Rory was outside with the puppies when Steph pulled up on Wednesday morning. They'd made plans to catch up. Steph was anxious to see the pool house and meet Romeo and Juliet, and Rory really felt like she needed to get an outside perspective on some things. Aside from Paris, Steph was the closest girlfriend that Rory had now, and she definitely didn't want to go to Paris for this conversation.

"Oh my gosh, they're adorable! You and Tristan make beautiful babies," Steph teased as she walked toward Rory and the puppies.

Rory laughed and rolled her eyes at Steph.

"Tris and I didn't make these babies," Rory chuckled.

"Does that mean you made other babies?"

"Steph! Don't even joke about that - there will be no baby-making anytime soon," Rory admonished.

Steph held her hands up in surrender.

"Alright, I get it. I was just teasing," Steph said.

"Why don't we go inside so you can see the pool house, and then we can come back out and relax out here? It's a beautiful day."

"Perfect. Let's go, Reporter Girl."

Steph and Rory walked into the house, the puppies hot on their heels.

"Whoa, this place is beautiful. Have you already redecorated? It looks very you," Steph observed.

"No, my grandparents decorated it for me while I was living here in college, and then they kept it like this after I moved out. I've always loved it - it's just so soft and feminine and bright. It makes me happy," Rory replied.

"I could definitely live here. Living with Colin, I don't get to decorate to make me happy; it has to suit both of us. I wish I could have this girly of a room!"

Rory walked into the kitchen and got two glasses out of the cabinet and filled them with lemonade.

"Yeah, but it's worth it, right? I know I love it when Tris stays with me, or when I stay with him. It's nice to have someone around who you care about," Rory said quietly as they walked back out to the garden. They each sat down in a lounge chair and continued their conversation.

"It is worth it, at least most of the time. Colin and I have been together a long time, so it's easy and it's comfortable for the most part, but...it's silly, really. I just wonder sometimes if we'll ever have more. We've been dating since right after college, and we've lived together for a few years now," Steph said quietly.

"And you want to get married?" Rory asked.

"I really do, but I don't know if that will ever happen. He's so jaded about marriage because of his dad and the never-ending line of stepmoms - I just don't know that he'll ever be willing to make that commitment. That leaves me having to decide whether it's more important to get married or have him in my life."

"Wow, that's…" Rory trailed off, unable to find the word she was looking for.

"Exactly," Stephanie agreed. "Any brilliant advice?"

Rory took a deep breath and thought for a minute.

"Well, I'm not exactly the posterchild for healthy, committed relationships, but I can tell you as someone who's been in a relationship that was destroyed over lack of communication about the future that you need to talk to him about it. Don't make assumptions or issue ultimatums, and don't just say whatever comes to mind. In my mind, when I was with Logan in college, having him in my life was more important than marriage. Obviously, we weren't on the same page there," Rory answered quietly.

"Do you still regret it?" Steph asked.

Rory looked up at her friend and smiled.

"No, I really don't. Don't get me wrong, I loved him, but I wasn't ready then. We were good together in college, but our relationship after we reconnected in Hamburg was evidence that we aren't good for each other. Not to mention…"

"Not to mention what?" Steph asked softly.

"It sounds crazy, but if Logan and I had married, I wouldn't have reconnected with Tristan, and I can't imagine that. Tris is...god, I shouldn't be admitting this. It hasn't even been two months since the Chilton reunion, but it's different with him. It's like Logan and I were always drifting in and out of each other's life and we had some great times, but it wasn't sustainable. We never could have made it work in the real world. With Tristan, though, it's real, and it's something that I can see lasting. I've never been the girl who stayed up at night dreaming of her wedding or writing my first name with his last name, but I can see it all happening with him," Rory admitted as she blushed.

"You two are going to make it - I just know it," Steph assured her.

"I really hope so," Rory said sheepishly.

"How are things with Lorelai - is she warming up to him yet?"

Rory dropped her head into her hands and sighed deeply.

"No, she's really not. I saw her yesterday, and we had a nice day together, but I'm not naive enough to think that she's on Team Tristan yet. We went to Stars Hollow last weekend, and she was awful. She and I got into a fight on Friday night, and I had the worst nightmare when I finally went to sleep. Tris ended up driving there in the middle of the night."

"Oh wow, I'm so sorry," Steph said softly.

"Don't be. I should be used to it by now; I've been having these nightmares since my grandfather passed away. This one seemed to be worse than the rest, though."

"You really should go see Juliet. She's a chiropractor, and she does acupuncture. Maybe she could help you."

"You know, I just might do that," Rory said with a smile.

Lorelai walked into work at the inn on Wednesday morning and immediately smelled Sookie's magic risotto.

"Sookie?!" she squealed as she raced off toward the kitchen. "You're here?" She walked through the kitchen door just in time to see Sookie dropping her knife, narrowly missing her foot.

"Geez, you've gotta be more careful there," Lorelai chuckled. "We can't afford anymore workers' comp claims from you."

"Lorelai! I just thought I'd come in and work part of this week. I've missed you! Sit, let's have coffee and catch up," Sookie commanded.

Lorelai sat down in the kitchen and Sookie joined her with two cups of coffee.

"So, what's new? I heard Rory's back?" Sookie asked.

Lorelai frowned and wrinkled her nose.

"No, apparently she's not back. She was here for a few months, but she just moved into the pool house at my parents' Hartford home until she finds a place in New Haven," Lorelai lamented.

"New Haven? What's she doing there?"

"She got a communications job at Yale. I asked her to stay - she could commute every day - but she's determined to be independent," Lorelai replied, her unhappiness with the idea evident in her tone of voice.

"You're one of the most independent women I know. Surely you expected Rory to follow in your footsteps there?" Sookie asked.

"She's still supposed to need me, Sookie. She isn't suppose to get a new, rich boyfriend and adopt puppies with him and move away from me, even if the puppies are adorable."

"Whoa, wait! Talk about burying the lead. New boyfriend?" Sookie asked excitedly.

"Yeah, she reconnected with someone she knew from Chilton back in May, and they've been spending most of their time together since. I'm not sure how long they've actually been seeing each other, but she's pretty smitten."

"And this is bad why?" Sookie asked.

"I just don't want her to turn into one of those fake society women who does her husband's bidding and turns the other way as he has affairs," Lorelai spat.

"And you think this new guy would do that?"

"Yes. No. I don't know - they all do, don't they? He seems to be crazy about her now, but I still worry," Lorelai insisted. "They'll be here for the bid-a-basket the weekend before July 4th, so you can meet him and see for yourself."

"I think I'll just have to be in town, then. Ooh, do you want me to make you a basket? I could make one for Rory too, if she wanted me to! That reminds me of when Rory was in highschool, and Jess and Dean got into that bidding war over her basket. That was some good entertainment!" Sookie said through her laughter as she thought about how angry Dean had been.

"You know, that's an excellent point…" Lorelai replied.