"Kay.. I'm back!!!" Rory slammed the door shut with her foot and walked into the living room. "What are you doing?"

Lorelai smiled up at her from the sofa. "I got bored."

"Mom!" Rory set the precious cups of coffee down and sat down next to her mom. "MOM! I don't want tassels on my Harvard sweatshirt!"

Lorelai giggled. "You'll be the most fashionable girl on campus!"

Rory pouted. "Mom, I'm going to have to do something really evil right about now..." She lunged for the coffee.

"NOOOO!!" Lorelai cried and dropped the tassel. "I'll take it off! I'll take it off!"

"AH-HA!" Rory said and giggled. She handed Lorelai the cup. "There you go, my pretty." She cackled.

"Wow, you are evil," Lorelai said looking at her daughter. She turned back to her coffee and happily sipped the warm drink.

"So, what's up?" Rory said, putting her feet up on the coffee table.

"MMmmmm," Lorelai murmured as she sipped her drink.

"Mom, let's concentrate here!"

"Huh?" Lorelai looked up. "Oh, hi, Rory."

Rory rolled her eyes. "MOmmmmmmmm!"

Lorelai giggled. "Okay," Lorelai said and took one final sip. "I'm gonna go into 'mom' mode, okay?"

Rory nodded. "Okay."

"Honey.. I know you're worried about me.. and maybe that's why you've been hanging out here so often.. but you really need to go back to school now. I don't want you failing your classes."

Rory lookd at her mom. "Back to school?"

"Yes, Rory. You've been down here for.. what? Three weeks? That's a lot of classes to miss," Lorelai bit her lip. "I've been worried that you're not keeping up.. although, you've always been so responsible and good at that."

"Don't worry, Mom, I have everything under control. Plus, you're what's more important right now," Rory replied.

"Baby, you know I have Luke and Sookie and.. many people who can help me out. I'm not kicking you out," Lorelai said. "But I want you to go back to school and be a Harvard girl.."

Rory sighed. "How are you gonna eat?"

"Luke and Sookie will help me," Lorelai put a hand on Rory's arm. "Don't worry. Go to school, study and be a student and a partyer and flirt with guys..."

Rory laughed weakly. "Are you sure?"

"Are you hesitating only on my account?"

Rory thought about this. 'Am I?' Okay, so maybe she was staying there because she didn't want to confront Tristan.. and seeing Jess again.. and well, after Lorelai's accident, she had realized how much more her mom meant to her. Being so far from her a lot of the time was didficult for her.

"I don't.. know," Rory replied with difficulty.

"Rory?" Lorelai looked at her daughter quizzically.

"Maybe..."

"This is Harvard we're talking about," Lorelai interrupted, staring at her daughter. "Harvard. And you are the Harvard girl with the tassels."

".. I should transfer to Yale," Rory blurted.

"No," Lorelai said. "Are you sure about this?"

"I.. I don't know," Rory said weakly. "I miss you and I miss Star's Hollow.. and well, Harvard is great, but Yale is great too. And Yale is nearer to you."

Lorelai hugged her daughter. "Hon, you know I trust you. You think it out, okay?"

Rory hugged her mom tightly. "Okay.."

"Just think about it.. at Harvard. You stop worrying about me and go get smart!" Lorelai smiled at her.

Rory smiled back. "K. I should go pack."

"Yeah," Lorelai replied. She sighed. "Okay, well 'mom' mode is now off!" She yelled.

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

Later that day, Lorelai and Luke saw Rory off.

"I'll call you later, mom," Rory said and kissed her mom on the cheek.

"Okay, Ror," Lorelai smiled and waved as her daughter got on the bus. "I'll miss you!"

"Missing you already!" Rory said and got onto the bus. She waved to them. Luke and Lorelai watched as Rory took a seat in the back.

Rory pulled down a window. "Hey, Luke!"

"Yeah?" Luke answered.

"Take good care of her for me!" Rory said.

"Sure," He replied with a smile. He put a hand on Lorelai's wheelchair. "Will do."

"Thanks, Luke."

They watched as the bus pulled away.

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

A couple days later.... At the diner, Luke grabbed the ringing phone.

"Hello?"

"LUKE!"

"Ah!" Luke pulled the phone away from his ears. "Hi. Thanks for destroying my hearing."

"LUKE! There's a bug!"

"What? I can't hear you, because someone ruined my hearing."

"LUkeeeeee," Lorelai whined. "There's a bugggg!"

Luke sighed. "Okay, so what do you want me to do?"

"Help me! Kill the bug!"

"I'm busy right now," He said.

"PLeasseeeeeee!"

Luke sighed again and threw the dishcloth onto the counter. "Okay, fine, I'll be there in 2 minutes." He hung up the phone and called out to Caesar, "I'll be back in 10 minutes!"

Patty looked at him as he left. "I think Lorelai called him."

Babette looked at Luke's retreating figure. "Why do you think she called?"

Patty smirked. "Why do you think?"

Babette thought about it. "She found a bug?"

Patty shook her head. ".. only if she found it on her naked body." (A/N: okay, sorry! so that was rather dirty.. maybe I should change the rating now....)

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

Luke burst through the front door. "Okay, so where is it?"

Lorelai pointed to the coffee table. "Right there."

Luke stared at the table. "There's nothing there."

"Right there!" She pointed to the fireplace.

"Is there a bug or not?" Luke asked, exasperated.

"Umm.. yes," Lorelai said quickly. She spotted movement on the curtains. "AH-ha! Right there!" She pointed to the curtains.

Luke walked over to the window. "It's a ladybug."

"Yes," Lorelai said, squinting. "Kill it!"

"They're harmless."

"It's a bug!"

"It's not even moving."

"Yes it is."

"No it's not."

"Well, it was before," Lorelai said and pouted. "It was waving its arms and saying 'Kill me! Kill me!'"

"You're strange," Luke commented, looking at her.

".. and you love me!" Lorelai sang. She suddenly realized what she said.

"What?"

"I mean," Lorelai stuttered. ".. that's what you love about me!" 'Oh my God.' She got off on a tangent. 'What was it that John Mayer kid said again?... my stupid mouth?'

"Oh, okay," Luke replied. 'Could she.. possibly know?'

"So.. uh.. are you gonna kill it?"

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

A couple hours later... Luke grabbed the ringing phone.

"Hi, this is Luke."

"Hi, this is Lorelai."

"Stop calling me," Luke said sternly as he poured a customer a cup of coffee.

"I'm bored to death!"

"So call someone else," He grumbled.

"But you're so fun!" Lorelai said. "This cast has inhibited my life. I have no life, except to stare at my cast and call you!"

"Yay," Luke said half-heartedly.

"Don't worry. Once the cast is off, I fully intend to resume my normal activities..," Lorelai replied.

"You mean, bothering me while you're here, not there?"

"Hey, mister, consider yourself lucky! You're just lucky that I'm here and you're there! And... that I have a cast and you don't!" Lorelai said.

"Yes," Luke replied as he grabbed a sandwich and placed it in front of a man. "God has asked to take my place for a day."

"You be quiet, mister! If I could walk, I'd come over there and perform some strange violent act..."

"..Uh..."

"Like...," Lorelai tried to think of something. "Like.. poking you in the eye!"

"Huh."

"Or.. or.. poking you in the other eye!!!"

"Look, I'll come over at six, okay?"

"You're an angel, Luke!" Lorelai sang happily. "You've got wings, baby!"

"Bye," He said.

"Flying high, like an eagle! Flap those wings..."

"BYE!" Luke said and hung up.

"Lorelai giving you a booty call?" Patty winked.

"WHAT???"