It did not escape the notice of the townspeople when a Jeep pulled up out the front of the diner and the driver exited the vehicle and headed straight for the back of the diner. Lorelai stood for several minutes before finally knocking.

Rory opened the door and stepped aside so her mom could enter, closing it behind them. The pair hugged for several moments and then stood looking at each other.

"So this is your place?" Lorelai asked.

"Yep." Rory said nodding.

"It's small." Lorelai said pointedly.

"It's fine." Rory said shortly.

"Come on, you can't raise a kid here. It's too small, where are you going to put the cot, the changing table? Babies need stuff." Lorelai was raising her voice again.

"It's bigger than the potting shed. I'll figure it out." Rory raised her voice in response.

"I'm bringing you home with me, we'll figure this out." Lorelai shouted.

"I'm not coming home with you. I already told you that." Rory shouted back.

"Yes you are." Lorelai shouted.

"What are you expecting? That I'll just come back and live in my old bedroom when she's born? Do you really think we'll fit any better there?"

"We'll figure it out."

"We can't do this here, Jim has a diner full of customers who I'm sure can all hear us." Rory said at a normal volume.

"I don't really care." Lorelai yelled.

"Well, I do. I'm leaving, it's up to you if you come or not." Rory said at a reasonable volume again.

"Rory! We need to talk about this." Lorelai said more quietly.

"Then come with me and we'll talk about it." Rory said walking quickly down the stairs. As Rory was walking she was trying to think where they might be able to shout at each other without interruption or being overheard. She remembered the lake and changed direction heading towards it.

"Rory!" She heard her mother shouting behind her.

Rory slowed, "We'll go to the lake we can talk there." Rory said in frustration.

Lorelai quietly followed her daughter and when they got there there was no-one else around. They stood staring at each other for a moment, each one angry at the other. Then the shouting started again.

"You are coming home with me." Lorelai shouted.

"I am not." Rory shouted back.

"This is ridiculous, you're 16, and you're coming home."

"I agree, you are being ridiculous. I'm about to become a mother."

"At 16."

"I know how old I am, but it's irrelevant. I'm taking care of this baby. I'm raising her my way, on my own, with my own money. And I'm doing it here."

"Why are you being like this?"

"Why are you being like this?"

"Come on, Rory. We can do this. You can still go to Harvard. Or Yale. You can go to Yale so you're closer. We'll get you through the school year. You can catch up on what you've missed, you've caught up before. They'll pay for your schooling. They'll pay for you to live off campus. They'll pay for a nanny. They'll do it. They want this for you too. I want this for you. You want this for you."

"Mom! I don't know how I can be any clearer. No. Why won't you listen to me?"

"I'm not ready to give up on our dream, Rory, and I'm not ready to let you go." Lorelai whispered so that Rory could barely hear her.

"It's too late, Mom. You know it's too late to go back." Rory said quietly. The rest of their conversation was spoken at a normal volume.

"You were supposed to have everything. I was supposed to still have you at home for a couple more years."

"I know, I'm sorry."

"But you can come home. Even if you don't go to Harvard."

"No, Mom."

"I'm never going to be okay with you not coming home."

"I'm not going to be coming back to live."

"Then I don't know what to do."

"You just have to accept this."

"Rory." Lorelai pleaded.

"No, Mom. I'm not coming back."

"Will I even see her?"

"You can come any time you like. I probably won't be able to visit very often because I don't have a car."

"Grandma and grandpa might buy you one. They already wanted to."

"No."

"You're turning into me."

"Is that so bad? I've always looked up to you. You've always been the person I admired most."

"I love you, Rory."

"I love you too, Mom."

Lorelai put her arm around Rory's shoulders and they headed back into town. "I should thank you, really. You getting knocked up has totally gotten me out of Friday night dinners. I haven't been to one since Good Friday."

"Glad to be of service." Rory said laughing.

When they entered the diner it was nearly empty. They took a table near the window. After they sat down the diner started to fill up.

"Well you're good for business." Jim said coming over to their table.

"Hi Jim. This is my mom, Lorelai."

"It's nice to meet you." Jim said shaking her hand. "Can I get you two anything?"

"Coffee for both of us. I'll have pancakes and eggs. Oh and sausage. Please."

"I'll just have French toast and bacon, I've already had breakfast."

After Jim had walked off Lorelai said, "He's cute."

"Mom!" Rory berated. "He's taken. So are you!"

""I certainly was last night." Lorelai said, winking at Rory.

"Mom! Gross!" Rory exclaimed.

Lorelai laughed at her daughter's reaction. "So what are we doing today?"

"I don't know, I didn't really think much about after the shouting."

"How about we look around town, then I take you shopping at the mall?"

"Sounds good."

After they'd finished breakfast they started walking around town. Then Lorelai spotted something. "Oh my god! You didn't tell me there was a collectible plate store."

"To be fair, I didn't really tell you anything about the town."

"True. I forgive you. Let's go!" When Rory hesitated, Lorelai asked "What?"

Rory explained the story about her incident with John and her mother laughed, "Is this Stars Hollow in an alternate universe?"

"Wait until you meet Mick. I'm still not convinced he's not Kirk." She looked around and groaned. "He's following us."

Lorelai turned around and saw him following. "Are you sure it's not Kirk? He looks just like him. Oh, did you say his name is Mick? I think I've seen him before."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, he came to install DSL per your grandmother's request."

