Fire in the Galley

by capercailiechild

Rory's cousins come to visit. I don't really know what else to say.

The Second Original Gilmore Girls Script

Attempted again by Sarah Hart

(Hopefully this one won't be quite as stupid as the first one was)

Fire in the Galley (this one actually has a title)

SCENE 1

(The scene opens on a quiet, tree-lined street.  We can see a house, old-looking but still clean.  The mailbox reads "Gilmore."  In case you're kind of dense, this is the Gilmore house.  The scene shifts inside, where we see LORELAI GILMORE sitting at the kitchen table, eating a Pop-Tart and reading The Life and Times of Emily Dickinson.  The book does not enthrall her and we can tell that it was not a first choice of reading material.  Her daughter, RORY GILMORE, enters a moment later.  The school uniform she is wearing says to us that it is a weekday, and the Gilmore girls' lives are beginning.)

LORELAI

Do you know how boring this book is?

RORY

I should know, I read it. (She takes the other Pop-Tart from the toaster and puts it on a paper towel.) We have to go, Mom, we're going to be late.

LORELAI (preoccupied)

I know.

(RORY picks up her backpack and is heading for the door when she realizes that LORELAI is not following her.)

RORY

Mom, we have to go!  I'll be late!

(LORELAI evidently realizes that it is obviously time to go and stands up.  Before she can get to the door, the phone rings.  RORY sighs gustily.)

LORELAI (picking up the phone)

Hello?  Oh, hello, Leah.  No, we're not in any hurry. (RORY glares at her.) Wait, wait, slow down. What happened?  Are you all right?  Okay, that's good.  You're coming down here?  That's all right.  We'll make sure you and Carolyn have a place to stay.  Okay, I've got to go.  See you this afternoon.  Bye. (She turns to RORY.) That was my cousin Leah.

RORY (impatiently)

I noticed.  Can we go now, please?

LORELAI

Their house burned down last night, Rory. (RORY gasps.) She and Carolyn are coming up here to stay with, my parents, who are, as Leah puts it, "Gammy and Paw-Paw."

RORY

Ew!  She can actually refer to Grandma and Grandpa that way?

LORELAI (heading for the door)

I guess so.  Let's go!

SCENE 2

INT. Gilmore house, that afternoon

(RORY opens the front door.  She and her friend, LANE KIM, are talking.)

RORY

Did you see the look on his face when we told him we wanted pure cane sugar?

LANE

He was pretty surprised!  Hey, are you and Dean going out again this weekend?

RORY

Beats me.  He mentioned there's an art show at the college he thinks I would like.

LANE (a little bit sarcastically)
Ooh, an art show.  How romantic.

(Both girls stop suddenly in the living room.  LORELAI is sitting uncomfortably on an armchair, while LEAH GILMORE and her 16-year-old daughter, CAROLYN, rest on the couch.)

RORY (attempting to be cheerful)

Hey, Mom.

LANE
Hey, Lorelai.

(LEAH raises her eyebrows in distaste.  She is a tall, skinny woman with dark hair and a hooked nose.  CAROLYN has light blond hair and an angelic complexion.  By the looks of things, LORELAI doesn't like either of them.)

LORELAI

Hello there, Rory.  Lane.

RORY

Hello there, cousin Leah, cousin Carolyn.

LEAH (tightly)

Hello, Rory.

CAROLYN (in a prissy tone of voice)

Hello, Rory.

RORY

Uh, Mom, I promised Lane I would help her study for her French final.  Is that all right?

LORELAI

Yes, that's fine, girls.  Rory, please change your clothes.  There's a bowl of trail mix on the counter if you two are hungry.  Could Carolyn join you?

LANE
I'm sure we'd just bore her.  I mean, it's all conjugations and that.

RORY

Yeah, she's probably at least two grade levels above Lane and I.

(The two girls dart hurriedly off towards the kitchen.  CAROLYN continues to look bored.  LEAH finally says something.)

LEAH

You allow your daughter's friends to refer to you as "Lorelai"?

LORELAI

Yes, I do. (Her look plainly says "And you have a problem with that?")

LEAH

I just think it's improper, Lorelai.  You must be at least fifteen years older than that girl, yet you act as though you're best friends.

LORELAI

Well, she's Rory's best friend, therefore, she is my friend as well.

CAROLYN

May I have a glass of water, Cousin Lorelai?

