AN: Happy Birthday, Gilmore! Seventeen years ago the first episode of Gilmore Girls aired on TV.


Chapter 28: "I'm not getting a minivan,"


"What did Gypsy say?" Rory asked, walking into her apartment, setting her bag down on the kitchen table.

"Doorknobs," Lorelai said.

"As in dead as?" Rory asked.

"I have to put her down," Lorelai told her.

"No!" Rory said, "She's so young."

"I know. Gypsy said it would be cheaper just to get a new one," Lorelai said, "She used the phrase 'total internal destruction'"

"Wow!" Rory said, pouring herself a cup of coffee and taking a seat in the living room.

"Yeah. Though I'm kind of proud. Total internal destruction. Sounds pretty bad ass," Lorelai told her.

"So, what now?" Rory asked.

"I guess I go car shopping," Lorelai said, "Though I have no idea what I want or what to even look for in a car."

"Well, you have this guy in your life, your husband," Rory reminded her, "Getting a new car together is a thing husbands and wives do together."

"Yeah, but Luke will want me to get something boring and sensible," Lorelai told her, "I want something cool like The Batmobile or The General Lee."

"Sensible is not necessarily a bad thing," Rory told her, "Sophie shares half her DNA with Luke so you may need that soccer mom minivan."

"Bite your tongue," Lorelai said, "That kid is all Gilmore. No child of mine would ever get involved with sports."

"You never know. Luke did a lot of sports in high school and so did Dean," Rory told her, "And with Sophie spending a lot of time with Jamie she could pick it up from him. If Dean and Lindsey get him into T-ball or something, Sophie may want to join just because he's doing it."

"Darn kids always wanting to be with their friends," Lorelai said, "I'm not getting a minivan, but I guess something sensible couldn't hurt. You never know where you and Riley will end up so I could use a good road trip car."

"Planning to visit that often?" Rory asked.

"At least once or twice," Lorelai said.

"A month?" Rory questioned.

"No, a week. We can't ever be apart that long," Lorelai said, with a laugh.

"You're kidding, right?" Rory asked, turning her head towards the front door as she heard a knock.

"Of course I am. I can't risk seeing you and your fiance in all manner of compromising positions when you're off on your own, away from the rest of us, no risk of anyone walking in on you," Lorelai told her.

"Pretty sure Tristan and I have more self control than that, but I would appreciate a heads up before you just drop by," Rory said, getting up to answer the door, "Just a second, Mom, someone's here."

"Is Tristan here?" Paris asked, rushing in the apartment with Doyle trailing behind her.

"Hello, to you too, Paris, please come in," Rory said.

"Paris is there?" Lorelai asked.

"Yeah," Rory said, closing the door and following Paris and Doyle into the living room, "I'll talk to you later after I see what she wants."

"Keep me posted," Lorelai said.

"I will. Bye, Mom," Rory said, ending the call, "What's the emergency, Paris?"

"Is Tristan here?" Paris asked again.

"No, he's not. What does Tristan being home have to do with you rushing into the apartment?" Rory asked.

"I got responses back," Paris told her, taking a stack of envelopes out of her bag.

"Responses, plural?" Rory asked, "From where?"

"Harvard medical school, Johns Hopkins school of medicine, Penn medical, Yale law school, Stanford law school, and Columbia medical," Paris told her, laying each envelope on the coffee table, "And before you comment on envelope thickness, keep in mind that so much stuff is online these days that thickness is no longer an accurate indicator."

"Right, so open them up so we can see what your future holds," Rory said.

"I can't do it without Tristan here," Paris said, "When will he be home?"

"Why does Tristan have to…" Rory began.

"Because I need everyone who's important in my life with me for this big moment," Paris told her.

"Aw, Paris," Rory said.

"Save the emotions until I get in somewhere," Paris said.

"Sure," Rory said, smiling before hugging her friend, "You're important to me, too, Paris."

"Geeze, I say one nice thing," Paris said, stepping away from her after the hug, looking towards the door when she heard a key in the lock, "Finally. Where have you been, DuGrey?"

"Dropping Logan off at the airport. What's going on?" Tristan asked, joining them in the living room, taking a seat on the couch next to Rory.

"Oh, yeah, he he's meeting with some people in San Francisco," Doyle said, "When is that?"

"Tomorrow afternoon," Tristan told him.

"Wish him luck for me," Doyle said.

"I'll do that," Tristan said.

"Are you seriously just going to sit there making idle chitchat on the single most important day of my life?" Paris asked.

"Sorry, sweetie," Doyle said, "Paris has some news."

"What news?" Tristan asked.

"Not some news, the news," Paris said, pointing to the envelopes on the table in front of them.

"You haven't opened them yet?" Tristan asked.

"She was waiting for you," Rory told him, "She needed all the important people in her life with her when she found out her future."