"We didn't have DSL."

"I told them we didn't want it. I thought it was Kirk and he was just being weird referring to himself as Mick. You know how he is."

"Well, unless Kirk has been missing from town, I'm guessing this is someone else."

"He's been around."

Rory reluctantly followed her mother into the collectible plate store. Lorelai squealed, much to Rory and John's disgust.

"Mom!" Rory berated.

"Sorry, hon. But they have Charlie's Angels plates. I'm so getting you some."

"Mom, I told you, I am doing this on my own."

"Come on, Rory, it's a few plates, that's all."

Rory sighed. "Fine. But that's all."

"They have Tanya Roberts! Oh my god! Tanya Roberts. They have them all, Farrah Fawcett, Jacklyn Smith, Kate Jackson, Shelly Hack, Cheryl Ladd. It took us years to collect ours."

"Oh my god!" Rory said, her excitement growing. "I never actually came in here before. I can't believe they have them all."

Lorelai took one of each of the plates to the counter.

"I'm sorry, I can't sell you these." John said.

"What do you mean you can't sell them to me?" Lorelai asked, her voice rising in irritation.

"They're not for sale." John replied.

"Of course they are, they have prices on them." Lorelai said.

"I can't sell them." John said.

"You're the owner." Rory added. "What's stopping you?"

"I, uh, haven't entered them into the system yet. It will mess with the stock levels."

"Then enter them into the system." Lorelai said through gritted teeth.

"I don't have time right now."

"I'm not leaving this store without these plates. Enter them into the system or I'll just leave the money and take the plates." Lorelai said.

John sighed in exasperation. "Fine. I'll sell you the plates."

After they'd taken the plates back to Rory's apartment, they took the Jeep to the mall. Rory got some more maternity clothes because she was running out of clothes that fit.

"Can I buy a baby outfit? Please? Pretty please? Just a little one." Lorelai pleaded.

"Mom, I'm not even due for nearly 4 months."

"C'mon Rory, I haven't been involved in the pregnancy at all, I just want to buy a little outfit. Baby clothes are so cute. Besides you'll need baby clothes because you can't sew like I did. Come on, Rory. Pleeeaaase." Lorelai begged.

"Oh, alright. Fine. One. You're like a child."

"Well, you just failed parenting 101. Never give in to a nagging child."

"I can always change my mind."

"No, I'm sorry, I'll be good."

Rory rolled her eyes.

Lorelai picked out a lavender colored long sleeved shirt that read 'If my mom read more I wouldn't be here', with a picture of some books and jeans to go with it.

"I can't believe that's what you want to get her."

"Well you wouldn't let me get the 'Teen moms R cool' one. Besides I'm hoping that you'll speak to your grandparents again just long enough to have her wear it to their house, so that we'll never be invited back."

"Mom!"

"It's cute. Anyone who knows you will think it's funny."

"Okay, if that's what you want to get."

"It is."

When they got back to Rory's apartment, Lorelai said "I'm going to get a room at the inn tonight."

"You can just sleep in my bed, I'll sleep on the couch."

"No, it's okay, I don't want to put you out."

"Mom, it's fine. Besides I've fallen asleep on it several times watching movies and it's a comfortable couch."

"If you're sure."

"I am."

"Good, I'll take the couch then. You're getting fat, you need to be comfortable."

"Gee, thanks Mom. The couch is actually more comfortable with my stomach as big as it is."

"Okay, I guess. We're watching Casablanca. I should have brought my copy with me. I forgot. Or I didn't know if we'd be in a movie watching mood."

"Okay, we're having tacos for dinner."

"I can't believe you have Mexican in your town and it's good Mexican. It's not fair."

"Seems fair to me." Rory joked.

"I'll get the movie and the snacks and you get dinner?"

"Sounds good."

When they parted ways Lorelai called Luke. "Luke's." he answered.

"Hello there, handsome."

"Hi you. How's it going?"

"It's okay. She's staying, there's no convincing her to come back. I don't like it, but I understand it. I'm working towards accepting it."

"Are you sure you're going to be okay with it? You don't want to try forcing her into coming back? Tell them she's a crack dealer or something so they run her out of town."

"Luke!" Lorelai admonished. "No, it's ok. She's going to do her thing, just like I always do my thing. I'm seeing just how much she's my daughter. It's weird seeing her pregnant, though."

"I'll bet, she's still a kid."

"She's not, she's going to be a mother in a few months. Actually I'm not sure Rory was ever a kid, maybe for the last month and a bit, but even then she was setting up a new life for herself, she just wasn't talking to me."

"So you're just going to let her stay there?"

"I don't have a choice, Luke. Gilmores are stubborn when they've made up their mind about something."

"Are you two okay, apart from her staying there?"

"Yeah, we're not fighting any more. She let me buy her an outfit for the baby."

"That sounds good."

"It is. I have to go, I'm getting the movie and the junk food, Rory's getting dinner."

"Okay, I'll see you when you get back."

"See you, babe." Lorelai said, hanging up the phone.

The Gilmore Girls watched their movie, with their tacos and copious amounts of junk food, before spending hours talking and catching up. Rory told Lorelai about everyone she had met in town and Lorelai caught Rory up about the people in Stars Hollow.