Holy reviews Batman! You guys totally blew away my expectations last chapter! Why yes, I am starting to cook up a little 'thank you' that will be heavy on the LL. . .

"So, who called last night?" Rory asked as she and Lorelai walked towards Luke's, Charlie at home, already battling Heather for who was going to control the goings on that day.

"What?"

"Some one called, just after I went to bed, who was it?" she asked again, tucking her hands into her pockets as they went.

"Alex," Lorelai answered, a small smile on her face. She squinted into the light as they checked for cars before crossing the street.

"Mom!" Rory complained. Lorelai chuckled before she spilled out who Alex was and the conversation they'd had. "A coffee tasting?"

"Yes," she said with a large smile.

"He has the potential to be the perfect man," Rory replied as they walked across the square.

"I'll say," she said. "We have to clean out the garage Saturday morning."

"Right, so the band can get in there," she said. "Hopefully everything living in there will have moved out by now."

"Here here," Lorelai said as they headed into Luke's.

"There are only two of you," he said as he watched them sit down.

"Good job Luke! Now, how many fingers am I holding up?" Lorelai asked as she held up four fingers. Rory snickered behind her hand as she took her coat and hat off. Luke frowned.

"You usually make it a point to have breakfast with Charlie before you leave."

"Yeah well, the little dictator is at home battling Heather for control," she said. "Coffee and eggs?" she asked.

"Me too," Rory said. Luke shook his head before he headed off to fill orders.

"Whoa," was all Lorelai could say when she got into the house. The living room was a disaster area, clothes, toys, books, blankets and anything that wasn't nailed down as strewn all over the place. As she got over the shock of the state of the house, she quickly became aware that the little one of the house was screaming her displeasure at something at the top of her lungs. She hung up her coat and dropped her purse by the door before she headed up stairs. "Hey," she called to Heather who was coming out of the kitchen with a bowl of soapy water. "I don't want to know," she told her.

"Probably for the best," she said as she continued into the living room and Lorelai headed up stairs.

"HEY!" she yelled at Charlie who was screaming away, banging something against the bars of her crib. Charlie stopped abruptly when she heard this.

"OUT!" she shouted back as she stood up.

"What is your big problem?" Lorelai asked as she came to stand in front of the 20 month old.

"Out! Out! Out!" she said, bouncing up and down slightly. When her mother continued to just look at her, Charlie whined one last time as she sunk down and simply hung off of the guard rail of the crib.

"You are dramatic today. What's wrong," she asked as she finally picked Charlie up. Charlie didn't say anything, but she continued to pout. "Ah, I see. Aren't you supposed to start this in about 4 months? You're not two yet," she pointed out. Charlie didn't respond, she simply pointed back at the crib. "Back in?" Lorelai asked.

"Bah!" Charlie said, leaning towards the crib.

"My apologies," Lorelai told her as she grabbed one of the blankets and handed it to Charlie. She let out a sigh before she started pointing again. Lorelai shook her head as she dug out the pacifier that was in there too and she watched as Charlie took it and held on to it as she chewed on it. "And the light bulb goes on," she muttered. "Teeth?" she asked as she opened her mouth and Charlie did the same. Sure enough, there were two little white bumps where teeth were working their way through. "We'll pick something up before dinner, ok?" she asked as she kissed her on the forehead before they headed down stairs.

"Go?" Charlie asked when they couldn't find Heather.

"Looks like," she said as they took in the some what cleaner living room. They looked at each other for a moment before Lorelai headed towards the couch and sat down. "I think this calls for some cartoons," she said. They quickly made themselves comfortable to wait for Rory to get home.

"Okay, Charlie is learning to play the piano with Morey and Babette for the next couple of hours," Lorelai said as she met Rory in front of the garage.

"Okay," Rory replied as they stood in front of the garage doors. "So, how long has it been since we opened these doors?"

"I'd say three years," Lorelai said after a moment.

"I'd say more like four," Rory said, pursing her lips as she considered this.

