"Mom!"

"Loinfruit!"

Lorelai and Rory met in the middle of the parking lot, hugging each other tightly. Things had been crazy with the inn, and with Rory's new job and dealing with fallout from Paris' news and Lane's visit, a few weeks had passed since they'd managed to see each other. In the days of Rory's old job that was a standard occurrence- they'd go a month or more without seeing each other, at which point Lorelai would not-so-gently force herself upon Rory, who wouldn't have the energy to do much about it but would be lackadaisical the whole time. A clear sign something was wrong. But since Rory had started her new job, and really, since she and Jess had reconciled, they hadn't gone more than two to three weeks without seeing each other. It's something Rory thought about occassionally, but tried not to think about too hard- especially since Luke and Jess seemed to be functioning the same way.

"I missed you!" Rory said, pulling her mom in tightly. And she really had. Particularly during Lane's visit, when Rory felt overwhelmed and uncertain about how to handle things, she'd wished she had Lorelai's perspective on everything. She'd decided to wait to talk to her about it until they met up in person.

"I missed you too, kid," Lorelai smiled back at her. Lorelai had been in a similar spot herself. She was, of course, over the moon about her upcoming nuptials, and overjoyed to have more Rory contact in her life. And it had felt strange seeing less of her the last few weeks, particularly as she felt like she was missing things. She'd run into Lane at Sookie's one morning, when she was dropping off Sookie's kids after watching them during the day (it was on her way home, Sookie was busy and Lane had kindly offered to do so). Lane was, of course, very polite- she mentioned she'd gone to visit Rory and Jess and brought the whole family. Lorelai had known that already- Rory mentioned the plan to her a few weeks before. But Lorelai couldn't quite place why Lane's smile seemed to falter, and she seemed so…Lorelai couldn't figure out what it was, but it was more than the harried state of motherhood she'd become accustomed to seeing Lane have over the last several years.

Lorelai thought about Lane fairly often. She'd seen her as maybe not a second kid, but a kid that always had a home with them when it was needed, and she was one of Rory's favorite friends (probably her favorite, though over the years she'd actually grown very fond of Paris). She'd always admired Lane's spirit, and thought she lent a sense of fun, spontaneity and daring to Rory's life, especially in moments when Rory needed more of a risk-taking influence. When Lane had ended up out on her own, Lorelai had been so proud of her, making her way with her band, following her passion, living on ramen noodles with a bunch of smelly guys out of the ambition she had, the dreams she was chasing. But all of that had changed when Lane had gotten pregnant. She was shocked, like everyone else, at how quickly it had happened- and to get twins, too! Rory had confided in her some of the details, and Lorelai just could not believe Lane was put in that position. But it was what happened after that saddened her far more. It was the way Lane seemed to fall into this life of being a mom, and only a mom, and her dreams seemed to die, along with all of her passion and independence. Lorelai knew firsthand that becoming a mom didn't have to do that to you, but that it could with the wrong influences, and it broke her heart to watch it happen to Lane. But she had pushed it out of her mind, since Lane was an adult and could make her own choices and purported to be happy. She clearly adored her sons, and everytime she saw Lorelai, Lorelai would get a cheerful greeting and some neighborly chitchat. That should have been enough. Lorelai knew it wasn't. She was curious to see what Rory had to say about Lane's visit. Although she hadn't seen Lane bright with joy in a long time, the new dimness surrounding her worried Lorelai enough to make her a little nosy.

"Let's go inside, I just made coffee," Rory smiled, ushering her mom through Truncheon's front doors. They waved to Jess, who was talking to a customer, and he smiled, turning to wave to Lorelai.

"Lunch in an hour?" Rory called as they walked past him, and he nodded.

"Lorelai, something in the kitchen cabinet you might like," Jess said, never moving his eyes off the book he was showing the customer. She grinned.

"Aww, you thought of me?"

"And here you are, already making me regret it."

"We're going, we're going! Thanks, Holden," Lorelai smirked, following Rory up the stairs with her bag. Upon getting up the stairs, she went to the kitchen cabinet.

"Red Vines!" Lorelai exclaimed, "Rory, you need to keep this one around. I don't care if he makes you steal a monster truck, I want my candy supply to remain uninterrupted."