"I appreciate that, Paris," Tristan said, "Now, who's first?"

"I don't know. Rory, you pick," Paris said, taking a letter opener out of her bag.

"What's that?" Rory asked, handing her an envelope.

"Yale Law," Paris said, "It's my lucky letter opener. I used it to open my acceptance letter to Yale four years ago. I'm not superstitious or anything, just a precaution. If it's lucky, it's lucky. If not, oh well, I need it to open letters anyway."

"Okay, open your first letter," Rory told her.

"I can't," Paris said, pausing as she began to open the letter, "You do it."

"Me?" Rory asked.

"Yes, you're lucky," Paris told her.

"I am?" Rory questioned.

"Yes, how else do you explain you getting into Harvard four years ago when I didn't," Paris told her.

"Right, sure," Rory said, taking the letter and the opener from her.

"Sure you want Rory to do that?" Tristan asked, "Sure her luck won't cancel out the letter opener's luck?"

"Oh, you're right," Paris said.

"He's kidding Paris," Rory told her, slicing the envelope open, reading the words of acceptance to Paris as she and Doyle yelled in excitement.


Over the next several minutes, Rory continued to open letter after letter of acceptance for Paris, the letters excitement dwindling as she realized all the acceptances she had been hoping for now meant she not only had to choose a school, but also had to decide between medicine and law.

"Can I ask the obvious question?" Tristan asked after Paris and Doyle left, leaving Rory and Tristan to collapse on the couch, exhausted after Paris' freakout.

"What?" Rory asked, snuggling up to Tristan as she lay on his chest.

"If that letter opener is so lucky, shouldn't she have got into Harvard four years ago? Or did she not use the lucky letter opener, thus creating it lucky when the rest of her letters showed acceptance?" Tristan asked.

"Huh, you know, I never gave it a thought," Rory said, "I don't imagine Paris has either. It will burst her bubble of reasons she didn't get into Harvard so she's happier living in her lucky letter opener world."

"I guess," Tristan said.

"So, Logan got off, okay?" Rory asked.

"Yeah, he's really excited about this trip, too," Tristan said, "The conversations he's had with the couple of guys he's meeting with have gone well."

"Think he'll move there?" Rory asked.

"If everything goes well, yeah," Tristan said.

"Good for him. He needs something good like this in his life," Rory said, "I'll sort of miss having him around, but he deserves something good."

"Still no word from the Times?" Tristan asked, kissing the top of her head as she released a sigh.

"Nope. I checked online and they're supposed to be notifying people this week so I expect a letter soon," Rory told him.

"It's going to be a yes," Tristan told her, tilting her face up to look at him, kissing her lips, softly, "I know it."

"I hope so," Rory said, laying her head back down, kissing his chest as her phone rang, "Shoot that's probably my Mom. I told her I would call her back"

"How'd everything go with the car?" Tristan asked as Rory sat up and grabbed her phone.

"She's going shopping for a new one," Rory told him, "Hey, Mom. Sorry, Paris just left and I forgot I was supposed to call you back."

"It's fine, kid. How did it go?" Lorelai asked.

"She got accepted into six schools and is now freaking out over what to choose," Rory told her.

"Wow, good for Paris," Lorelai said.

"Yeah, I guess," Rory said.

"Are you not excited for Paris?" Lorelai asked.

"No, I am. I'm happy for her," Rory said, "I know it can be overwhelming having to choose between all these great schools, but I keep thinking at least she has the choice to make. She knows that one of these options is her future."

"And you're still waiting to hear," Lorelai said.

"Yeah. Did I make a mistake saying no to the Pro Jo?" Rory asked, "What if that was my one chance at a job opportunity and I wasted it?"

"You'll have other job opportunities, kid, I promise," Lorelai told her, "The Pro Jo saw your worth and so will all the other papers you're waiting to hear from."

"I hope so. Thanks, Mom," Rory said, "So, enough about me. Did you talk to Luke about looking for a car?"

"Yeah, we're going tomorrow afternoon," Lorelai told her, "I still have no idea what I want so I guess we'll just car to a lot and start looking."

"Well, you have a better job now and more money. You can afford to get something really good, something you really want," Rory told her,

"True, but figuring out what I want has not been as easy as you'd think," Lorelai said, "I've never just pictured my dream car. I sort of stumbled across the jeep and it just felt right."

"Well, maybe you stumble across a nice minivan that feels right, too," Rory told her.

"I'm not getting a minivan," Lorelai reminded her.

"That's one you can cross off your list," Rory said, "One less option to choose from."


"So, where do you want to start?" Luke asked, joining Lorelai at the front of his truck, taking her hand after they arrived at a car lot.

"Well, no minivans, so we can skip this first section," Lorelai said, noticing the row closest to them.