"What? It has not been four years since we set foot inside our own garage," she said as she turned to look at Rory.

"It was when we got the Jeep," she answered.

"That wasn't . . . It was!" Lorelai responded as she thought about it.

"And, even then, I think we only got as far as opening the door before something flew out and scared you," Rory gleefully pointed out, smiling in amusement as she remembered the last time they had tried to clean out the garage.

"Yes, it scared me while you stood calmly like Dr. Doolittle chatting with the bat," she said with a smirk as she turned to look at Rory.

"It was a bat, wasn't it?" she asked as she pointed at Lorelai.

"Wearing an OzzFest T-shirt, I believe," she quipped. She couldn't resist the jab at Ozzy.

"Will the man never be able to live that down?"

"So, uh, what do we do about the bat cave?" Lorelai asked as she pointed towards the garage.

"Well, we did promise Lane that her band could rehearse here," Rory pointed out and Lorelai agreed. "And they'll probably need to actually get in here to do so. . . "

"So. . . I guess we're going in," Lorelai said as they stepped closer to the door.

"I guess we are," Rory said as she grabbed one of the door handles.

"Alright, on three," Lorelai said as she undid the latch. "One, two, three!" she called as they both pulled and swung the doors opens. Rory immediately began pointing out boxes that Lorelai was supposed to have donated to Good Will while Lorelai tried start clearing things out.

"Wait!" Rory yelled as she caught a faded blue ball Lorelai tossed out of the garage.

"What?" she asked.

"Hug-a-World!" Rory cried as she hugged it. Lorelai simply stared at her for a moment before Rory began to remind her about all the trips they planned with Hug-a-World. "We can clean him up and keep him, can't we?" she asked hopefully.

"Sure. Throw him outside and I'll see what I can do. Maybe we can even teach Charlie where Canada is on it," Lorelai suggested with a shrug. "Keep the tradition alive."

"Thank you," Rory replied with a large smile as she tossed it outside.

"If I clean up Hug-a-World, does that cancel out me not getting rid of the boxes?" Lorelai asked as she keep her eyes on Hug-a-World.

"I'll consider it a wash," Rory said as she started to reach for things in the garage.

"How about if I chase it and bring it back?" Lorelai asked after a moment.

"What?"

"Hug-a-World wants to see the world," Lorelai said, sounding slightly disgusted as she pointed a finger at the stuffed blue globe that was slowly moving down the driveway.

"It's moving," Rory exclaimed, more than a little horrified.

"There's something living there besides Canadians," Lorelai remarked.

"I hugged it, I hugged it really tight!" Rory moaned as she pulled at her sweater.

"Yes, you did," Lorelai said, equally disgusted, pointing at Rory's sweater.

"I have to shower!" Rory cried as she ran off towards the house.

"Hey, hey, hey what about the rest of the garage? Rory!" Lorelai called after her. "Hey, how 'bout if Lane's band rehearses in the kitchen? We don't use that either!" she called out. She waited for a moment and when she got no response, she cast one last look at Hug-a-World that was still crawling away before she turned her full attention to the garage and started to pull things out.

Lane and the band arrived later in the afternoon with industrial staplers and rolls of carpet to provide some sound proofing in the garage.

"I've already talked to all the neighbours," Lorelai told Lane. "Just make sure you keep the doors closed, you don't start practicing before 2 without giving me warning and the music must stop by 8."

"Why not before 2 without warning?" Brian asked as he grabbed another roll of carpet.

"I have an almost 2 year old who will most definitely be up from her nap by 2."

"You do?" Brian said.

"Right over there, Brian," she said as she put an arm around Brian's shoulder before pointing to where Rory was helping Charlie investigate one of the carpet rolls.

"Huh, look at that," he said. The pair stood for a moment longer before he wandered back into the garage. Lorelai eyed him for a moment, but quickly turned her attention back to Lane.
"Don't worry, I will remember the 2 pm rule and I have to be home by 6." Lorelai smiled as Lane rushed off to help the boys. Unfortunately, before she could get away, Zach was talking to her, trying to pick her up.