"Noted," Rory grinned, grabbing two mugs and pouring them each a cup of coffee, before meeting Lorelai to sit down at the kitchen table. She grabbed a Red Vine herself and sighed contentedly. "Yeah, I don't think keeping him around should be a problem."

Lorelai grinned. "It's good to see you this happy, hon."

"Thanks, Mom," Rory smiled. Then she sighed. "I wish everyone got to be this happy."

"…are you talking about Lane?"

"You must have seen her, then."

"Yeah, I did."

"Would anyone but us even notice?"

"I don't know, but I sure did. Did she tell you anything when she visited?"

"Yeah. She's having a hard time…with Zack."

"Well, he never was the shiniest apple."

"And Lane deserved cheese, not some stupid apple in the first place."

"I concur, though that's kind of a weird place to take the metaphor."

"Mom."

"I'm just saying, you're supposed to be a writer. Maybe work on that."

"Editor."

"Then maybe edit. Anyway…"

"He's just sort of absentee, and when he's there, it's still like he's not, or almost better if he isn't."

"How'd the visit go?"

"It was excruciating. I can't believe Jess put up with it so well. Even I was going nuts. He was just so irritating and inconsiderate and…ugh. I hate talking about her husband like this. I want to be supportive. But she was really struggling."

"So she was open about that with you?"

"Very. But she's not going to do anything about it."

"She said that?"

"In more or less words. She's able to keep things good for the boys, and that's what matters most to her right now. Honestly, it kind of feels like she doesn't care about what life is like for her at all, just them."

"Well, I'm glad it's not really hurting them, at least from Lane's perspective. And I can get where she's coming from. But it's hard to be a good mom when you're unhappy, especially in a grating, constant kind of way. Not that I doubt she is! I'm just sorry she's going through it."

"Do you think she should leave him?" Rory asked. Lorelai shook her head.

"I think that's not my place to have an opinion on. Or yours," Lorelai said pointedly. Rory sighed. "But I get why it's hard to take. All you can do is be there for her, hon."

"But look how well things went for you! You were fine, and better, not being with…"

"You can say his name, Rory."

"I'd prefer not to. Point is, you were better off without him."

"And Rory, I don't mean this to be mean…but not everbody's me. Some people want more security and stability and feel like that's the best way to support their kids. And that's a valid choice. It's not the choice I'd make, but if it's Lane's, all we can do is be there for her. I'm glad she has you.

"I'd like her to have more of you, too. I know we shouldn't push her or anything, but I think it would help her to see you more, Mom. Especially since she's staying- she's said more than once she's basically living like a single mom right now. And you know how much she's always admired you. I think it would help her to have you to talk to."

"I'm always there, anytime she wants."

"You know what I mean."

"…I'll do more to reach out. It's a good idea. I know how much you care about her. And you know I do too. We'll see what we can do to give her some solid ground."

"Thanks, Mom," Rory smiled.

"So…I take it things aren't going well with he-who-must-not-be-named then?" Lorelai asked tentatively. Rory sighed.

"Mom, they haven't been in about three years. I'm not sure why you still ask."

"You know it wouldn't bother me if you wanted to be closer to him, hon."

"But I don't. I'm done, Mom. I just want everyone to get that. Particularly him."

"What happened?"

"He called. I just want him to stop calling. He still tries. But after everything, I just want to be able to live my life in peace and be happy. I have you, and Jess, and Luke, and there's no place for him in this life I'm building. Not after how he's treated both of us."

"Have you told him that?"

"I've tried. He doesn't respect it. He doesn't listen. I'm just tired of it."

"Does Jess know?"

"Jess does, and he's been really understanding. Probably more than most, given his own situation."

"Does he still talk to his Dad?"

"Rarely. But I meant more with Liz. It's really hard for him with her still."

"Luke's said. I could see that. She and I tend to get along fine, but I imagine it would be really challenging if it were more than surface level stuff. And from his perspective…yeah."

"He's working on it though. But yeah…nothing to share on that front. Let's focus on happier things- like your wedding!"

Lorelai brightened immediately. "Well, we have Friday night dinner next week, and then the weekend after I'm coming back here, right?"

"Yep! Your shopping options should be better here," Rory smiled. "But for now, let's go grab lunch with Jess, and we'll talk to him about acquiring us some Mallomars."

"Good daughter!"