Rory dragged herself through the Hartford Airport, wishing she had planned this trip a little better. It was now close to 3 am and all she wanted to do was crawl into her bed. After staying up two nights in a row and the massive hangover she's had today, she was done.

She came out of the baggage claim hoping to find a taxi. Instead she found something even better. Her step dad Luke was waiting for her. He looked tired and grumpy as usual, but his face lit up when he saw her.

"Luke! I told you guys I didn't need a ride. It's way too late." Even though she was protesting, she was thrilled to see him. "Also, how did you convince mom to let you come by yourself?"

"I reminded her that she is miserable when she doesn't sleep, that you had a terrible day, and that you wouldn't want to talk. She protested, so I put on my favorite movie, which is like a sleeping pill for her and we were in business." He told her with a slight smirk.

Rory was so grateful to have him here.

She threw her arms around Luke and hugged him tight. He awkwardly returned the hug and they headed out of the airport toward his trusty green truck.

Rory was awakened by her mother crawling into bed with her. She was so happy to be home. Things here made sense. She snuggled into her mom and went back to sleep.

The next time she woke up it was to the ringing of her cell phone. She smiled at the name on the screen and opened her phone.

"hey Jess." she murmured and rolled out of the bed, trying not to wake her mother.

"Look, I know you were probably sleeping, but I am about to leave for my next appearance and I wanted to make sure you got home safe."

"I did. Luke surprised me at the airport and brought me home." She couldn't lie, she was pleased that Jess called to check on her.

"I'm so glad. Will you give me a call after you've finished getting your things? I will feel better knowing that's taken care of."

"I will, thanks for checking in. I'll talk to you soon."

They said their goodbyes and Rory looked up to find her mom standing in the doorway looking at her curiously.

"Mom, I know you have tons of questions, and I promise we will talk, but right now can we just go get my things so I can be done with Logan once and for all?"

Lorelai nodded, hesitantly, "Can I ask one thing? Are you ok? Are you happy with your choice to break up with Logan?"

"I am." Rory replied. She could tell that her mother wanted to ask more. A two word answer would not satisfy Lorelai Gilmore, but for now, it had to be enough.

Packing up her life with Logan was surprisingly easy. Once they got to the apartment she took in her surroundings. She was saddened to see that she had barely made a mark on the home. Everything that was out was Logan's. She really had molded herself to fit around him. Luke and Lorelai seemed surprised that it only took a few trips to load up her clothing and the few books she had.

Lorelai looked around and asked, "Are you sure there's nothing else? You have more books in your old room than you do here."

Rory sighed sadly and replied, "that's all I had here. I almost never read around Logan. He thought we should always be going. Not sitting and being silent."

Lorelai looked sadly at her daughter. She hadn't been a fan of Logan, but she wished she realized just how much her daughter had changed who she was to be with him.

She was about to open her mouth to ask more questions, when Luke cut in. "If that's all then lets get out of here. I don't know about you guys, but I am not interested in running into that punk today."

Rory tossed him a grateful smile and ushered them out. She locked the door behind her. On their way through the lobby she left her key with the door man and headed out into the sun, happy to leave that part of her life behind her.

Once they were home, Rory tried to make a break for her room. Unfortunately her mother anticipated her move and was standing in the doorway.

"Rory, I know you don't want to rehash everything. Can you at least give me the Reader's Digest Condensed version? I'm worried about you." Her mom looked at her with concern.

She led her mom into her room and settled herself on the bed. Her mom sat across from her in the chair and tried to wait patiently. Rory smiled to herself when she noticed her mom fidgeting in her chair. She knew it was taking all of Lorelai's self control, and then some to not pepper her with all the questions she must have racing through her brain.

"Last night I was brooding in a bar. Logan's coworker Bobby he always hangs out with, is practically a supermodel. That revelation really made me wonder about our relationship. So, I decided to fall back on a fail proof method." She paused to see if Lorelai knew where she was going.

Her eye's sparkled as she asked, "Pro and con list?"

"Yes. I have no idea why it took me so long…"

"I think you knew what it would show you. You've always been too smart for your own good." Her mom told her affectionately.

"Well, in the midst of making my list Jess Mariano sat down next to me and started chatting. If I hadn't been so distracted I probably would have swooned." She held her hand up to her forehead and dramatically mimed passing out. As she did so her sleeve inched up revealing her new ink.

Her mother pounced, grabbed her arm and shouted, "What is on your arm?!"

Rory snatched her arm back, pulled down the sleeve and said with a frown, "I'm not to that part yet."

She continued her story, telling her mom how wonderful Jess was when she needed someone to talk to, then later when they ran into Logan in the lobby, and even later when they went out to the club. She talked of the connection they had and her mom noticed something in her eyes that she hadn't seen before.

"So, yesterday before I came home, Jess and I discovered that we had gotten matching tattoos. As we were discussing what we should do next we found this picture." Rory grabbed the picture from her purse and hesitantly held it out to her mother.

Her mom took it and looked at it for a moment, "You know, I tried to get Luke to elope to Vegas, but he wasn't down for it. I'm a bit jealous that you got married by Elvis."

"Wait, you freak out about a tattoo, but are totally chill that I married a stranger? Has Luke been putting tranquilizers in your coffee?"

"Not that I know of, but I wouldn't give him any ideas, ok? Honey, we can take care of a drunken marriage. I'm sure it happens all the time. The tattoo will be around longer than the marriage, thus the reason I'm more concerned about it."

"Well, Jess and I discussed everything. We decided to stay married for now, because there is definitely something between us. We want to get to know each other and see what happens."

Lorelai didn't look thrilled by this news, but at least for once she knew enough to keep her feelings to herself.