LORELAI

Be my guest.

(CAROLYN goes off towards the kitchen, but stops at the doorway, listening to LANE and RORY talk.)

LANE

Did you see the way she acted when you came in?  You must be her least favorite person.

RORY

I haven't even seen her since we were like six or something.  I hear she's a model.

LANE
Oh, that would explain it.

(CAROLYN steps haughtily into the room, her head held high.)

RORY

What do you want?

CAROLYN (arrogantly)

Nothing from you, I'm afraid.  Just a glass of H2O.

LANE

Don't they use the word "water" where you come from?

CAROLYN (haughtily)

Of course they do.  It's just more chic to say H2O.

(RORY raises her eyebrows.)

RORY

I'll get you a glass of water, Carolyn, if that's all you need.  Mom made some great trail mix, if you want some of that.

CAROLYN
I don't eat trail mix.

LANE

Gee, does it contain too many preservatives?

(RORY elbows LANE, then stands to get the water for CAROLYN.)

RORY

So, uh, Carolyn, how is cousin Michael? (She is referring to CAROLYN's father, Michael.)

 

CAROLYN (conceitedly)

He's fine. (A pause.) At least I have a father.

(RORY pauses, her hand on the faucet, the glass half full.)

RORY (quietly)

What did you say?

CAROLYN (still haughtily)

At least I have a father.  Of course, you wouldn't know.  You're just a poor, fatherless wench.  That's what my mother says, and she is –

(RORY throws the glass at CAROLYN, water and all.  LORELAI and LEAH hear a crash from the kitchen.  They rush in.  CAROLYN is dripping wet with a cluster of cuts all over her face and hands.  RORY is standing, aghast, at one side of the kitchen.)

LEAH (with a gasp)

Lorelai Gilmore!  Your daughter is very ill mannered!

LANE

She provoked her, Lorelai.  Honest she did.

(LORELAI goes over to RORY, who is pale and trembling.)

LORELAI

Did she really, Rory?

LEAH (with a snort)

 Why is that any of your business? (A beat, as she tries to protect her angel daughter for the horrors of RORY and LORELAI.) And what kind of a name is Rory, anyway?

LORELAI (angrily)
(To LEAH) Did I ask you to speak? (To RORY) Did she provoke you?

(RORY nods, too shaken to speak.)

CAROLYN

Mother, she insulted me!  And I refuse to be in the same room as her friend. (CAROLYN leaves, haughtily.  LEAH chases after her.  RORY bursts into tears.)

SCENE 3

INT. Rory's bedroom, that night

(LORELAI is sitting on the edge of the bed in her pajamas.  Her pajamas are very charming, with little cats all over them.  RORY is pretending to be asleep next to her.)

LORELAI

Hey, Ror? (There is no answer.) I know you're awake, so don't even try to fool me.  I just wanted to tell you that I'm sending Leah and Carolyn to my mom and dad's place tomorrow.

RORY (quietly but firmly)

That's fine with me.

LORELAI

I'm sorry things turned out this way.

RORY

She insulted Lane, Mom.  She made fun of me and she insulted Lane.  I hate her.

LORELAI (comfortingly)

Hate is a strong word, Rory.

RORY (sarcastically)

Maybe I could find another one.  How about loathe?  Or detest?  Or abhor?

LORELAI

She is my only cousin, Rory.

RORY

Is that my fault?

LORELAI

But I don't like her that much either.  And she can't insult my family and my house and you and your friends, of all things. (She snaps off the light and crawls beneath the covers.)

RORY

Mom, do you think Leah's jealous?

LORELAI

Of us?

RORY

It could be true.

LORELAI

She's a stage mother.  Michael is overworked and they divorced last year.  Carolyn only sees him on the weekends.  I think Leah wishes she wasn't so caught up in Carolyn's career, yes.  And she might wish that she had such a good relationship with Carolyn.

RORY

Are you jealous of Leah?

LORELAI

No.  I don't envy her one bit.

SCENE 4

EXT. Chilton School, the next morning

(LORELAI waves goodbye to RORY, who climbs out of the car and heads for the main building, then goes inside.  The scene shifts to INT. Chilton School.  RORY goes to her locker and then into a nearby classroom.  The teacher, MRS. RAWLINGS, is standing in front of her desk with LEAH and CAROLYN.  CAROLYN glances at RORY from head to toe, then nods approvingly.  RORY sighs deeply, and then goes to her seat.  STEVE GUCHEN, who sits next to her, greets her.)