"Do you need any help?" she asked Rory quickly.

"Nope," she replied with an amused smile.

"Do you need any help, please?" she asked, her eyes wide as she nodded her head, trying to make Rory give the right answer.

"I'm good, Pamela Des Barres," Rory replied as she slipped off to help Charlie play in the snow.

"When did you turn on Mommy?" she asked, throwing her hands in the air. Rory paused and turned around to look at Lorelai.

"What? He's cute," she said. By the time they finished staring at each other, Charlie had wandered over to Rory.

"Well, since you don't need any help, just a new place to live, I'm gonna go," she said as she shot Rory a look. She quickly walked over to Rory and took Charlie from her and headed towards the house.. Her get away was blocked by Zach who was back again, still trying to pick her up. She made some quick excuses and finally got away.

"Bye Pam!" Rory cheerfully called out after her.

Lorelai sat back in her chair and took a look around the coffee shop. Alex had managed to find one in Hartford that she had never been in before. Just as she was starting to read the signs that were posted around the shop, Alex came back to the table and told her about the coffee he had just brought. She bugged him about being a cheap date before he explained that he had to promise to stock his shop from their warehouse.

"So, actually, this date is costing me about eleven thousand dollars a month," he pointed out.

"Jeez, I hope I'm worth it," she said, a smile on her face.

"So far so good," he replied.

"So, we were talking about kids?" she asked, leaning on the table.

"Yes, your girls," he said, leaning slightly on the table.

"Rory and Charlie," she said with a smile. "Rory's 18 and gunning for the Ivy leagues and Charlie is just about 2 and gunning for full sentences." He smiled at this.

"Their dad, if you don't mind me asking."

"He's . . .complicated," she said, playing with her coffee cup. "What about yours?" she asked, changing the subject.

"Hillary and Jeff, 6 and 9. They live with their mom, but I see them all the time. They both recently started soccer because apparently it's the law."

"Rory's still got an outstanding warrant on that one," she joked. "Any hobbies?"

"Not a hobby guy," he replied.

"Hallelujah," Lorelai proclaimed.

"Most of the time I'm working, with the kids or I'm charming the chicks with the coffee. And then, a few times a year, I'll go camping or fishing. I actually really love that stuff."

"Oh yeah?" she asked, trying to sound interested, but not to enthusiastic.

"Absolutely. How about you?" And what happened next would mystify Lorelai for years to come. She heard him ask her if she liked to camp and fish and, before she knew it, she heard herself telling him that she loved the outdoors and that she would love to go fishing with him on Saturday. She also vaguely heard herself telling him that she was ready to try a blend from Peru. As her brain caught up with her mouth, she was more than a little shocked at what she had just agreed to do.

Lorelai sat on a stool in the kitchen of the Inn a few days later, telling Sookie the story as the chef put the finishing touches on a cake she was working on. Lorelai couldn't help but smile as Sookie explained the origins of her frog collection.

"I'm the frog girl," Sookie said with a bit of a giggle.

"You never told him you don't love frogs?" Lorelai asked as she spun slightly on the stool, bowl of raspberries in her hand, so she could face Sookie.

"No," she said as she tossed a few of the berries on to something else. "He has the best time buying them for me, so I just let him buy them."

"That's sweet," Lorelai said as she considered her options. "Maybe I could go fishing. Maybe. Once," she tacked on the end of her thought. Lorelai quickly told Sookie about Alex, still mulling over what she was going to do.

"So?" Sookie asked.

"So. . . I'm going fishing," she said slowly. "I'm the fish girl."

"Frog girl welcomes you to the club!" Sookie said with a large smile as she clapped her hands a little before patting Lorelai on the back.

