Wow, I got some really positive reviews out of you guys. Thanx. I was expecting some flames because it's practically the same story as "The Winding Road to the Past," but I didn't get any. Just so you know, yes, Lorelai and Luke are married. And if you don't know or you don't remember, Clara is Dean's little sister.

Disclaimer: I'm just borrowing them, I'll return them someday. Maybe. (LOL j/k)

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"Yup, yup,yup." Clara, as it appeared her first name was, laughed profusely at this statement, and Rory groaned aloud.

"No more 'Land Before Time,' I would have thought that obsession would have ended by now."

"I'm just kidding. I wanted to see if it still drove you as crazy as it used to. How are you?"

"I'm great. You?"

"Better than great! I'm engaged!"

Leelee and Janlan watched in awe as their teacher and mother/girlfriend's mother jumped up and down and screamed. "Hey Mom? As much as I hate to break up all this excitement, what happened to getting coffee?"

"Right." Rory paused for a second. "Ooh, ooh, I have an idea, Clara, can you join us for coffee at Luke's? I'll call Lane, Paris, and Tristan, Mom and Luke are guaranteed to be there, and we can sit and chat, it'll be like old times, only you weren't there in old times."

"That would be great. I have to grab my coat and make a quick phone call, but I'll meet you at Luke's in about 45 minutes."

"Alright, see you then."

Rory, Janlan, and Leelee piled into the jeep where Lonny and Junior were already waiting. The ride home was fairly silent, the commotion didn't start until they were actually at Luke's.

When they arrived at Luke's Lorelai, Paris, Tristan, Lane, and Henry were waiting with coffee, which was immediately gulped down by the teens and Rory.

"Oh, wonderful step-father!" Rory called over to the counter.

"Yes, dearest step-daughter?" Luke mocked.

"We need coffee."

"You have coffee."

"Nu-uh, we finished it. By the way, Mom, someone's going to join us."

"Who? Who?" Lorelai was jumping up and down and twirling around in circles. "Who-who-who-who-who-who?" she sang.

"The kids English teacher."

"And who might that be?"

"Clara."

"Clara . . ."

"Sister-in-law." Leelee's coffee flew across the room, coating Kirk in a layer of steamy hot brown liquid mixed with spit.

"She's my aunt!" This exclaimation caused everyone in the diner to turn and stare at Leelee. "Sorry," she whispered.

"Yes, she's your aunt. She's your father's sister." At the mention of her husband Rory started to look sad, a definite difference from the sunshine- ey look she'd been sporting just seconds before.

"Did you ask her if she knows where he is?" Tristan asked from the other side of the table.

"No, I'll ask her later. It was just so great to see her again. Anyway, she's joining us for coffee in a few—"

"—Hi Rory!" There was Clara coming in the door. "Sorry I'm late, I got caught in traffic leaving Hartford."

"Oh, that's okay. You gave me enough time to calm Leelee down after she learned you were her aunt."

"And you couldn't have calmed her down before she got to me?" Kirk called over from his seat at the counter, where he was still dripping with coffee.

"Stop eavesdropping, job boy," Lorelai shouted to him using the nickname she'd come up with after seeing him go through job after job.

The adults fell into easy conversation and talked about everything under the sun (with the exception of Dean's location) while the teens watched and talked among themselves.

15 minutes later they'd gone through three pots of coffee and Lorelai was in the middle of begging her husband for more. A tall man with short brown hair slipped into the diner and stood by the door staring at his hands. Every now and then he would glance over at the table where Rory, Lorelai, and Clara were arguing over the best flavor of coffee. He cleared his throat and Clara looked up, but looked down again quickly, a guilty look on her face.

"What?" Lorelai asked, looking up herself. "Oh." She stood up and walked over to the man. Sticking out her hand she whacked him upside the head once, twice, three times.

"What was that for?" he asked rubbing the spot where she'd hit him.

"Once for leaving in general, once for leaving Rory, and once for leaving Leelee."

"Oh."

"Yeah, oh, now go talk to your wife. I'm sure she has lots to say to you, considering she hasn't seen you in thirteen years." Lorelai shoved him over towards the table where Rory sat staring. Her jaw practically scraping the floor.

"You might want to close your mouth. I doubt you want flies in there." He tried to joke, but it clearly wasn't getting him anywhere. "I'm sorry."

"You are not seriously here." Rory finally managed to get her vocal chords working.

"No, I'm just a skillfully done hologram."

"Why did you leave?"

"I thought it was the best thing to do."

"Could you be a little more vague?"

"Could we go somewhere else to talk about this? Somewhere private maybe?"

"Hang on." Rory turned around to Leelee who had yet to notice the unknown man. "Honey, we're going to go."

"I'll be right here."

"No, sweetie, you need to come. This is important."

"Alright. I'll go get our coats from upstairs." Leelee disappeared up the stairs behind the counter.

"Who's that?" Rory hadn't realized Dean had walked up behind her, and she jumped at the sound of his voice. After not seeing him for so long he seemed so different to her, so foreign.

"That was Leelee." She watched his face turn bright red with embarrassment at not recognizing his own daughter.

"That was Leelee?" His face registered shock.

"You do realize you've been gone for thirteen years, she's going to age a little in that time," Rory said sarcastically.

"No, it's just that she looks so much like Lorelai, I figured she was Psyche or something."

"Psyche is off at boarding school in New Hampshire."

"New Hampshire?"

"It's an all girls private school that will help her get into Yale."

"Yale?"

"Well, we're a very Ivy-League focused family."

"And Leelee? Where does she want to go?"

"Harvard, just like me. She's going to Chilton the same way I did."

"Really. Would you excuse me for a moment? I need to speak with my sister." Dean walked over to Clara with his fists clenched. "So this is why you were so intent on getting me to come?"

Clara was avoiding his eyes and trying to pretend he wasn't there, but when she saw Lane, Tristan, Paris, Henry, and Jess approaching him from behind with murder I their eyes she figured she should probably warn him. "You might want to turn around." He did, but they kept advancing, luckily Rory noticed before a fight broke out. She stepped between her husband and her friends.

"Please don't injure him. After all, he's the father of my child, and my husband. . . technically." Her friends stopped and went back to what they'd been doing as Leelee came back down the stairs.

"Sorry it took so long. Cecile woke up while I was up there, so I rocked her back to sleep for Jess," she said as she handed Rory her coat.

"No prob, babe. Come on, let's go." They started for the door, but halfway there Rory paused and turned to Dean, "are you coming?"

"Yeah," and he headed out the door with them.

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More later. I have to do my homework now.

By the way, Jess married a woman named Jennifer, they had a daughter named Cecile, then Jennifer died in a car accident.

Paris and Tristan are married, they have three kids, Lonny, Junior, and Janlan, they're triplets.

Lane and Henry are married, they don't have any kids.

If there's anything else you want explained then put it in your review.

PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!