AN: There is a lot I could say, but I'll let someone far wiser than me do the talking.

"There is a time in every man's education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better, for worse, as his portion; The power which resides in him is new in nature, and none but he knows what that is which he can do, nor does he know until he has tried. Not for nothing one face, one character, one fact, makes much impression on him, and another none. We but half express ourselves, and are ashamed of that divine idea which each of us represents. It may be safely trusted as proportionate and of good issues, so it be faithfully imparted, but..will not have his work made manifest by cowards. A man is relieved and gay when he has put his heart into his work and done his best; but what he has said or done otherwise, shall give him no peace. It is a deliverance which does not deliver. In the attempt his genius deserts him; no muse befriends; no invention, no hope.

Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string."


Thank you



enjoy, and please review.


Chapter Thirteen



Later that evening, Lorelai and Rory were in Hartford, sharing an uncomfortably quiet dinner with Emily. Lorelai bobbed her head to the ticking of the clock, while Rory's eyes moved back and forth between the two Gilmore matrons.

Finally, Rory gave up on her elders and tried to start a conversation herself. "So, grandma, have you heard from grandpa?"

"Yes. He'll be coming back on Monday," Emily responded flatly.

"Is he enjoying Florida?"

"No one enjoys Florida in the summer. It's a desert filled with children and senior citizens waiting to die," Emily stated matter-of-factly.

"Now if the travel agent had described it to us like that, we might have made that trip three years ago," Lorelai deadpanned.

"Well, I'm sorry Grandpa isn't having a good time." Rory forwent her mother's sarcasm.

"Oh, he's all right." Emily waved off the subject and picked up another. "So, Rory, how are your SAT classes going?"

"Okay, I guess. It's just hard to feel prepared, you know."

"Well, I have some things for you." She got up and retrieved a stack of literature from a side table. "I've collected a whole bunch of magazines about college preparation. How to choose the right school, how to handle the application process, all the things you should prepare for your dorm, how to get adjusted to the independent life. They're all wonderful articles. I thought you would enjoy them."

"I'm sure I will. Thank you, grandma," Rory said, accepting the magazines with a smile.

"And these are for you, Lorelai."

"Oh, that's okay, Mom. I'm done with my college classes and we made sure to stock the house with all the necessities after a cherry-Coke incident today."

"These are for parents. You're going to need preparation yourself for the letting-go process. I thought the articles were very good and very helpful."

"Oh, well, um, thanks, Mom."

"You're quite welcome."

The conversation fell into a lull once more. Lorelai gazed intently at Rory who was herself staring down at her plate, hoping the scattered peas would inspire her with a new train of discourse. Emily finally broke the silence.

"Rory, when do you start classes?"

"The day after Memorial Day," Rory informed.

"And when do your Kaplan classes end?"

"I'm actually taking them until I take the SAT in October."

"Oh. Well, I guess this hasn't been much of a summer for you, then."

"It's been okay. Busy, but fun, too."

"Yep," Lorelai interjected. "That's our life. Busy, but fun. The Inn has been crazy, but the other day Michel did the funniest thing. Did I tell you about it?" she asked Rory.

"I don't think so. What happened?" Rory engaged.

"Okay, so -"

"Excuse me," Emily interrupted, "I have to go check on Elise. She's new and the other night she nearly set the place on fire."

"Um, okay. We'll be here," said Lorelai.

Emily exited the dining room, and Rory and Lorelai exchanged perplexed looks.

"Is it just me, or is she particularly Emily Gilmore today?" Lorelai began.

"She must miss grandpa. Come to think of it, she's spent the entire summer here by herself while grandpa's had to travel all around on business."

"She could have traveled."

"Who likes to travel alone?"

"Emily Gilmore might."

"We should plan something before the summer's over," Rory suggested.

"Hello. Summer's almost over."

"But not yet."

Lorelai saw where the youngest Gilmore was going - and wasn't keen. "If it involves me and my mother in a twenty foot vicinity of each other for more than an hour, no."

"Mom, come on. Didn't you see the look on her face? That could be you thirty years from now."

"Gee, thanks," Lorelai replied flatly.

"You know what I mean. Put yourself in her shoes."

"I have much bigger feet. And you know what they say, if the shoe don't fit -"

"Make it fit."

"I was thinking, 'you must acquit'."

"That's if the *glove* doesn't fit," Rory corrected.

"Oh, that's right. Darn it."

"I just think it'd be nice if the three of us would do something together."

"Nice for who?"

"For Grandma. And for me. And -"

"Don't even go there," Lorelai warned.

"For Elise."

"Nice," Lorelai complimented the save.

"Please, Mom." Rory flashed the puppy-dog eyes.

"Oh, all right," Lorelai sighed reluctantly. "What did you have in mind, Melanie?"

"How about we make this weekend Grandma weekend?"

"Huh?"

"We can have lunch together, go shopping, maybe even have a movie night with her. Grandma loves those Astaire and Rogers classics."

"And how are we going to do that all in one hour?"

"We're not going to do it all in one hour. We're going to do it throughout the weekend. At least five hours each day."

"Spend my entire weekend with my mother?" Lorelai whined.

"I've spent many weekends with my mother," Rory pointed out.

"But your mother's so much cooler than mine."

"Mom," Rory chided.

"Okay, but at the stores, we'll go our separate ways and meet at the door, there's to be no talking during the movie, and try to keep food in her mouth at all times during lunch."

"That's ridiculous."

"You wouldn't think so if you ever went shopping with her."

"Mom -" Rory began, just as Emily returned.

"You know, Rory, I've been thinking -" Emily was saying.

"Really? We were doing the same thing just now," Rory tried to break her news first.

