - the two of them spilling their hearts out to each other. She told him all about losing her virginity to her married ex, who then became her divorced boyfriend, and he told her all about the sordid family drama that he always had to keep so carefully hidden away from his high society friends, could never risk allowing to leak out to the gossipers and have his mother's and sisters' business spread all over Hartford.

A loud throat-clearing from the kitchen shook Rory from her memories, and she looked up startled to find Lorelai pinning her with an almost angry stare from where she sat at the kitchen table, large cup of coffee in her hands.

"Mom? What are you doing still up? I thought you had a staff meeting at the Dragonfly early tomorrow morning?"

"So you decided to sneak in late so you didn't have to tell me about the rich society boys you were waltzing all over town with?"

"...What?" Still partially wrapped up in all the memories that had clouded her thoughts during the drive home, it took Rory a few extra moments to process to sharp signs of anger and disappointment that Lorelai was putting off. It was enough time, however, for her mother to feel ignored, and therefore enough time to cause her to snap.

"Rory what are you thinking?! Haven't these guys messed your life up enough?"

"Mom, what are you talking abou-"

"And I never thought I would have raised a girl who would have an affair with a married man - oh wait, but you've already done that once, haven't you? So maybe I shouldn't be so surprised? But to just parade Logan's little henchmen around town while the man is off somewhere no doubt spending obscene amounts of money on a honeymoon…"

Rory's mouth hung open in shock, her eyes starting to sting with tears while the hurt and anger built inside her, but every time she took a breath ready to snap back at her mother, a new verbal blow came shocked her into silence all over again. Meanwhile, Lorelai's tirade didn't slow down for a moment: she ranted on and on at Rory about how disappointed she was that her daughter was the kind of person who would just give up the moment she faced something difficult, and turn herself into 'some rich boy's little charity case.' She kept drawing comparisons between how hard she herself worked raising Rory, how she never took handouts from her parents, instead proving she was a better person than that. By the time Rory found her voice, there were silent tears sliding down her face, as much from frustration as they were from the pain Lorelai's words were causing.

"You don't know what you're talking about! Colin and Finn and Robert are here because they're my friends and they care about me. Yeah, they want to help me because I'm in a tough spot and I'm not sure what comes next, but none of that makes them or me or a bad person. And how can you keep throwing the thing with Dean in my face? I was teenager, it's been nearly fifteen years since all of that happened, and I feel terrible. You know how guilty I am over the mistakes I made with him. But that has absolutely nothing to do with Logan. Who, by the way, is certainly not some puppet-master pulling strings behind the buys actions. Logan is an ass, and he's made it perfectly clear he won't have anything to do with me or my baby, and that's exactly how I want it.

"And you, standing there and yelling and looking down your nose at me because I have friends from high society - that just makes you the prejudiced, judgemental one, not me and not them. You chose to walk away from that life, but you're still a part of it just like I am. Yeah, you only borrowed money from grandma and grandpa as a last resort, but you always had that option as a fall-back, didn't you? How many other people in Stars Hollow do you think had a back-up plan like that always at their beck and call? And speaking of Stars Hollow, you know for fact that Kirk is honest-to-god millionaire, and Taylor! Taylor owns half this bloody town between his businesses and properties! He's probably as rich as the Gilmores if not more! So either you're a hypocrite or your issue isn't actually that my friends are wealthy, and if the issue isn't that they're wealthy, then the only thing I can think of to explain your vicious, black-and-white hatred of them is that they grew up in the circles that you've spent your entire life bitterly resenting. That doesn't make you a 'better person,' mom, that just makes you every bit as stubborn and close-minded as grandma."

There was silence in the kitchen, both women staring at the other as hurt feelings, righteous indignation, and the first tendrils of regret over their harsh words swirled inside them.

"Maybe I am just like your grandmother, then," Lorelai said suddenly, her already strained voice sounding especially harsh in the silence of the room. "Because here's the deal; as long as you live under my roof, you are done with them. You don't see them, you don't talk to them, and you sure as hell don't take their money. You've made a lot of mistakes recently Rory, but I'm your mom and I love you, and if I have to be the bitch that tells what to do in order to help you get your life back on track, and then that's what I'll do. I'm not going to stand back and watch you derail your life all over again. Every time these guys latch onto you things go bad. You start dating Logan and you end up stealing a yacht, dropping out of school, and planning tea parties with the DAR. You finally break free of him at graduation and start your journalism career, but then he reels you back in somehow and you have this stupid, secret affair while your career tanks and you start turning into this person I don't even recognize. Then those damn 'limo boys' roll into town and sweep you away leaving a path of destruction in their wake and you end up pregnant with a married man's child. So now I'm stepping in and laying down the law: either they go, or you go."