STEVE

Hey, Rory.  Did you see that?

RORY (taking out her books)

See what?

STEVE

That girl looked at you like she knows you.

RORY

She does know me, Steve.  She's my cousin.

STEVE

Cool.  What's she doing here?

RORY

Beats me.

(Two rows over, PARIS GELLAR and her best friends, MADELINE and LOUISE, are staring at CAROLYN in rapture.)

MADELINE

I bet she's a model.

LOUISE
I bet she's from somewhere exotic like New York or Hawaii.

PARIS

I bet she is just like me.

RORY (under her breath)

That I do not doubt.

(MRS. RAWLINGS claps her hands together.)

MRS. RAWLINGS

Today, class, we have a temporary student.  Carolyn Gilmore is visiting from New York City.  She is Rory's half cousin.

STEVE

Dude, you're right!  She is your cousin!

RORY

Of course I was right, Steve.

MRS. RAWLINGS

Carolyn, perhaps you would like to sit over by Rory.  Steven, would you move to the back, behind James, please?

STEVE

Sure thing, Mrs. Rawlings.

MRS. RAWLINGS

Thank you.  You may sit over there, Carolyn, next to Rory.

(CAROYLN comes over to the desk beside RORY with a very large, fake smile.  RORY tries to smile and fails.)

SCENE 4

INT. Gilmore house, that afternoon

(The scene opens as LEAH is vacuuming the Gilmores' carpet.  RORY comes in, followed shortly by CAROLYN.  LEAH turns to see what the noise is about and smiles when she sees her daughter.)

LEAH

Hello, pet.  Hello, Rory.

CAROLYN (sweetly)

Hello, mother.

LEAH

So, how was school?

CAROLYN

Fine.

LEAH
Rory, Lorelai said she'd be working until seven-thirty tonight.

RORY
Thank you, cousin Leah. (A beat.) Uh, Leah, aren't you going to stay with Grandma and Grandpa?

LEAH

Well, since they are not getting back from Spain until tomorrow, and Lorelai's house needs a good cleaning, I figured I would stay.

RORY (with a tight smile)

Great.

(The doorbell rings.  RORY goes and opens the door.  DEAN, her boyfriend, is standing on the steps.)

RORY (with a real grin)

Hello there, stranger.

DEAN

Howdy, partner.  How's life on the Gilmore range?

RORY (lowering her voice)

Not so good.  Mom's cousin Leah and her daughter, Carolyn, came down from New York last night.

DEAN

What for?

RORY

Well, their house burned down.

DEAN

Are they okay?

RORY

I wish they weren't, but sadly, they are.

DEAN

Well, I will leave you alone with them.  I wanted to see if you wanted to go to the art show down at the college tomorrow, but…

RORY (quickly)

No!  I'd love to go!

(CAROLYN comes into the hallway.)

CAROLYN (snidely)

Who's this, Ro­-ry?

RORY (with a sigh)

This is Dean.

(CAROYLN smiles brilliantly.  DEAN smiles uneasily and gives a half-wave to RORY.  She closes the door behind DEAN, then turns to CAROLYN.)

CAROLYN (with a squeal)

Ooh!  He's cute!

RORY

He's also my boyfriend.

CAROLYN

Well, things can be arranged.

(She flounces off as  LORELAI comes in with an exasperated sigh.)

LORELAI

Please tell me that the sound I am hearing is not really a vacuum cleaner.

RORY

It is.  They are staying an extra day because Grandma and Grandpa aren't back yet.

LORELAI

Drat!

SCENE 5

INT. Gilmore kitchen, later that evening

(LORELAI, RORY, LEAH, and CAROLYN are eating dinner.  It is a quiet meal, and the only sounds in the kitchen are that of forks and knives against plates.)

CAROLYN

Mother, I enjoyed school today at Chilton.  I found it to be very satisfying.

LEAH

Well, that's good, pet.

LORELAI (to RORY)

Did you get your history exams back yet?

RORY

No, but Mrs. Russo says we should get them back by Friday.

CAROLYN (to LEAH)

And Mother, I met the most entrancing girl!

LEAH

Oh, really.  What's her name?

CAROLYN

Paris Gellar.  She is simply marvelous.  She introduced me to her friends, Madeline and Louise.