"Rory was thinking," Lorelai clarified.

"Right. I was thinking -" Rory continued.

"Yes, that's nice," Emily interrupted, "but I was thinking that you really have a lot to do in these last weeks of the summer."

"Yes, that's true, but I was still thinking -"

"Once school starts you have to begin the application process and I'm not so sure you've prepared enough."

"Mom, she's been preparing all summer," Lorelai interjected defensively. "She's in a classroom when everyone else is out there getting belly-button piercings. She's already got a first draft of her college essay. What more do you want from the kid?"

"Yes, Lorelai, I understand that and that's great general preparation, but it's time to focus on specifics. I know you want to go to Harvard, Rory, but have you considered other schools? I know Headmaster Charleston would not tolerate any of the students applying to just one school. No, you have to pick other schools, visit them. You should start scheduling interviews because once the school year starts these people are very busy as no doubt you will be also."

"Wow. I didn't think of that," Rory admitted.

"No, stop it. I'm not going to let you do this to her!" Lorelai said sharply, on the 'best defence' principle. "Rory, don't worry. You're going to Harvard. You don't need to visit any other schools, you don't have to schedule any other interviews. You've been doing what you needed to do for three years now." This last sentence was coupled with a sharp glance at Emily.

"Lorelai, calm down. I'm not trying to scare Rory. You're right. She has nothing to worry about. She's still in plenty of time to do all these things."

"She's right, Mom," Rory conceded. "I still have a lot of preparing to do. But it's all right. I'll get it done."

"Of course you will," Emily assured. "You just sit with those magazines I gave you tonight. They tell you everything you need to know."

"Thanks, grandma. I will."

"It also says in the magazine that you two should plan something for at least a week separately," Emily added.

"You mean I make the reservations from the Inn while Rory picks the theme parks at home?" Lorelai questioned.

"No. I mean that you and Rory should spend time completely apart for at least a week. That's what it says."

"Well, then that's a stupid magazine and I don't think I want you reading it, Rory."

"It's preparation. That way you note the things you need to work on. Lorelai, I know you and Rory are very close which is why you have -"

"You know what, Mom? Why don't we just drop it for now?" Lorelai spat out bitterly.

"Fine. Now what was it you were thinking, Rory?"

Rory looked to Lorelai before she answered. "Um, I forget."

"Well, Elise should be coming with dessert soon."

They all retired back to silence, and no one made an effort to pick up a line of conversation.

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

Paint cans and brushes lay scattered among the remnants of dinner on the floor of Bree's new apartment. Jess knelt in front of the wall, a pencil between his teeth, a cigarette behind his ear and a ruler in his hand. He carefully stencilled lines on the wall, every once in a while checking back with the map to make sure he was being accurate. Bree leaned up against the wall, her arms rested on her knees. She took a drag of her cigarette as she watched him work and listened to him talk. He concentrated on the task at hand. And while he worked, he filled Bree on the histories of the townies.

"So, you're telling me that Lorelai left her rich family with Rory when she was 16?" Bree asked.

Jess nodded, still concentrating on the project. "Yup."

"Well, she's got guts, I'll give her that."

"I guess," he replied absently.

"I mean, it's selfish and stupid, but gutsy."

Jess put the ruler down, slid the pencil behind his other ear, and focussed on Bree. "Where are you getting 'selfish and stupid'? Not that I'm disagreeing _per se_, just curious about your reasoning."

"Well, she got pregnant at 16; it happens, you know I've got no problems with that."

"Right."

"She opted for teenage motherhood rather than abortion. Personally, I'd have made the other choice, but still, I have no real problems with that."

"Okay." Jess reached over and took the cigarette from Bree to take a drag.

"She doesn't marry the father... I can even respect that. But then, she runs away from a home that has money, and opportunity... and it's not like she or Rory were being abused or anything, right?"

"Not that I know of."

"Well, she still sees them. I mean she and Rory are there now, right?" Bree asked, looking at Jess for confirmation.

He nodded. "Yeah."

"So it's not like they fear for their safety. So, Lorelai runs away from home with her newborn daughter, with nowhere to go, homeless, and not accepting help from anyone, all because she was unhappy? I mean, okay, if it was just her, I can understand that, but she was a mother. It was, *is* her responsibility to look after her daughter, to do what is in *her* best interests. And if you're not ready to do that, if you're not of the maturity level to put your child first, then you have no business having one."

"Ok, I mean, I may not like Lorelai very much, but I don't think you can really make a case that she's a bad mother. I mean, take it from me, at least Lorelai is always there for Rory," Jess argued.

"Hey, I get the whole 'sucky parent' thing, better than most, and I'm not saying that Lorelai is a bad mother; I'm just saying she did a stupid thing. A mother, a parent, is supposed to think of their children first and themselves second," Bree reasoned.

"Ideally."

Bree sighed, closing her case. "All I'm saying is that Lorelai must have had a really, exceptionally horrific life at home to justify her choosing homelessness and poverty over the security of her daughter's future."

"Well, it turned out okay, didn't it?" Jess said, then pulled the pencil back out and continued on the wall.

"Yeah, but it didn't have to." She paused for a moment, considering the situation. "They got lucky. Take it from me, it could have been a hell of a lot worse."




Next time.....

"Um, Luke," she broke in, "and you're okay with that?"

"Okay with what?" Luke questioned obliviously.

"I mean, two unchaperoned teenagers alone in an apartment?" she tried to direct the hint more
*********************
"Yes, what was that about?" Rory returned.

"I asked you first."

"You had no business telling Luke all of that."

"What are you talking about? You mean to tell me you think…"

"It doesn't matter what I think," Rory cut her off heatedly