While Lorelai was lamenting to Sookie about fishing, Luke was discovering that there was a somewhat pleasant side to being in business with Taylor. He glanced up at the pretty red-headed lawyer, Nicole Leahy, before he went back to signing the lease forms. The pair spent another moment mocking Taylor before she took the signed forms from him. She looked them over for a moment before she congratulated Luke on now officially being in business with Taylor.

"Uh, I will let you get back to work," she said with a smile as she filed the forms in her briefcase. "Let me. . ." she trailed off as she started to dig around in her bag to find cash to pay for the coffee.

"No, no, on me," Luke said, a some what goofy smile on his face.

"Tell you what," she said, ever the diplomat. "It's business, let's let Mr. Doose pay for it."

"Even better," he said, hands on his hips. He offered her one last smile that she returned before she quickly turned and left the diner.

"Well, that was an interesting show," Jess remarked as he finally moved out from behind the counter. He had stopped serving people so he could watch the whole performance.

"What are you yammering about?" Luke asked as he finally pulled his eyes away from Nicole's retreating form.

"Guess Gloria Allred wants to go slumming," he said as he headed out to refill a few coffees.

"Shut up," Luke shot back. The pair bandied back and forth about Nicole for a moment before Jess started to poke fun at Luke's dating habits.

"See, I'm gonna go pick Rory up. We're gonna spend a few hours together and then I'm gonna give her a ride home. That's called the end of a date."

"Or, I could stay open a few hours later, which means you're here 'til ten. That's also called the end of a date," Luke pointed out.

"Hopeless," Jess said casually as he put the coffee pot back on the element before he headed out.

"Bye now," Luke called after him, effectively ending the conversation.

A few days later, Luke began to wonder why he agreed to teach Lorelai how to fish as he stood outside her house, filling a kiddie pool with her hose. He sighed as he focused on the fishing gear that was still in the back of his truck before he cast a glance at the four trout he had in a bucket next to the almost full pool. He stood for a few more moments before he dropped the hose and turned off the water. He honked the horn as he grabbed his rods and tackle box.

"Let's go," he called to her.

"Hello sailor, bait your hook for you?" she asked as she appeared on the porch, decked out in full fishing gear: waders, hat and a vest with various lures attached to it.

"You look ridiculous," he remarked as he took in her outfit. Lorelai gushed about her outfit before Luke led her to the pool he had set up.

"You're putting me in the kiddie lake?" Lorelai exclaimed when she saw this. "There's not even fish in it!" she lamented as Luke gabbed the bucket and dumped the fish in.

"Trout," he said simply as he put the bucket down again and grabbed one of the rods. He rolled his eyes as Lorelai named all the fish before they could start. He quickly showed her how to hold the rod and how to cast and soon Lorelai had successfully cast her line into the pool. Luke quickly grabbed the other rod and cast it into the pool before he began to bug her about why, exactly, she was learning to fish.

She eventually spilled out that she was learning this because of the guy she was dating. The conversation died for a moment until Luke told her that she could borrow one of his rods and a tackle box.

"You know, if you want," he said casually, shrugging nonchalantly.

"That would be great," she replied, casting a glance at him before returning her focus to the pool. "Can you do me one more favour?" she asked him.

"Sure," he said, turning to look at her.

"Put a cork on your hook." He looked at her for another moment before he handed his rod to her.

"Sure," he replied. She smiled as she watched him dig a cork out of one of his tackle boxes.
"Where's Charlie going to be while you're fishing?"

"She will be going to her first Kim wedding with Rory," she replied.

"Sounds like a hoot," he muttered as he grabbed his line and struggled with it for a moment until he got a hold of his hook.

"Rory seems to enjoy them," she said with a shrug. He shook his head as he got the cork on his hook and came back to stand beside her as they continued to 'fish'.

Rory collapsed back onto the couch after her mother and Alex left the house to go fishing and she slept happily until Charlie started shouting from upstairs, trying to get some one, anyone to come and cater to her needs. With a groan, Rory pulled herself up and headed upstairs. The pair shared a quiet breakfast of Pop Tarts and left over fruit salad from Sookie before Rory dumped Charlie back in the crib while she went and showered.

