Michel was standing at the counter when Lorelai breezed through the door.
"HA! I'm early today." She said proudly.
"Yes, you get a gold star," He said sarcastically. "Mr. Gates called about the wedding." Michel said in his usual annoying voice.
"Oh, okay, I'll call him back later." Lorelai shrugged and started to take off her jacket.
"Lorelai!" Lorelai turned around to see Sookie coming through the door with a dish in her hands.
"I made you pudding!"
"Sookie! What are you doing here? You should out spending quality time with Kiki and Jackson," Lorelai reprimanded. "You don't come to work on your days off."
"Oh, hon, I'm not here for work, I'm here to give you the pudding... although, I am kind of getting bored of cooking and no one eating any of the food I cook...," Sookie said thoughtfully.
"Mmm... pudding!" Lorelai took the dish that Sookie gave to her and carefully opened the lid. "Yummy... Dinner for tonight. Is that butterscotch?"
"Yup!" Sookie beamed. "With chocolate chips and cocoa powder."
"You're amazing, Sookie," Lorelai said. She closed the lid on the dish and put it behind the counter. "I'll save that for later."
"How come you don't come visit me these days? You have to come see Kiki again," Sookie said.
Lorelai cocked her head. "Well, you know, I've been busy. But I'm going to come by tomorrow. Is that okay?"
Sookie smiled. "As if you have ever called before you came..."
"True," Lorelai laughed. "I'll be there... whenever."
Michel cleared his throat. "Sookie, the clientele seems to actually miss your fattening menu. I told one group of people to eat salads and I gave them a lecture about carbohydrates but then they left."
"OOo was that the group called you 'strange Frenchman' and threw a crossiant at you?" Lorelai said excitedly.
Michel nodded. "Strange group of people. So, people want to know when you're coming back."
"Oh, really?" Sookie clapped her hands. "They like me, they really like me!"
Michel made a face. "I live in a strange, strange world."
Lorelai laughed at him. "Yes, 'strange Frenchman'."
"Well..," Sookie said thoughtfully. "I'm really not busy today. And I'd love to cook... I mean, that's all I do at home anyways. I just cook things.. but no one eats them. Like this morning I made braised pork with portebella mushrooms and candied onions with a side of asparagus and avocado salad..."
"Sounds fattening. People will like it," Michel commented.
"Sookie, you don't have to do this," Lorelai interrupted.
"I love to cook! Plus, I've been off for 5 weeks now. I'm bored of staying at home. Jackson and Kiki won't mind," Sookie replied. "I really want to come back."
Lorelai sighed. "If you're sure."
"Yes, yes! I'm sure," Sookie insisted.
Lorelai nodded. "The kitchen's all yours." Sookie squealed and ran over the kitchen. "My toaster! Ooo and my ice cream maker! They're still here!"
Michel and Lorelai looked at each other and rolled their eyes.
"Typical Sookie," Lorelai said, sighing.

****************************

"So, what are you majoring in?" Rory asked as she took a bite of her hamburger.
"Don't know yet," Tristan said as he chewed. He swallowed. "Maybe like economics or something."
Paris sat quietly and picked at her food.
"Paris, you okay?" Rory asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Paris answered quietly. "I think I'm going to go back to the room. I'll see you there, Ror." She tossed a ten dollar bill on the table and left.
"Paris...," Rory trailed off as her friend exited the restuarant.
"Is she okay?" Tristan asked. He took a french fry from Rory's plate and looked thoughtful. "She's awfully quiet. Considering that she's Paris."
"I.. think so. Maybe I should go after her," Rory looked towards the door.
"She'll be okay. Finish lunch with me," Tristan said. He took a big bite of his sandwich. "You still with that Dean-guy?"
"Huh?" Rory looked at him. "Dean?" She hadn't thought about Dean in a long time. Not since they broke up last year. Last she heard, he'd gone to the University of Hartford. "We broke up a while ago," She said and picked up her hamburger again.
"I see," Tristan answered. "So you're not going out with anyone?"
Rory sighed. "Tristan.. you're a nice guy. But I don't think we're... compatible."
Tristan stopped chewing and put his sandwich down. "We're not computer parts. I was just asking, Mary."
"Stop calling me that. I'm Rory. I.. am.. Rory. I'm sorry I have to cut this short, but I have to go see Paris," Rory said. She stood up and put a ten dollar bill next to her plate. "I'll see you around."
Chewing slowly, Tristan watched her leave.

