Over the course of the summer, it became routine for Jess and Rory to spend one afternoon every week with Mia. After each of these afternoons, Mia would drop the kids off with Luke at the diner. Often Jess and Rory would bring back little souvenirs that they had collected. It might be a book, a sticker, or an interesting rock, but Luke always took the time to examine whatever items the kids presented to him.

One day in late July, Mia held the door to the diner open for Jess and Rory. The kids entered the diner carrying little glass jars and slowly made their way to the counter. When they reached the barstools, Mia took the jars and gently placed them on the counter. She then helped Jess and Rory into their seats.

Luke walked out of the kitchen and poured a cup of coffee for Mia. As he handed the coffee to Mia, he asked Jess and Rory, "What did you bring me?"

"Caterpillars."

"We put them in jars, so we can turn them into butterflies," explained Rory.

Studying the jars, Luke saw that there were holes poked in the tops and, in addition to the black, white, and yellow striped caterpillars, each jar contained a stick and a clump of grass and leaves. "Well, it looks like you have everything you need."

"Mia helped us," Jess said, smiling at Mia. "We even got them food."

"I can see that."

"I wanted to get cake and candy for my caterpillar to eat because that's what the caterpillar in my book eats."

"Well, Rory, your caterpillar does look hungry, but I don't think it's a very hungry caterpillar."

Rory sighed dramatically, "That's what Mia said."

"Caterpillars don't eat cake and candy. They eat plants," Jess proudly informed his father. "That's why they were in the bushes at the park. They were having lunch."

"Is that so?"

"Uh huh."

"I hope they enjoyed their last taste of freedom," Luke muttered under his breath, earning a snort of laughter from Mia. As he moved the jars to the back counter, he spoke louder, so that Jess and Rory could hear him. "We'll take these little guys home later. Your mom will be thrilled."

Jess' brow furrowed and his lips twisted into a pensive frown. "Why will Mommy be thrilled?"

"Because she's been wanting us to get a pet and now we have two."

"Only until they turn into butterflies," Rory matter-of-factly corrected her father.

"Good point."

Mia finished her coffee and set her mug down. "Thank you for the coffee, Lucas. I need to be getting back to the inn."

"Okay. What do you guys say to Mia for taking you to the park?"

"Thank you, Mia."

"Thanks, Mia."

"You're very welcome. I'll see you later." She gave Jess and Rory each a big hug and waved at Luke as she left.

When Mia was gone, Luke asked the kids, "Who wants a snack?"

"Me!"

"Me too!"

"How about apple slices?"

"With peanut butter," Rory suggested hopefully.

"Sure," chuckled Luke. "Apple slices and peanut butter coming right up."

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Lorelai and the twins arrived at the diner just in time for dinner. As they approached the table where Jess and Rory were sitting, Lorelai saw that Luke had already prepared their usual orders and was placing their meals in front of their chairs while telling the kids to pick up the books that were scattered across the table. She set the twins down in their highchairs and took her own seat before noticing the two jars in the middle of the table. "What's with the jars?"

"Daddy says you'll be thrilled," Jess replied, playfully wiggling his eyebrows.

"I'm sure I will be, but I'd love to know why."

Rory bounced excitedly in her chair. "We got pets! Daddy says you want a pet and two pets is better than one."

"Um, okay, but what kind of pet lives in a jar?" Lorelai asked, leaning forward to inspect the contents of the jars.

"Caterpillars!" Jess and Rory responded simultaneously.

"Caterpillars, huh. That's an interesting choice."

Rory crossed her arms over her chest defensively and said, "It's a good choice. We're gonna take care of them until they turn into butterflies."

Lorelai looked up at Luke and raised one eyebrow, silently telling him that she knew he was using the kids and their caterpillars to try to distract her from her desire for a softer, cuddlier pet. "So, we have two temporary pets."

"Consider them practice pets," advised Luke.

"Funny," scoffed Lorelai. "Do you know how to take care of our new pets?"

"We know what to do, Mommy."

"Okay, Jess. What do we do?"

"We take them home and leave them alone and wait for cocoons. Then, when they turn into butterflies, we set them free."

"We don't even have to feed them," Rory added. "Mia helped us put their food in the jar already."

"Sounds like caterpillars are the perfect pets."

"We can hope. I have to get back to work. Do you guys need anything else?"

"No."

"Will you be able to get everyone home?"

"I always do."

"Yeah, but now there's six of them."

"Somehow, I think I'll manage."

Luke pressed a quick kiss to the top of each kid's head and to Lorelai's cheek. "I'll see you later," he said as he walked away.

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When Luke got home after closing up the diner he expected Lorelai to be in the living room watching television or possibly reading a book because that's where she usually waited for him on the nights he had to work late. Instead, he was surprised to find her standing just inside the front door. "How long have you been standing there?" he inquired, his shock evident.

"Only a few seconds. I heard your truck."

"And you felt the need to meet me at the door because…?" Luke asked, letting his words fade away and the question hang between them.

"We have a problem," Lorelai stated bluntly.

"Is anyone hurt?"

"No."

"Bleeding?"

"No."

"On fire?"

"No."

"If nobody's hurt and the house is still standing, it must not be a big problem. What is so important that I can't even get in the door before we talk about it?"

"Butterfinger died."

"Who's Butterfinger?"

"Rory's caterpillar. Looked like a finger and was supposed to turn into a butterfly. Butterfinger."

"And Butterfinger is dead? Already? It's only been six hours."

"Yeah, well, it only survived four of those hours."