Before Rory knew it, the morning had past and it was time to bundle Charlie up and head to Lane's for the wedding.

"You look tired," Lane commented as Rory and Charlie arrived. Rory shook her head as she handed Charlie to Lane.

"My mother went fishing this morning and set my alarm instead of hers," Rory said, trying to keep the slight bitterness out of her tone, but she wasn't entirely successful.

"Lorelai went fishing?" Lane asked as Rory stripped her sister of her coat and they headed upstairs.

"The things you do for love," she commented.

"Apparently," she said as he put Charlie on the ground once they were in her room.

"But, he's also going to take her to a spa after, so it should all be okay," Rory said with a shrug before Lane introduced her to the bride.

"Water," Lane said after the bride asked for something in Korean. "I'll be right back," she said as she quickly ducked out of the room. Rory watched her go for a moment before she cast a quickly glance at Charlie. Satisfied she wasn't getting into any trouble, she began on the bride's hair.

Jess tried to keep the smirk off of his face when he noticed Luke staring at that lawyer through the window. His amusement grew even more when Luke stalked out of the diner and started to talk to her. He cocked his head to the side slightly as he watched the performance Luke was giving.

He chuckled a little when Luke walked back into the diner.

"Shut up," Luke said automatically.

"I said nothing," Jess pointed out.

"Well don't," Luke said, pointing a finger at Jess before he headed for the coffee pot. Jess had to admit to himself that there was something impressive about watching his uncle ask a woman out, if only because he had never done it before.

"What's this?" Jess asked when Rory met up with him, Charlie in her arms.

"Mom's out for the day, so she's all mine. This a problem?" Rory asked as she pulled Charlie's hat up so it was out of her eyes. She was really starting to wonder why they wouldn't find her a hat that fit.

"Guess not," he said with a shrug as he and Charlie sized each other up. "Just have to change plans, that's all."

"She's pretty quiet," Rory said. "We could grab something to eat, or see a movie. Black White and Read is playing a matinee today."

"Sure, let's go watch a bad movie," he said as he threw an arm over Rory's shoulder as they wandered towards the book store.

By the time Jess walked Rory and Charlie home, the toddler had warmed up to Jess and he was starting to come around to her as well.

"Jess," Rory said to her.

"Dess," Charlie said, very proud of her self.

"Jess," he said, turning to look at her.

"Dess."

"Jess," he said, pointing a finger at her.

"Dess," she replied with a giggle as she grabbed his finger.

"Don't worry," Rory said. "She does it to Luke all the time. He's been trying to break her of it for almost a year."

"Well, doesn't that just make me feel better," he muttered as they came up to the porch. "See ya later," he said as he kissed her. They both snickered when they broke apart. The kiss had been awkward because of Charlie and they hadn't had a kiss that awkward since they started going out.

"Bye," Rory finally said, laughing again as Charlie called out after him as well. "We're home!" Rory called when they finally walked into the house.

"Upstairs, bathroom!" Lorelai called.

"Momma?" Charlie asked, pointing towards the stairs.

"Yeah, let's go see mom," she said as she took off Charlie's coat before setting her on the ground. She watched as Charlie headed for the stairs and started to climb them one at a time while holding tightly to the banister. Rory quickly took off her own coat and headed up the stairs herself, taking Charlie's hand to help her out.

"Momma!" Charlie called as she barrelled into the bathroom and into Lorelai's arms.

"Hey," Rory said with a smile. "Oh no," she said when she saw what was in the tub.

"Dat?" Charlie asked, pointing.

"It's a fish," Lorelai said with a smile. "Isn't she cute?"

"What happened?" Rory asked as she took a seat on the floor at the other end of the tub.

"The cork fell off my hook and Jayne Mansfield over here bit," Lorelai explained.

"Jayne Mansfield," Rory remarked.