Rory surprised even herself with how quickly she made a decision.

Chapter Twelve

Rory walked as fast as her legs would carry her through the still, cold air of a Fall night in Stars Hollow. She had with her only a coat and a backpack that she had thrown a change of clothes and her writing things into. Her breath came out in little white puffs and even curled deep in her coat pockets her fingers were cold, but Rory walked blindly on, desperate to put more space between her and Lorelai's harsh words. It wasn't until she had already arrived at the back of the building that housed Luke's Diner that she realized where she was headed. Hardly pausing to think through her actions, Rory carefully pulled herself up the slightly rusty ladder of the fire escape in the back of the building.

Years ago, when she and Jess were together, he had shown how if you jiggled the window to the apartment above the diner just right from the outside, the latch on the inside would slowly slide out of place after a few minutes and you could climb right through the window without ever having to go in through the diner. It had been an amusing 'lesson' at the time, but she had never honestly expected to be putting it to use.

It took Rory far longer than she remembered Jess needing - either because the latch was older, or because Rory simply lacked experience in breaking and entering (a certain yacht-related misadventure aside). However, after ten frustrating minutes standing out in the cold, she was able to push the window open and clumsily wriggle her way inside.

The apartment was pretty bare; a table and chairs, old beat up armchair, unmade bed, and several empty sets of shelves the only items that hadn't made the move over to the house. After fiddling with the thermostat and moving to stand in the middle of the room, though, Rory closed her eyes and could picture the cramped little apartment as it used to be when Luke still lived there.

Rory hadn't ever been inside the apartment before Jess's time in Stars Hollow, but she had immediately felt comfortable in a space that practically screamed 'Luke'. Growing up, Luke had been a constant, stable presence in her life. He was someone she could count on without fail, and although she loved her mother with all her heart, Luke had been a safe haven during those times when Lorelai's unique style and energy became just a little too-much-too-big-too-fast to keep up with.

Rory slowly made her way to the small wooden table and pulled out a legal pad, pens, and iPod from her backpack. Despite the fight with her mother, Rory had found herself smiling softly at the memories of Luke piling up in her mind. There was no way she would be sleeping tonight anyway, and her fingers were itching to write.

Hours later, as the rising sun had just begun to light up the world outside the little apartment windows, a much calmer Rory left a new chapter sitting neatly stacked in the center of the table as she snuck out to go wake the boys at the Dragonfly, hoping to avoid a confrontation with Lorelai when she arrived at work later that morning.

GgGgGgGgGg

Luke was more confused than alarmed when he arrived early at work in the morning and noticed a light had been left on in the supposedly empty apartment space above his diner. There wasn't much to be worried about - the apartment was basically empty, and this was after all Stars Hollow; not exactly a high crime area. Still, he immediately let himself into the diner and then made his way up the stairs and keyed into the old 'office' space above.

With the apartment so empty, it was impossible to miss the backpack leaning against the side of the table, or the stack of papers on top. After a quick glance to either side and a peek into the empty bathroom to confirm that no one else was in the apartment, Luke curiously picked up the handwritten sheets. His eyebrows shot up when he immediately recognized Rory's handwriting, and he never paused to question his actions before sinking into a chair as he began to read.

A short time later, Luke absently brushed his fingers over his cheek, wiping away the tears that had started to fall as he read the final passage in the chapter: At the time, I didn't know to appreciate all that this kind, gentle man did for me: he never forgot a birthday, and never missed a school performance. He fed me when I was sick, and repaired my house when it was broken. He tried to get me to eat healthy, but always knew my favorite orders. He lit up with pride over my every minor accomplishment, and bragged about them for days. And perhaps most importantly of all, he was never once too busy for me, never turned me away, and he listened - truly listened - when I talked. So although my mother raised me as a single mom, and I yearned as any child would for the attention of a biological parent who had chosen to walk away... I never truly felt the absence of a second parent. Because in Luke Danes I found protection, encouragement, acceptance, inspiration, and the fiercest love. In Luke, I found the greatest dad a girl has ever had.