"Not that I can see you in one, but why no minivans?" Luke asked.

"Because they scream soccer mom," Lorelai told him, "Debbie Fincher and all those other Stars Hollow moms with the same haircut drive minivans. I'm not them. I am not a soccer mom."

"Rory has never showed any interest in sports, playing or watching, neither has Riley that I've seen. April is into her science stuff, so the only child you have to worry about is Sophie and she is only a year old," Luke said, "And she may not even want to play soccer."

"She may want to play some sport. She is your daughter after all," Lorelai said.

"Yes, but you don't need a special car to drive her to games and practice," Luke said, "We live in Stars Hollow, you can walk everywhere. A ten minute lap and you're back where you started."

"True. So why do so many Mom's in Stars Hollow have minivans than?" Lorelai asked.

"No, idea. The things most people in Stars Hollow do astound me," Luke said, leading her away from the minivans towards the next row of cars.

"Hmm, these are sort of cute," Lorelai said, stopping in front of a little hatchback.

"You don't buy a car because it's cute, Lorelai," Luke said.

"No, you don't buy a car because it's cute," Lorelai said, taking a seat inside the car, getting a feel for it, "I consider the cute factor in every purchase I make."

"Well?" Luke asked as Lorelai adjusted the mirror and looked around the inside of the car.

"Hmm, no," Lorelai said, getting out of the car, closing the door, walking towards another section.

"What was wrong with it? You said it was cute," Luke said.

"So is a baby squirrel, but I'm not just going to take it home with me," Lorelai said.

"Not exactly the same thing, but I see your point," Luke said, "Moving on, what about this car didn't you like so we can narrow it down? Is it the wrong color? Did you not like the floor mats?"

"No, the colors good. I like the grey," Lorelai told him, "The floor mats are floor mats. They could be cuter, but whatever I decide on I can always change those."

"Okay, so nothing else was wrong with this car, but you still don't like it," Luke said.

"It just didn't feel right," Lorelai told him.

"It didn't feel right?" Luke asked.

"Yeah, with the Wrangler, I just knew," Lorelai said, "The moment I saw it, the first time I sat behind the wheel it was just...it was right. I knew it immediately. That car was my freedom. I left my parents home with next to nothing. I arrived in Stars Hollow in a cab and until I got the Wrangler I only went as far as my feet could carry me as I carried Rory. I knew when I saw it that it would be the car I taught Rory to drive in. I drove her to her first day of Chilton in that car and now she's a few weeks away from her last day at Yale."

"So, this isn't just about choosing a car," Luke said, "You're also choosing a vessel to house new memories."

"Yeah, I guess so. I thought it would be easy. I don't have to choose the least expensive car I can find because I'm watching every penny I spend," Lorelai said, "I can choose almost anything I want, but, I don't know, choosing a new car seems like I'm also choosing to erase all the memories that go along with the old one."

"Nothing can erase the memories you have in that car," Luke told her, "The memories you and Rory share, a new car isn't going to take those away from you; it's just going to create opportunity for new memories, memories you can make and share with Sophie. Maybe this new car will be the one she learns to drive in."

"I doubt that unless I'm teaching her to drive at an early age," Lorelai said, "I only kept the jeep alive for eight years. I don't know if a car could survive under my care for that long."

"If not that, it will be the car you drive Sophie to her first day of school in. And when Rory and Tristan get settled in New York it will be the car you drive to go visit them," Luke said.

"If that's where they end up. Otherwise it could be a good road trip car to wherever they end up," Lorelai said. "But, it will be used to accompany April when she starts at NYU in the fall.

"See, we've got a lot of memories ahead of in this new car," Luke said, "Now, you just have to pick one."


"Mom's downstairs," Rory said, pausing the movie they were watching and reading the text that just came through on her phone.

"Think she has her new car?" Riley asked, picking his phone up from the coffee table to read the message from Lorelai.

"I'd assume so or she would just come up," Rory said, throwing on her shoes so she and Riley could go see what brought Lorelai over during the middle of the week. Tristan and Stephanie were both in class, so Rory and Riley decided to take a break from studying and a have a little movie marathon.

"Let's go see what she got," Riley said, opening the door and letting Rory go out ahead of him.

"You got another Jeep?" Rory questioned, walking out of the apartment building with Riley, seeing Lorelai and Luke next to a new Jeep Renegade.

"Yeah, I wasn't intending to, but after looking at dozens of cars and going to a few different lots, I saw this one," Lorelai said, "It gave me that same sort of feeling the Wrangler did, plus it's bigger so in a few years when Sophie's in school and wants to go somewhere with her friends, I have more room if I drive them. And if Luke and I go somewhere, like if we drive up to New York for a weekend or something to visit one kid or another, we have more room and it gets better gas mileage than Luke's truck."