"Not the brightest fish in the pond, but she's awfully pretty."

"How are you gonna take a bath?" Rory asked. "How long is it gonna live? What are you gonna feed it?"

"See, this is why I don't fish," Lorelai said, furrowing her brow as she and Charlie looked in the tub again.

"She is kind of cute," Rory admitted.

"And she has a great tail swish." Rory sighed and then asked how the fishing was. She was more than a little relieved to hear her mother say that she wouldn't be doing it again any time soon. "The lake was also just down the road from the Shahaela Lodge and Spa."

"I knew that," Rory said casually, still staring at Jayne. "Alex told me before you guys left."

"Two dates with the guy and you're already in cahoots with each other."

"What can I say? I'm wily," Rory remarked before asking about the chances of sending Jayne back to the wild.

"Maybe we can train her to do tricks," Lorelai said, changing the subject.

"Tomorrow," Rory said as she stood up. "Night Jayne," she called as she left the room.

"Night Jayne," Lorelai said too, as she got up and turned out the light.

"Night!" Charlie threw in, waiving at the fish over her mother's shoulder.

"So, you're busy at school all day today?" Lorelai asked as she and Rory headed to grab a cup of coffee and a muffin from Luke's.

"Yeah," she said as they dashed across the street. "I'll stop by the book store if I have time before heading to Grandma and Grandpa's."

"IF you have time?" Lorelai asked as she went into Luke's. "What are you going to do for nearly 4 hours after school?"

"There's stuff for the Franklin that's due, and then I have homework and extra credit to get started on as well as some studying to do," she said as they slid on to a pair of stools at the counter.

"Coffees and blue berry muffins," Lorelai said.

"Toasted," Rory threw in.

"Well, good morning to you too," Luke said as he filled a couple of to-go cups.

"We're running late," Lorelai said as she accepted her cup.

"I gathered," he said as he tossed the muffins in the roaster oven. "So, how's. . . what did you call her?"

"The little Dictator?" Rory supplied as she drank her coffee.

"Yeah, the little Dictator, how is she?" he asked with a smile.

"Better," Lorelai said. "The last of her teeth are coming in, so, it should be a fun couple of weeks."

"Good luck with that," he said as the toaster oven dinged. He shoved the muffins into separate bags and handed them to the girls.

"Thanks Luke," Rory said as she grabbed her bag and started to run for the bus.

"Thanks," she said as she counted out a few bills and handed them to him. "Hey, maybe if you're really good, I'll bring Charlie over to see you at some point this week."

"Well, let me put on my excited face," he muttered before he pushed away from the counter. "Where are you going?"

"School," Jess said as he button his coat. The pair glared at each other for a moment while Lorelai glanced between the two. "So?" Jess finally asked.

"Get lost," Luke finally grumbled.

"With pleasure," Jess muttered as he ducked out the door.

"What's up with that?" Lorelai asked as she came back to the counter.

"He's parkin' his car around the corner," he said in a hushed tone as he leaned close to her.

"So?"

"So. . . When I used to do that, it was so that my dad wouldn't see me getting into it to drive some where while I was supposed to be at school," he explained.

"And you're worried that he's doing the same?" she asked him, giving him a sympathetic look. Luke shrugged a little as he wiped the counter down. "Didn't you tell him he had to go to school?"

"I did," Luke answered.
"And he had to graduate to stay here?" Lorelai was having a hard time understanding why Luke wasn't more upset about this.

"Look, I don't know what the story is. He won't talk to me, and when he does, I wouldn't be surprised if he's lying through his teeth. Until I see other wise, I gotta trust him and it would be a lot easier to do that without you putting ideas in my head."

"Ok, fine. Sorry I even said anything. Jess is a straight A student who helps the little old ladies cross the street," she said as she finally stood up from the stool. "In fact, he's such a diligent student that he's giving Rory a run for her money."

"Bye," was all he said, brow furrowed slightly.

"Bye," she shot back as she sauntered out of the diner.