****************************

"Paris!" Rory yelled. She hurriedly unlocked the door and burst into their room. Paris was sitting on her bed, reading.
"Paris," Rory said. Paris looked up at Rory and smiled.
"Hi."
"Are you okay?" Rory asked. She sat next to Paris on the bed. "You looked really upset."
"It's nothing, I just didn't want to sit there anymore," Paris shrugged. "You know I'm impatient."
Rory shook her head. "I think it was more than that."
"Nope, it wasn't. It was impatience, and only impatience," Paris looked back at her book. "I have to read this."
"Paris...," Rory started.
"Hey, I'll be honest with you," Paris said as she put her book down. "Tristan was there to see you, not me. I felt awkward sitting there; I felt like I was the chaperone."
"Paris...," Rory started again.
"Stop calling my name! I feel like a travel agent." Paris waved her hands around dramatically. "No, he likes you. Not me. No matter what I do, he'll never like me. He likes YOU," Paris interrupted.
"But I don't like him!" Rory yelled.
"Maybe you should!" Paris yelled back. "He's a great guy!"
"I'm sure he is. But I don't like him," Rory said. Sighing, she got up from Paris's bed and went over to her own. She peeled back the covers on her bed. "Wake me up in an hour?" she questioned her friend.
"Sure," Paris answered as she picked up her book again. "Maybe then you'll realize how much Tristan likes you." Rory sighed and fell back on her bed.

*********************************

"Hey, Luke-meister, can we get some coffee here?" Lorelai yelled as she entered the diner with Sookie. Sookie was carrying Kiki in her arms.
"Look at those little bitty witty fingers," Sookie murmured.
"Coffee, Louis?" Luke came over to their table and poured Lorelai a cup.
"Yummy!" Lorelai said delightedly. She clapped her hands. "If you give me two mugs, I'll put a ball on my nose and twirl in circles for you."
Luke gave her a strange look and turned to Sookie. "What can I get for you?" Luke asked Sookie.
"A Coke would be nice," Sookie smiled. Lorelai opened her arms for Kiki. Luke walked back to their table with a Coke.
"You like my baby, Lukey?" Lorelai asked.
"What?" Luke looked surprised.
"Yup, last night, I got bored...," Lorelai started.
"Oh, please," Luke rolled his eys. Lorelai kissed the baby on the forehead.
"Remember that time when all those women came in with their babies and started breast-feeding them?" Lorelai started to crack up. "That was hilarious. It was like breast-feeding convention."
"They have those?" Sookie asked.
"I think I'm going to feed my baby now," Lorelai announced dramatically. She pretended to take off her cardigan. Luke looked at her open-eyed. "Just kidding, buster. Got you excited, huh?" Lorelai said. Her eyes lit up and she opened her mouth to say..
"Dirty," Luke beat her to it. He walked back to the counter.

*********************************

"Lorelai, Luke knows like everything about you!" Sookie said as they walked down the street to her house.
"Luke?" Lorelai asked. She was pushing Kiki's stroller. Accidently, she swerved off the sidewalk and into a bush. "Oops! Sorry, Kiki." She backed up and brought it back to the sidewalk.
"Poor Rory, no wonder she has bush-a-phobia," Sookie commented.
Lorelai ignored her comment. "We've known each for a long time. Plus, I go there everyday. He makes the best coffee ever."
"I think he likes you," Sookie remarked thoughtfully.
"Yes, well, I'm a paying customer," Lorelai replied.
"Honey, he's not Taylor."
"Thank God. Taylor would never let me drink 9 cups of coffee. And everyone keeps pressuring me to go out with Luke. Imagine if everyone started hinting that I go out with Taylor? I'd have to wear cardigans for the rest of my adult life! And my children would wear cardigans. And their children.. and their children...," Lorelai said.
"No human should be allowed to drink that much coffee in a day," Sookie said.
"In a sitting... so what if he knows everything? Kinda freaky, isn't it? He doesn't know everything, per say," Lorelai replied.
"He brought you coffee before you asked, he said dirty before you said it, and he called you Louis!" Sookie counted off. "That's pretty much everything in your life."
"True," Lorelai nodded. "But he doesn't know about my manical obsession with the Brady Bunch, how Bongo the Bear died... and how does BBMak stay together? What do they eat? Have they even had a hit single in the past 3 years?"
"Lorelai, you're changing the subject," Sookie said sternly.
"You're starting to sound like my mother," Lorelai said.
"Oh, I like your mother.. kind of," Sookie looked confused. "Except for that time.."
"She tried to take over your wedding?" Lorelai finished. "Look, if you're going to tell me to go out with Luke or something, the answer's no. Besides you, he's one of my best friends. I don't want to ruin that." 'Unless I already have...,'
Lorelai thought back to the kiss.