This is my favorite chapter so far so I hope you enjoy!

Lorelai threw on her black polo shirt with the "TGI Fridays" logo and hurried out of the bathroom. She checked in behind the counter and got to work. The restaurant was so crowded she could barely hear herself say, "Dinner for two?" over the noise of conversation. As she led a young couple over to a booth, Lorelai thought over her decision to quit that night. The graveyard shift might help her financial situation but it was jeopardizing her sanity. She couldn't be a good mom without having some energy left for the daytime. Plus, people were starting to notice and she knew her secret would get out sooner or later, especially with people like Ms. Patty on the lookout. She checked the clock. 10:35 and counting...

"How on earth did you manage to smuggle a PG rated movie in here?" Rory wanted to know. She was lying on the floor with her elbows propped up on a pillow. Lane, in hot pink pajamas, put the video into the VCR.

"I found it under my mom's bed. I think it's her one guilty pleasure." Julie Andrews appeared on the screen twirling in a field.

"She shall be condemned for sure." Rory commented. Lane sat criss-cross apple sauce style next to her. Ding.

"Be back in a flash." Rory said, getting up. She walked into the kitchen and took the popcorn out of the microwave. When she turned around, she yelped and almost dropped the bowl. Mrs. Kim stood in front of her with a scowl.

"Rory Gilmore, you are a bad influence on my daughter." She said, her eyes like steel. Rory shifted uncomfortably.

"I'm sorry Mrs. Kim, did we wake you up?" Rory asked timidly. Mrs. Kim leaned forward, sniffed once, and wrinkled her nose.

"Um...would you like some Mrs. Kim?" The Korean woman stared at Rory as if she had asked whether she'd like a taste of macaroni and steak sauce :-).

"No thank you. Goodnight." She went back upstairs to her room. Rory didn't know quite what to think. She resumed her place in front of the TV with Lane.

"How do you solve a problem like Maria?"

"Your mom's never gonna like me." Rory said sadly.

"How do you find a word that means Maria?"

"A flibbertijibbet!"

"A will-o-the wisp!"

"A clown!"

Lane gave her friend a quick hug.

"What do you suppose a flibbertijibbet is?" Lane joked, to get Rory's mind off Mrs. Kim. Rory laughed.

"I dunno. Possibly related to the will-o-the wisp."

Lorelai thrummed her fingers on the counter. Her eyes were starting to itch with tiredness.

"Lavender Blue dilly dilly Lavender Green..." She hummed to herself. The restaurant was starting to die down. At this hour, only the night owls came to eat, but more often to drink. There was a pair of particularly rowdy men at the bar tonight. Every 5 minutes or so, "JOHN JACOB JINGLE HEIMER SMITH na na na..." could be heard from the corner. Lorelai absently thought that the next lyrics of the annoying song, "His name is my name too!" proved you'd have to be very drunk to take it seriously. At that moment, a loud group of high school football players walked in the door.

"They got SERVED!"

"Creamed..."

"Pul-ver-ized!" Lorelai waited as the boys clapped each other on the back and congratulated themselves on being masters of the universe. She had to grin.

"How many please?" She asked what looked like the coach.

"27. Uh wait, no 29." This night just gets better and better, Lorelai thought.

"Right this way." On her way back from getting drink orders (which was no mere task mind you), she heard the two men in the corner guffawing at something or other. They suddenly caught her eye. Leaning forward, one whistled while the other howled. Lorelai rolled her eyes. Men. She doubted if they would ever take the time to find new material. A simple hello would have been much more effective. Not that anything would be that effective. She was going back to what she was doing when one of the two troublemakers got up from his seat and walked over to her.

"Heya sweatheart. Whatcha doing?" His stubbled chin wobbled. He had to be around 40. Lorelai could smell the liquor on his breath.

"Working." She said shortly. He turned back to his buddy and nodded smiling. He drew a little closer to Lorelai. Her mind raced.

"Get away from me." She warned him. She was going to quit that night anyway so it didn't matter if she somehow managed to punch a customer. The man made a big show of pretending he was offended.

"Aww I'm sorry doll. How bout we kiss and make up?" He didn't even see her left hook coming. He fell back from the blow. Blood trickled down his mouth. His eyes glinted with anger. Grabbing Lorelai's wrist, he pulled her close.

"You-" Lorelai's stomach plummeted.

"Hey, I can tell there's absolutely nothing going on here so why don't you just lay off dude?" Lorelai's knight in shining sarcasm! The "dude" at the end was a nice touch, she thought. He was one of the jocks. The man gave Lorelai a look of utmost contempt and sauntered out of the restaurant with his friend trailing after him, bumping into walls every now and then.

"I am eternally grateful." Lorelai told her rescuer. He was clad in full uniform and she had to admit he was a major stud.

"To make it up to me, how would you like to go-"

"Single parent." Lorelai interrupted. She was used to this by now. The guy faltered.

"Forget that. Have a nice evening." He went back to his group. Hoho, not so charming after all. She checked the clock. He shouldn't said, "Have a nice morning". Lorelai could barely keep her eyes open. Her shift was over soon, thankfully.

"Are you asleep?" Lane murmured into her pillow. They were trying to pull an all-nighter.

"No." Rory's muffled voice came from under a blanket.

"So who do you like?" Lane asked. Rory groaned.

"No one.", she told her, for what seemed the trillionth time. Rory was not so open about her feelings as Lane.

"Oh, come on! There has to be someone!"

"Nope."

"How about Josh?"

"No way!"

"Cameron?"

"Yuck!"

"What's his first initial?"

"Zero."

"Is it Patrick?"

"Do we have to do this?"

"John?" Rory paused. Her heart skipped a beat. John was this really nice boy in her 3rd grade class. He had dusty blonde hair and eyes a deep sea green...

"So do you like the guy or not?"

"Uh...no, of course not." Lane's face lit up in complete triumph. Rory couldn't help but laugh. The two girls, after managing to complete half of their expedition, soon fell fast asleep.

It hadn't been as hard as Lorelai thought it would be. She had asked her boss if he needed her two-week notice and he said not to bother. And that was it. She could go home now and not have to worry about leaving Rory alone at night or what would happen if people found out. They'd probably think Lorelai was an incompetant parent. She was just trying to...ah, it didn't matter now anyway. She grabbed her purse, checked out, and walked through the back door to the parking lot. She gasped. No no no no, she thought frantically. Her car was gone. She almost broke down right there but managed to hold herself together.

"Ohhhhmm. Ohhmmm. Umm this isn't helping!" She said aloud to herself, panicking. The rest of the employees had already left. She reached into her purse for her cell. Then she stopped. Who was she going to call? No one from Stars Hollow, she knew that. When she realized her only option, she groaned.

"Splendid, just splendid." She muttered to herself bitterly as she dialed the number. Ring. Ring. Please pick up. Ring.

"Hello?" Emily's irritated voice came through the speaker, sending chills down Lorelai's back. She took a deep breath.

"Mom, its me."

"Lorelai? What are you doing calling at this hour? Wait-whats the matter? Is Rory alright? Is-"

"Rory's fine, mom. My car was stolen." Lorelai could hear her mother telling Richard to wake up.

"Where are you? And what-nevermind. We'll talk about this later. You owe us an explanation." Emily barked. Lorelai blinked up at the stars, trying to hold back tears. So much for selfless love...

I lied. We'll meet Emily and Richard in the next chapter. Sorry bout that.:-) Please review! Reviews motivate me to write and I love hearing from ya'll!