Carefully straightening the papers back into the neat pile he had found them in, Luke calmly stood, shut off the light, and pulled the apartment door shut behind him as he went down to start opening the diner. And if the upstairs fridge was gradually stocked throughout the day, and if a pile of soft pillows and warm blankets somehow made their way from the house to the apartment during Luke's afternoon break, and if Rory's location somehow slipped Luke's mind as he listened to Lorelai rant about Rory's decisions and attitude later that evening, well… how could a dad be expected to act any differently when his daughter needed him?

GgGgGgGgGg

Rather than heading straight back to the Inn after their late night ice cream with Rory, the boys found themselves nursing drinks in a strange, outdoor bar set up in an empty space between two buildings. Although Rory had tried her best to keep up a happy, carefree mask for them for most of the day, it had slipped far too often to be believable. And as her friends, they were worried about her. Not only was she clearly scared about the pregnancy, but they had easily picked up on the tension in her voice whenever her mother came up in conversation, and it also wasn't lost on them that she didn't seem to be overly happy with her the way her life was going even before they had showed up and kidnapped her for their adventure a few weeks ago. So bundled up against the cool night air, and voices soft to match the atmosphere around them, the three bent their heads together and began to plot.

Suddenly the quiet of the night is interrupted by echoing shouts of "Five-O!" and instantly everyone is leaning over their tables to blow out the candles in the center. The sounds of shuffling feet and scraping furniture fill the air as everyone scrambles to press themselves against the brick walls of the adjacent buildings, balancing their drinks in one hand and holding hastily folded tables and chairs in the other. An iron gate is rolled shut and latched and it seems as though everyone is collectively holding their breath. Colin stares at the people around him in a mix of horror and pure, scathing judgement, while Robert tries to control Finn who has has his face buried snug in his friend's chest, desperately trying to muffle his hysterical laughter.

Just then, a light female voice calls out, "clear!" and the whole insane scramble repeats in reverse. Colin is still trying to process just how quickly paintings have been rehung, candles relit, and the duo of musicians in the corner picking up where their last song was cut off, but apparently those thirty seconds of inaction was all it took for he and his two companions to be the only ones left standing, while the rest of the patrons in the 'bar' have resumed their seats and conversations as though there had been no interruption. In fact, the three of them were starting get strange, disapproving looks. As they reclaimed their table, Finn was still trying to cover up his snorts of laughter and Robert was now mumbling phrases like, "ass-backwards," "escaped mental patients," and "social experiment gone wrong" under his breath.

"We need to get Reporter Girl the hell out of this wacky town," Colin muttered, side-eyeing the flannel-wearing men at a table near his to make sure he wasn't overheard.

"I'm sure there are lovely people here, and it was obvious from our 'tour' today that Rory loves this place, but I'm with Colin; living here as an adult has got to be sucking all the drive and ambition out of Mother that helps make her her lovely, fiery self." Robert added. Even Finn, who was still chuckling occasionally as he flagged down the waitress for another round nodded along.

"I'll be honest; I sort of love this insane little circus of a town. But Kitten's not happy volunteering at that pitiful little excuse for a paper in town, and I haven't seen a single other opportunity here for her to work and shine. And while I'm sure all of us would gladly see Rory live out her days coasting along on our fortunes, we all know that's not the life she'll want."

"So then we're all agreed," Colin said, raising his newly refilled drink in a quasi-toast. "Tomorrow we begin Operation Fresh Start and convince Rory to let us help her find a new path forward."

"And we stay by her side every step of the way," Finn added with surprising sincerity, raising his own drink.

"And we stay by her side every step of the way," the others echo, before clinking their glasses together and downing their drinks, sealing their pact with the alcohol.

Chapter Thirteen

There was no one behind the reception desk when Rory arrived at The Dragonfly, so she quickly looked up where the boys were staying in the log book. Secretly amused that the three of them had been forced to share the only room available - one with a single king bed - Rory quickly put the log book away and swiped a spare key to the room before creeping upstairs. She actually giggled out loud when she entered the room and saw Robert sleeping comfortably on one half of the bed, the bulk of the blankets wrapped around him, while Colin and Finn had ended up squished together on the other side of the bed, cuddled together in their sleep, arms and legs wrapped together as they sought warmth.

"Kitten?" Finn asked tiredly, pulled from sleep by her giggles. Seeing Finn's crazy bed-head, and watching him pet Colin's head absently as though he were a pet who had snuck into bed in the night, Rory lost it completely and ended up on the floor she was laughing so hard. Which wouldn't have been so bad, except the hysterical laughter morphed quickly into hysterical crying, and soon all three boys were awake and awkwardly crowded around her on the floor, trying not to panic as they attempted to soothe her tears.