"It's a pretty car. I like the color," Rory said.

"That, kid, is the best part," Lorelai told her.

"It's grey," Riley said, "What's so great about the color grey?"

"It's not just any grey though," Lorelai told them, "No car is just red or blue or white. It's always something like winterberry or snowfall or some other option that sounds like they got it from Crayola."

"Okay, well, if this car isn't grey, what is it?" Rory asked.

"Anvil," Lorelai said.

"What?" Rory asked.

"The color is anvil," Lorelai said again.

"Huh," Riley said, "You finally did it."

"I'm missing a joke here somewhere, right?" Luke asked.

"Mom, finally did it," Rory said, "She finally figured out where all the anvils went."

"They were melted down to be the paint on my car," Lorelai said, smiling at the idea, "Now who wants a ride?"


"Oh, good you're home," Riley said, jumping up from the couch when the door opened and Rory walked in.

"Yes, I live here. I do tend to come home once in awhile," Rory said, "What are you doing here? You have your own apartment."

"We got mail today," Riley told her, holding up two identical envelopes.

"So, not only did you break into my apartment, you committed another crime and went through my mail," Rory said.

"I have a key, remember," Riley said, "The mail, yes, that was overstepping a bit. But, I didn't open it, all I did was take it out of the box. I needed to see if you got yours when I checked mine."

"So, this is it, huh," Rory said, taking the envelope with her name on it, having a seat on the couch next to Riley.

"Yep. This little envelope will tell us our future," Riley said, "Will we be in New York, working for The Times or do we consider other options."

"Together?" Rory asked.

"Together," Riley said.

"Dear Miss Gilmore-Hayden…" Rory began.

"We are pleased to offer you," Riley said, "I got it! Rory?"

"Congratulations, Big Brother. You deserve it," Rory said, setting her letter down, wiping a tear that had fallen, hoping Riley didn't notice.

"What's it say, Baby Girl?" Riley asked, picking her letter up, quickly noticing the word regret that had been absent in his letter, "Oh, Rory. I, I don't know…"

"It's fine. They only have so many internships to offer. I knew it was a long shot," Rory said, getting up from the couch, grabbing her bag and going to the kitchen.

"Baby Girl, it's okay to be upset about this," Riley said, following her into the kitchen where she was pouring herself a cup of coffee.

"What's the point? I didn't get the internship, oh well," Rory said, "Something else will come along."

"Rory," Riley said, laying a hand on her shoulder, encouraging her to let her feelings out. They both wanted to get the internship, but he knew Rory had wanted it more than him. She wanted it, not just for herself, but for Tristan, too. He had several offers from architecture firms in the city and was even looking at spaces to possibly start his own, but was holding off making a decision until they knew if Rory would be working at The Times.

"I really wanted this, Ry," Rory said, turning around to face him, his arms wrapping around her as she laid her head on his shoulder and cried, "I'm happy for you, I am. You've worked really hard and you're such a good writer. You deserve this internship, but I really wanted it, too."

"I know, Baby Girl, I know," Riley said, "But, The Times isn't the only paper in the world or New York even. You'll get your chance."

"You think so?" Rory asked, lifting her head from his shoulder to look at him.

"I know so. This is just one thing, Rory," Riley said, "It's one job you didn't get. You're going to get offers from so much more."

"Thanks, Ry," Rory said, giving him a hug, before pulling back to wipe her tears, "Now, enough of me feeling sorry for myself. I may not have got the Reston, but you did. We need to celebrate that. I can figure out what I want to do later. Tonight we celebrate you. I'm proud of you, Big Brother."

"Thanks, Baby Girl," Riley said.


AN: Okay, so two things. One, if you know cars, you'll know the car I picked out for Lorelai was not a model available in 2007, but as I was writing this I saw a commercial for the 2017 Jeep Renegade and it just seemed like a Lorelai car to me and when I discovered a color option was anvil, I was sold. Two, I went back and forth with myself since I first started the Rory & Riley series on how I would go with the Reston, who would get it if either of them did, and what the other would do if only one got it. I gave it a lot of thought and finally decided on giving it to Riley and having Rory take a different path. Also, I wanted to let you all know that I will be leaving on vacation on Sunday and will be gone for twelve days. My vacation is a big part of my lack of updating as I've been working a lot to make up for the time I'll be off (pto only goes so far) and saving for the trip itself. I've also been spending a lot of time planning and researching, but now finally it's almost here. Sunday afternoon, I am getting in a car with my best friend and we are road tripping to Wilmington, NC! If you're a One Tree Hill fan like me, you know how excited I am for this! I've never been and I haven't been on a vacation in fifteen years so I'm looking forward to this trip! Enjoy the chapter, everyone! I hope to have a new one for you when I get back. Happy reading!