(LORELAI glances at RORY, who nods.  LORELAI sighs.)

CAROLYN

And if we were to stay here long-term, Mother, she said that I could go horseback riding with her.

LEAH

Long-term, Carolyn?  You know that you have your career back in New York, and we simply mustn't delay that any longer than we possibly can.

CAROLYN (ignoring LEAH)

And Paris also said that I could come to her house and swim in the indoor pool.

RORY (plunging her fork into the mashed potatoes)

Oh, just kill me now!

(LEAH and CAROLYN both look startled.)

LEAH

Did you say something, Rory?

RORY (embarrassed)
Uh, please pass the butter?

(LEAH does so, looking confused, then turns back to Carolyn.)

LEAH

Now, sweetheart, I know that you want a friend, but careers do not allow time for friendship.  Especially long distance friendships.  If we are going back to New York – which we are – you could simply not continue a friendship with anyone here in Stars Hollow.

CAROLYN

Mother!

LORELAI

Who wants dessert?

LEAH

Not now, Lorelai, Carolyn and I are in the middle of a discussion!

(LORELAI glances at RORY, who nods.)

LORELAI

We'll just take our coffee and dessert out into the living room.  Make sure you scrape the plates when you're through.

(She and RORY get two plates of pie and two cups of coffee and go into the living room.)

LORELAI

Boy am I glad you don't have a "career."

RORY

Me too.

LORELAI

I mean, think about how our lives would be different.  I wouldn't work at the inn, Sookie wouldn't be my friend, you wouldn't have Dean or Lane, you wouldn't be going to Chilton, and we probably wouldn't be living here. (She glances at the room.) Did she really vacuum my carpet?

RORY

Yeah.  Are Carolyn and Leah going to stay here long-term, Mom?

LORELAI

If they do, they're staying with my parents. (She stabs at her pie.)

SCENE 5

INT. Emily Gilmore's home, the next evening

(LORELAI, RORY, LEAH, CAROLYN, EMILY, and RICHARD are eating dinner.  A maid comes in throughout the scene, pouring more water and passing out more potatoes.)

EMILY

So, Leah, Richard tells me you're thinking of staying in Stars Hollow permanently.

(LORELAI chokes on a mouthful of food.)

EMILY

Lorelai, dear, I wish you wouldn't interrupt.

(She continues talking.  CAROLYN, meanwhile, flings a bit of potato at RORY.  RORY looks at her, and CAROLYN makes a hideous face.)

RORY

Would you just come out and say what you want, Carolyn?

(Everyone at the table falls silent.  RORY, embarrassed, looks back into her casserole.)

EMILY

Now, as I was saying, Leah, it's a tough option to make.  You'd have to get a job here, and probably an apartment.

LEAH

Couldn't I just stay with you, Gammy?

EMILY

Heavens, no!

(LORELAI breathes a sigh of relief.)

RICHARD

Well, you could stay with us until you got settled.

EMILY

Right.

RORY

Can I have some more beans, please?

EMILY

Certainly. (To the maid) Yvette, bring in some more beans, please. (To LEAH) Leah, why are you even considering this?  You can't see Michael here, you can't run your daughter's life here, and I certainly can't have both Carolyn and Rory going to Chilton.  It confuses matters.  And my reputation would be utterly destroyed.

 

LEAH

It confuses matters?  Let me tell you what confuses matters, Grammy!  It confuses matters when your house burns down around you at three a.m. and you are concerned for your daughter's safety.  It confuses matters when the firefighters tell you they won't be able to save anything from your house.  It confuses matters when I have to live with Lorelai, send my daughter to a heaven knows what kind of education they give at that school, and it definitely confuses matters when I can't even talk to you, the person I trust the most with these things, about it all!  All you care about is your stupid reputation!

EMILY

There, there, dear.  Calm down.  Have some more asparagus.

SCENE 6

INT. Gilmore house, later that evening

(LEAH, LORELAI, RORY, and CAROLYN enter the foyer.)

LORELAI (attempting to be cheerful)
Well, that was a wonderful dinner.  Rory, do you have homework?

RORY

Yes.

LEAH

Shut up, Lorelai.  You know you're gloating.  You were thinking that Grammy and Paw-Paw would force me to stay with you, but no.  They're throwing me out on the streets for all I'm worth.  An apartment!  Carolyn, come upstairs!  We have matters to discuss.