It took some time, but eventually Rory was able to calm down enough to fill them in on what had happened last night.

"Oh Rory," Robert whispered after she had finished, surprising all of them by pulling her into a tight hug and kissing the top of her head. Then again, he was really the only one of the boys who had a healthy enough family dynamic to really understand the pain Rory must be feeling.

"Well that settles it," Colin said decisively, fighting to smother his anger at Lorelai Gilmore, because as much as it would make him feel better to sick his familie's lawyers on her until they had found every last tiny detail to sue for and had financially destroyed her… that wasn't what Rory needed.

"Settles what?" Rory asked, voice still a little hoarse from her tears, but thankfully pulling herself together.

"We're going to help you get a fresh start out of this town. New home, new job, new you. Something that the Dark Lord Huntzberger can't touch."

"And when exactly was this decided?" Rory demanded, half amused and half annoyed.

"Why just last night!" Robert told her cheerfully, giving her a mischievous little wink that made it clear to Rory he was well aware of how cheeky he was being.

"Funny," Rory drawled back sarcastically, "I seemed to have missed that particular conversation." Rolling her eyes when all she got as a response were three unrepentant grins, Rory sighed and added more seriously, "I know this town is strange, and really not your scene, but Stars Hollow is my home."

"We're not saying leave and never look back, love. But maybe look at other options near rather than in Stars Hollow? Close enough to visit easily, but far enough to build a life where you're proud of yourself again?" Finn reached out to squeeze her shoulder gently when she flinched at his words, not wanting to embarrass her, but knowing the words needed to be said.

"If nothing else, it will get you away from that creepy 'ThirtySomething Gang' that was stalking as through town yesterday," Robert added with an exaggerated shudder, trying to help keep the conversation somewhat light-hearted. "That was just wrong."

"And let's be honest," Colin jumped in. "You'd really be doing Esther and Charlie a favor letting the Gazette close down. Don't you think they deserve to retire?"

Rory smiled a little, finding it sweet that Colin had remembered the names of the two elderly staff members of the small paper. However, she also had to admit that they were already retired, and simply volunteered at the paper now; her position as editor doesn't pay, much less theirs.

"An unpaid position for which you pay two paper boys out of your own pocket," Colin pressed, determined to talk her around to their point of view.

"Look, even if I wanted to get out of Stars Hollow, I don't exactly have a plethora of options available to me - a complete lack of money tends to have that effect," Rory said, jumping up to pace agitatedly around the room.

"Well then maybe we just look for something cheap and temporary until you find an actual paying job and get a little more settled, and then-"

"I really don't think you understand the situation," Rory interrupted, tone clearly indicating she was starting to fret. "I'm broke. Busted. Beggared. I have no apartment. No car. Hell, my license expired three months ago. Everything I own is in boxes scattered around three different states. I have no job, I have no credit, I have no underwear because I can't find that box!"* She blushed slightly at the last admission, but didn't let her shame stop her from being honest with her friends. After her mother's ultimatum and her own decision in response the night before, these three were all she had. "I can't even buy new underwear in the meantime, because I am that broke!"

"Rory…"

"It wasn't quite so dire yet, but. I used up the last of my savings flying to London and back to tell Logan about the baby," Rory admitted quietly. "Now that mom kicked me out, my options are either keep breaking in through the window of my step-dad's empty apartment and hope no one notices, or start keeping a sleeping bag under my desk at the Gazette, and hope no one notices."

Everyone was silent for a long moment after her admission, her friends trying to wrap their head around a reality where there was literally no money; no home, no transportation, no way of even purchasing basic necessities. It was Finn who finally made a move, kneeling in front of her and holding her hands in both of his.

"Kitten, please let us help you. We have more money than we know what to do with, and we want nothing more than to see you safe and happy."

"It feels wrong to just take money from you. I haven't done anything to earn it, and I never want any of you to feel like I'm only friends with you for your money," she whispered, unable to meet their eyes.

"Well then what if you earn the money?" Colin cut in, suddenly sitting up straight, a gleam in his eyes that had Rory feeling both hopeful and more than a little nervous.

"...That would be ideal, but Colin, what…?"

"Just hear me out here. If money wasn't holding you back, is there any job you would want to pursue right now? Anything outside of journalism and Mitchum's reach that you would want to try?"