"This is why we shouldn't have pets," groaned Luke. "How'd she take the news?"

"She doesn't know."

"What do you mean she doesn't know? Why didn't you tell her?"

"I didn't tell her because I didn't know what to tell her. She found it right before bedtime and thought it was sleeping. How was I supposed to tell her it was actually dead?"

"Lorelai! She's going to figure it out."

"I know! I'm sorry! It's just that she's going to be so sad and I didn't want to upset her right before she was supposed to go to sleep. I didn't know what to do and you weren't here."

"Ah geez. What a mess."

"Any idea how we clean it up?"

"We have to tell her."

"I was afraid you were going to say that."

"It'll be easier than you think," Luke promised, pulling Lorelai into his arms and holding her close.

"I hope you're right," she murmured into the crook of his neck.

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The next morning, after breakfast, Luke and Lorelai let Jess take the twins into the living room to watch Dumbo's Circus. They asked Rory to stay behind so they could talk to her about her caterpillar. Luke did his best to gently explain what had happened to Butterfinger, but no matter how many times he tried, Rory refused to accept that Butterfinger was dead. Eventually, Lorelai interrupted, "Rory, sweet girl, your daddy's right."

Rory turned to her mother with tear-filled eyes. "No, Mommy. Butterfinger is just sleeping."

"No, Rory, she isn't," Lorelai said softly as she knelt in front of Rory.

"She's just really tired. She'll wake up soon."

"She's not going to wake up."

"But I don't want her to be dead," Rory sobbed.

"I know."

"Why did she die?"

"I don't know," Lorelai admitted, brushing her thumbs across Rory's cheeks to wipe away her tears.

Rory wiped her runny nose on her sleeve as she slid off her chair and walked around Lorelai, who pulled herself into the seat Rory had vacated. As she looked up, she saw Rory crawl into Luke's lap. "Daddy, do you think Butterfinger is with Papa now?"

Luke cuddled Rory against his chest. "I know she is," he assured her. "And I know Papa will take good care of her."

"Can we have a funeral for Butterfinger like we did for Papa?"

"Sure, Rory. We'll find a nice box and bury Butterfinger in the backyard. Won't we, Lorelai?"

"Of course, we will."

Hiding her face in Luke's shirt, Rory sniffled, "Thanks, Daddy."

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While Luke dug a hole under a tree in the backyard, Lorelai searched for a box that could be used to bury Butterfinger. It didn't take long for her to find a small shoebox that had once held a pair of baby shoes. She gave the box to Rory and left her alone to decorate it.

Rory meticulously printed Butterfinger's name across the top of the box and covered the whole thing with stickers. She wanted to add glitter, but couldn't decide on a color and was still contemplating her options when Lorelai entered the kitchen to get the boys a snack. "Mommy, which color glitter do you think Butterfinger would like?"

Lorelai glanced at Rory and saw that she was holding up two tubes of glitter. "Hmm," she hummed as she walked over to the table to examine the choices. "Pink or purple. That's a tough one. Why don't you use both?"

"I can do that?"

"Why not?"

"Do you think Butterfinger would like it?"

"I think she'd love it. Pink and purple were her favorite colors."

"How do you know?"

"Because Butterfinger and I were like this," Lorelai said, crossing her fingers and holding them up for Rory to see.

Rory really wanted to believe that her mother was friends with a caterpillar, but she didn't know how that could be possible. Hoping to find a way that it could be true, Rory carefully considered her mother's claim. She pursed her lips as she tried to determine how Lorelai could know Butterfinger's favorite colors, but no matter how she thought about it, it didn't make any sense. After a few minutes, Rory decided that if her mother could smell snow and be friends with Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny, she could probably talk to a caterpillar. Based on that conclusion, Rory chose to follow Lorelai's advice and use both colors of glitter. Without saying a word, she set the tubes of glitter aside and reached for the glue.

"Do you want some help?" offered Lorelai.

"No. I can do it by myself."

"Okay. Let me know if you change your mind."

Rory nodded, but didn't look up from the patterns she was drawing with the glue. Sighing, Lorelai left Rory to her project and went back to getting the boys' snack.

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After the backyard funeral, Rory retreated to her bedroom and curled up on her bed with Colonel Clucker. When Luke and Lorelai tried to talk to her, she rolled over to face the wall and ignored them until they left. She continued to lay there, stroking her stuffed chicken's head, for over an hour.

Just before lunch time, Jess came into the room. He climbed onto Rory's bed and laid down in front of her. Reaching across Colonel Clucker, he stroked her hair the same way he liked to have his hair stroked when he was upset and whispered, "I'm sorry, Ro."

"Butterfinger was a good pet," Rory whimpered, her lower lip trembling as she fought back a fresh wave of tears.

"I know." He hesitated for a second, then added, "My caterpillar is a good pet too. I named him Donatello."

Rory gave him a small smile. "Like the ninja turtle?" With a weak laugh, she even managed to joke, "Is he a teenage mutant ninja caterpillar?"

Pleased to have gotten a real laugh from Rory, Jess wanted to play along. He let his eyes dart around the room as if he was checking for potential spies. When he was certain no one was around to overhear him, he told her, "Donatello is a ninja, but it's a secret, so you can't tell anyone. Swear?"

"I swear," Rory agreed, nodding solemnly.

"Since you already know his secret, we could share him. If you want."

"Really?"

"Sure."

"But he's yours."

Shrugging one shoulder, Jess said, "Now he's ours."

"Thanks, Jess."