(They exit.)

LORELAI (mocking)

"We have matters to discuss…." Get a load of her.

RORY

Has she always been that way?

LORELAI

Yes.  And she's not going to change. (She pauses a moment) You want some pie?

(The scene cuts to some time later.  RORY is curled up on the couch, fast asleep.  LORELAI has her head on a book at the table, a bowl of instant oatmeal beside her.  CAROLYN comes padding down the stairs.  RORY awakens.)

RORY (softly, groggily)

Carolyn, what are you doing up?  It's nearly four in the morning.

CAROLYN

I just wanted a drink of water.

(RORY gets up and CAROLYN follows her into the kitchen.  CAROLYN sits at the table, then snorts at LORELAI.)

CAROLYN

Does she always sleep there?  Do you always sleep out there?

RORY (getting a glass and going to the faucet)

No.  Sometimes we actually make it to our beds.

CAROLYN (softly)

I wish my mom was like that.

RORY (turning from the faucet)

What did you say?

CAROLYN (hurriedly)

N-nothing.  Just that I wish my mom was like that sometimes.

RORY

Crazy?

CAROLYN

Not so uptight all the time.

RORY (handing Carolyn her water)

Yeah, with her matters to discuss.

CAROLYN (snorting)

She's always saying things like that.  Last week, right before the house burned down, she said that we had issues to chat about.  Her issues always involve me.

RORY

So your career isn't going very well?

(LORELAI shifts her head from side to side, moaning softly in her sleep.)

CAROLYN (dragging her eyes from LORELAI)

Well, it's not so much of career anymore.  I do a few odd photo shoots here and there for people who know me.  But I haven't had any "solid work" for more than a year.  So I just get tutored by a friend of my mom's while she tries to hold up a job at an advertising agency.

RORY
Tell me about it.  I go to school at the snobbiest school in our state while my mom has her job full-time at the inn.  Her best friend is the cook at the inn, and the only person she can imitate is the French guy who runs the concierge.

CAROLYN (after a pause)

You know what?

RORY

What?

CAROLYN

We're not that different at all.  I mean, you don't know your dad, and my dad lives in upper New York.  Your mom is overworked, my mom is overworked, and we're both trying to live up to impossible expectations.

RORY (with a slight chuckle)

I guess you're right.

CAROLYN

Of course I'm right. (A beat, looking at LORELAI) So, how many nights out of the week does she actually make it to her bed?

(RORY chuckles.)

SCENE 7

INT. Independence Inn kitchen, the next morning

(LORELAI comes in.  She calls for a cup of coffee.  SOOKIE looks up from rolling out pastry dough and smiles at her.)

SOOKIE

Looks like rain, doesn't it?  Big storm.  Otherwise, how's it going?

LORELAI (with a groan)

Oh, Sookie, it is far too early in the morning to be asking that question.

SOOKIE

I heard your cousin Leah is in town.  Maybe we should all get together one night.

LORELAI (pouring a cup of coffee)

Leah isn't the "let's get together and do something unspecific" kind of person.

SOOKIE

Hey, well, if she's not that kind of person…

LORELAI

I mean, I can't figure out what's going on with her!  She raises her daughter to be this perfect child, and then makes me feel bad about my own darling daughter – my own flesh and blood for crying out loud!

SOOKIE

Lorelai!  Chill out.

LORELAI

And so I'm not sure if I want to be friends with her any more…

(SOOKIE begins to ask LORELAI something, but is interrupted by the telephone ringing.)

LORELAI

I'll get it. (She picks up the receiver.) Hello, Independence Inn.  Leah!  I – I'm sorry.  I didn't mean to sound that startled.  What?  What's wrong?  Wait, wait, slow down.  Where are you? (Her face becomes scared as she continues talking.) All right, I'll be right there!  Hold on!  Don't leave!

SCENE 8

INT. Chilton classroom

(RORY, STEVE, PARIS, the teacher – MRS. EDGEFIELD, and a group of students are gathered in the hallway.  No one is talking.  LEAH and LORELAI come running up the hallway.)

LEAH

See, they even said she ran away!

RORY

She did, Mom.  Carolyn was just sitting here, and this man came to the door and asked for her.  When we looked back at her, she had run away.