"Well… I hadn't really considered it at the time, but my old headmaster at Chilton talked to me when I gave a guest lecture last spring for Alumni Day. He asked if I ever considered going back to school for my Masters, and that if I wanted, there was a place for me at Chilton to teach, whatever department I wanted." She frowned, remembering their conversation. "He said something about how 'we all go through bad stretches in life.'" She huffed, brow creased in annoyance. "Now I wonder if he hadn't heard something through the grapevine about Mitchum's interference in my career. He was always well informed in the High Society world."

Colin was thinking quickly as she spoke, ideas coming together in his head.

"Okay. Okay, so how about this: apply for a masters program at Yale. You're an alumna who graduated with honors, there's no way you won't be admitted. Once you're in the program, contact your old headmaster and see if you can teach an elective course this Spring, get a feel for whether or not teaching is the right fit for you before you invest too much in your program. I'm sure they'd be able to work around your class schedule easily for a single course."

"And both of those things will break over the summer," Robert added, Colin's excitement obviously contagious.

"Yeah that all sounds great," Rory snapped, a bit more sharply than she intended, but it was painful to listen to her friends paint a picture of a future that really did sound great when she knew it wasn't a realistic option. "But if I already can't afford a place to live, I certainly can't afford graduate school tuition at Yale. And teaching one class at Chilton, if that even works out, is not going to be anywhere near enough income to offset any of that."

"Of course not," Colin said, waving his hand impatiently as though brushing the concerns aside. Seeing the scowl quickly forming on Rory's face, he rushed to explain more of his plan. "You work for us, that's where the money comes from. It's only early October, that gives you three months before Spring semester classes start where you can work full time, and then after that you tell us how much you can handle working during the semester, and we'll find you projects."

"Colin, you can't just say I'm working for you as an excuse to give me money," Rory said in exasperation, but she was surprised by Colin's serious attitude when he responded.

"It's not just talk, Rore. We may all be holding down jobs in the family business, but our lives are a bit in shambles. Well, Finn and I really. You saw how I was a few weeks ago; I get emotional and drunk and start flinging money around, ripping other people's lives apart just because I can, and sometimes just to be an asshole." His jaw tightened and he kept his gaze locked carefully on a bit of wall above Rory's head, avoiding looking any of them in the eye as he analyzed his recent behavior with brutal honesty. "I mean, buying a tango club just so I could suddenly ban tango music from it mid-evening?" He scoffed, more self-loathing coming across in his tone and expression than he had intended, and Rory felt her heart ache for him.

"I may not buy so many things I forget what I own," Finn cut in, wanting to give Colin a chance to get his emotions under control, "but I'll agree to meetings and approve projects at work because I'm drunk or bored or pissed at my father, and then weeks later I'm scrambling to try to get myself out of some pretty bizarre messes of my own making."

"So you want me to be, what… like a secretary?"

"Secretary, life coach, ass-kicker when justified - I may not have the perfect title in mind, but don't doubt that you'd be earning your paycheck," Colin said with humor, a bit subdued but more in control of his emotions now.

"And what about Robert?" Rory asked, surprised to find herself actually warming to the idea. "He doesn't seem to have the same problem with poor-life-choice-making that the two of you sometimes run into," she teased.

"I realize I may get slapped for the way this sounds, but I would happily pay you to escort me to social functions. These two get out of the obligation because a) they don't actually give a shit what impact it has on their family's social status, and b) they're filthy rich they could probably run naked through the annual DAR Cotillion, and people would still find a way to overlook it rather than say a word against the McCrae's or Morgan's. I, on the other hand, have no such excuse, and I find each and every one of those god-forsaken social events utterly miserable." He looked so genuinely despondent at the very thought that Rory couldn't help but laugh, something that made the men with her smile.

"So… Secretary-Life-Coach-Escort for the heirs of three of Hartford's high society families?" She asked, testing the idea out loud and finding that she didn't actually hate it. Not only did she crave the security of having her three friends nearby right now, but she actually really liked the idea of having some way to help steer her friends towards happier paths in life, just as they were trying to do for her.

"What do you think, Kitten?" Finn asked hopefully, the others holding their breath as they also waited anxiously for her answer.

Rory looked from one eager face the next and let out big huff of air as she felt herself giving in.

"So where would a secretary-life-coach-escort-future-student-potential-part-time-teacher live?" She asked playfully, smiling as the others practically cheered.

Rory thought the time was long overdue for her to let these three drag her into a new adventure.

~ End of Part Two ~