Sorry it took so long and sorry it's so short… I could say school's been really busy but I'm not at school anymore… and I could say that work's been keeping me away from doing this, but to be honest, the real reason I haven't written anything in a while is that we just got a DVD player and DAMN it's hard to drag yourself away from those things… I sat for at least an hour going through the extra's on the "Almost Famous" DVD. If you haven't done the same – do! Go rent the DVD now! It's really great! Anyway, time for me to shut up and chapter 4 to begin…

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CHAPTER 4: Like mother like daughter…

When Lorelai had told Rory about Max, Rory's first reaction was to tell her mother that it was just the traditional Gilmore lack of commitment skills that they shared, but soon realised that it was something much more. All of a sudden, Lorelai seemed to have gone from someone who wasn't quite in love, to someone who was across the bridge, up the road and in the next country from love… The sudden change had Rory concerned, so she asked Lorelai what was going on.

"Mom, what happened? I mean, I'm totally behind you on this, but… I mean… why?"

Lorelai looked down at her feet and took a deep breath before replying. "Ror… it's just really really hard to explain okay?" Lorelai wasn't sure whether or not to tell Rory about everything. She didn't know how she'd take it. Rory was a smart kid and regardless of how much she loved and trusted her mother, telling her that she'd come from the future was a bit of a leap. So Lorelai decided not to tell Rory. And she promised herself that she would not interfere with everything going on with Rory. The day after Sookie's wedding Rory had told her mom that she'd kissed Jess and no matter how much Lorelai disliked Jess, she could tell that Rory really liked him. Really really liked him. But seeing as Jess was not in the picture just yet, and Rory still seemed to be head over heels for Dean, she decided that she wouldn't interfere.

Rory looked at her mom with concern flooding her face. "I thought you loved him, mom."

Lorelai looked up from where she had been staring, and looked Rory straight in the eye. "No, sweetie," she shook her head sadly "No matter how much I'd like for that to be true, it just wasn't there… and I just couldn't put Max through the pain of having me reject him again." Without thinking, she'd let the last part slip – breaking Max's heart again?

Rory looked at her mother quizzically for a second, but let it slide. Lorelai was pretty distressed so Rory decided to try and change the subject. "Okay, movie night!"

Lorelai's face lit up and she hugged Rory fiercely. "Thanks" she whispered into Rory's hair.

*****

The following day, Rory walked into the diner at a few minutes past seven. Lorelai was sitting at the counter, sipping happily on her coffee. As Rory approached her mother, Lorelai could see she was trying to hide her smile.

"Good news?" Lorelai asked, already knowing the answer.

"Very good," Rory smiled broadly as she sat down next to Lorelai. Luke offered her a cup of coffee, but Rory politely refused. "No thanks. Big hole, through roof, very bad."


Lorelai smiled to herself. Rory really was her mother's daughter. "So…?"

"I said it. To Dean," Rory's smile broadened as she said "We're back together."

The two girls hugged as Luke watched on, loving that he was able to be there to see two of his favourite people so happy.

"So, tell me all about it!"

Rory took a deep breath and began to tell her story, Luke and Lorelai listening intently. They glanced at each other and shared a warm smile before Luke picked up the coffee pot and walked over to another customer and refilled their mug, all the while listening to Rory's story.

*****

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Okay, cruddy place to end it, but it was supposed to be like the end of the episode, so… and I know it's really short but it's been ages since I've posted so I thought I'd better do it quickly before you guys started to think I'd given up… I'm not sure whether or not to completely ignore what happened in the next episode – it was all pretty much about the wedding… and I think I'll give up on going by episode, because everything would be completely out of whack, so… I dunno. Review and tell me what you think I should do!