MRS. EDGEFIELD

The man your daughter is referring to, Ms. Gilmore, is the janitor.  He wished to inform Carolyn that she had left the door to the media room open.

LEAH

Oh, that's great!  She could be anywhere by now!  Where is she?

MRS. EDGEFIELD

That's why we called you down here.  No one knows!  We can't find her!

LEAH

How could you let this happen?  I knew something bad was going to happen to Carolyn when she came to this school!

MRS. EDGEFIELD (a bit frostily)

Madam, it was not the school's fault.  Your daughter is obviously very high-strung and disobedient.

LEAH

Well, excuse me.

PARIS

Well, perhaps she believed the man was a serial killer.

MRS. EDGEFIELD

Paris!  How horrid!

LORELAI

Look, I think we can solve this by being calm and rational.

LEAH

This coming from you is a total shock, Lorelai.

LORELAI

Thank you, Leah.  But I think it's time we patched up our differences before it starts to rain.

LEAH

Our differences?  Lorelai, there is only one difference between you and I.

LORELAI (sensing trouble)

What's that?

LEAH

Well, it's obvious.  I'm a sensible parent, and you're not.

LORELAI

Well, pardon me.  Now that that's all cleared up, let's go. (She turns to go to the stairwell.  RORY begins to follow her.)

LEAH

Wait!  I didn't mean it, Lorelai.  There's something else!

(LORELAI turns around.)

LORELAI

What?

LEAH (ashamedly)

Well, see, I've always been jealous of you.

LORELAI

Jealous?  Of me?

LEAH
Well, yeah!  Your daughter's smart and pretty, no matter what her name is, she goes to a good school and gets a good education.  Even though you were only sixteen when you were pregnant and I was twenty-five, your baby turned out better.  I shouldn't have stayed with Michael; I knew he was trouble.  But I did.  And I have myself to blame.  You?  You're happy, with a good kid and a good house and a good job and good friends.  You have a better life than me.

LORELAI

Leah, we have to go look for Carolyn.

(A rumble of thunder crashes around the school.)

RORY

Mom, let's hurry!  She could be anywhere.

LORELAI
I'll stay here.  You guys all go out.  I'm going to go over to the inn, talk to Sookie, and get her to keep a watch out.

RORY

Okay.  Come on, Leah, let's go.

MRS. EDGEFIELD (as RORY and LEAH hurry off)

Paris, you and Madeline work together!  Louise, you and Bianca take the west side.  Steve, you and Gabriel look in the south wing.  Jenny and Heather, go up as far as McConnell Road and come back.  Mitchell and James…

SCENE 9

EXT. Chilton grounds, ten minutes later.  The sky overhead is rumbling with thunder and lightning crashes nearby.

LEAH (faintly)

Carolyn never much liked thunderstorms.  She was always very afraid of them.  I tried to tell her that there was nothing to be afraid of, but she wouldn't listen to me.

RORY

We'll find her, Leah, stop worrying.

(They hurry along the road as thunder crashes around them.)

SCENE 10

The scene opens back at Independence Inn.  LORELAI comes hurrying into the kitchen.

LORELAI

Sookie, Sookie, get in your car!

SOOKIE

What?

LORELAI

Leah's daughter is missing, and she wants us to roam around town and find her.

SOOKIE

The same Leah you were in here ranting about ten minutes ago?

LORELAI

Yes.

SOOKIE

And why are you trying to help her?

LORELAI

Sookie, it's not her.  It's her daughter.

SOOKIE

And the difference is?

LORELAI

Just come on!

SCENE 11

Some time later.  LEAH and RORY are walking along a dirt road outside Chilton as rain and wind pelt down around them.

LEAH (in a yell, over the wind)

I'm going to look over there! (She indicates a small clearing near a group of pine trees.)

RORY (also in a yell)

Okay, good!  I'll look over here!

(As LEAH goes over into the grove, RORY turns the corner and finds CAROLYN sitting on a log, holding her head in her hands and crying miserably.)

RORY

Carolyn!

CAROLYN (looking up at RORY, rather dismally)

Oh, it's you.

RORY

Thanks, I'll throw a party for you some time, too. (She starts to call out.) Le-

CAROLYN

Stop that! (She stands hurriedly and puts her hand over RORY's mouth.)

RORY (confused)

Don't you want your mom to know where you are?

CAROLYN

If I wanted her to know where I was, why would I be hiding in a forest on a dirt road somewhere outside of a private school in Connecticut?

RORY

You've got me.

CAROLYN

Because I'm tired of her!

RORY

Your mom?

CAROLYN

Well, yeah.

RORY

Have you tried talking to her?

CAROLYN

Fat chance.  She never listens to what I have to say anyway.

RORY

Well, maybe it's because you don't listen to her.  As Lorelai would say, "The trust thing only works if it goes both ways, kid."  It can be applied to talking, too.

CAROLYN (in disgust)

Don't you understand?  She doesn't care.

RORY

You and I both know that is not true.  You should have seen her face when Mrs. Edgefield said you ran away. (To herself) Well, of course you couldn't have seen her face, otherwise we wouldn't be having this conversation.

CAROLYN

I just want out.

RORY (forcefully)

Just talk to her.

CAROLYN (with a sigh)

If you insist.

RORY (yelling)

Leah!  I found her!

SCENE 12

It is an hour or so later.  CAROLYN and RORY, both wrapped in thick, gray wool blankets, are asleep, propped against each other on a wooden bench in front of HEADMASTER CHARLESTON's office.  LEAH and LORELAI, along with SOOKIE, are sitting on folding chairs near the bench.  They are all sipping a hot beverage from Styrofoam cups.  Three guesses says the beverage is coffee.

LEAH

That was a pretty nice thing your daughter did for me, Lorelai.

LORELAI

She comes from good stock.

LEAH

What a horrid way to talk about your daughter, Lorelai, as though she was a beef-steak or something.

LORELAI (with a rueful grin)

It never fades, does it?

SOOKIE (as her beeper goes off)

Well, I'll leave you two and your daughters to your devices.  I've got to get back to the inn.

LORELAI

Big problems?

SOOKIE (with a grin)

Dave says Michel just tried to take over the cooking operations.

LORELAI

Enough said.  Bye.

LEAH

Thank you, Ms. St. James, for all your help.

SOOKIE

No problem.  Glad to help. (She waves to Lorelai.) Say good-bye to the kittens for me when they wake up. (She leaves.)

LEAH

"The kittens"?

LORELAI

A sweet, endearing term. (She takes another sip of coffee.) So, what did Carolyn have to say?

LEAH

A lot, considering.  She just said she was sick of having the whole "celebrity" lifestyle, and wanted to go to a normal high school.  She said she was tired of me not listening to her.  I told her that once we get a new house – or apartment, should the case be – she can start at the local high school.

LORELAI

I'm glad she talked to you.

LEAH

Me too.  Funny I never knew what she was thinking.

LORELAI

Mothers can do a lot, but they can't mind read.

(They continue chatting softly.  RORY awakens slowly and lies still, so as not to alert LEAH and LORELAI to her presence.  She listens to them talk for a moment.)

RORY
See, Carolyn?  Just like I told you. (She snuggles back down into the blankets and goes back to sleep.)

SCENE 13

The scene is some days later.  CAROLYN and LEAH, in jeans and sweaters, are packing their car for the return trip to New York.  RORY and LORELAI are helping, somewhat clumsily.

LORELAI

So, call us when you get there.

LEAH

Oh, we will.  We're staying with a friend of mine for a few days, until we find an apartment, and Carolyn's got school to start, so we'll be busy. (She smiles at CAROLYN, who smiles back.)

CAROLYN

And we'll write.  And call.

RORY
Often.

CAROLYN

Of course. (She gives RORY a hug, which RORY returns.) See you later.

LORELAI

Don't forget to call.

LEAH (with a small grin)

All right, Mom.  Hard to tell who you are, Lorelai Gilmore.

LORELAI
Good-bye, Leah Gilmore.

LEAH

As always.  Come on, Carolyn.  Let's get going.

CAROLYN

Okay.  Bye.

(LEAH and CAROYLN get in their car.  They wave as they go down the lane and out of sight.)

LORELAI

What does she mean – "Hard to tell who you are, Lorelai Gilmore"?  I've always known who I am.

RORY
Me, too, Mom.  And I wouldn't have you be anyone else.

LORELAI

Thanks, kid.  I needed that.

RORY

I think this is the point where one of us says, "Do you want some pie?"

LORELAI
You are truly my daughter.  Pie awaits! (She throws her arm around RORY, and the two of them go up the steps and into the Gilmore House.)