1 "So, where exactly are we going?" Dean asks.
"A bed and breakfast called the 'Cheshire Cat." She replies.
"As in Alice in Wonderland?" She can read his look. She knows what he's thinking: Rory and Lorelai don't do bed and breakfasts, especially not ones named after cutesy characters in cutesy books.
"So what?"
"You are willingly going to a bed and breakfast called the 'Cheshire Cat?"
"That's what I said."
"When I agreed to do this, I didn't realize you'd had a personality transplant."
"Should I explain?"
"Please."
"When mom and I ran away after she called off her engagement to Max, we drove aimlessly around"
"Let me guess, she wouldn't let you bring a map, and you wound up with nowhere to sleep but the jeep or the cutesy bed and breakfast with the cutesy name."
"Not too far off the mark. We didn't have a map, so we stopped at a Haden's Nut House, bought nuts, and I snuck and bought a map. Oh, let's go to Haden's Nut House!"
"Haden's Nut House wouldn't be open at 5 in the morning, Rory. And, anyways, why would we want nuts? We've got a whole town of them waiting for us!"
"I'm not done. Don't you want to hear the rest of my story?"
"So sorry. Continue."
"Well, I look at my map, and figure out that we seem to be heading to Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Mom mentions a friend of hers, Donald Stein who owned a cool bed and breakfast in Portsmouth, New Hampshire."
"A cool bed and breakfast?"
"Yes, that's exactly what I said, but..."
"But you said something about oxymorons, and used some big words I've never heard before?"
"Ha ha. But she said something about how every room was decorated in a cool style from a different century."
"That does sound kind of cool."
"Once again, exactly what I said, and no comments about large words, because as far as I can remember, I didn't use any."
"Okay. Go on with the story."
"Right, so I suggest we call, she makes a jibe at my sense of adventure, so I agree to just go."
"So...it's closed? Full?"
"New owner."
"Turned into a typical B&B?"
"Even worse."
"Have you been to any other B&B's?"
"No."
"Then how do you know it's worse?"
"Because it doesn't get any worse than that."
"So, I'm being dragged to the cutesy-est B&B ever known to mankind?"
"Look at it this way, even if we get tracked down, Mom, Luke and Logan will be too scared to follow us in."
"Well, as long as there's a good side."
She and Dean followed LaDonn past Sammy and into room 3. She had asked for room 3, and LaDonn had been all too happy to give it to them. She waited until LaDonn was gone, then immediately walked over to the guestbook and flipped through it.
"Rory, I doubt it's got the same stuff it had when you were here with your mom. That was about 6 years ago!"
"And yet..." she cried triumphantly, holding it open, and passing it to Dean, pointing at one line.
"'Sat and forever am at work here.' Rory, did Lorelai write this to torture the poor owner, because this makes no sense at all!"
"It originally said 'Satanic forces are at work here.'"
"Of course it did. The flowers are moving."
"You noticed that too?"
"Uh, yeah, it was the first thought that popped into my head when I walked into this room."
"Funny. Mine too."
"I wonder what your mom's first thought was."
"Probably that she crashed the jeep, was killed on impact, and sent to hell for standing up her fiancé."
"Well, if there's such a thing as hell, and your mother goes there, she'll definitely be somewhere with moving flowers."
"And nothing but lettuce and carrots to eat." She chuckles softly, and leans close to him, putting her forehead against his. "Thanks for going to hell with me for the weekend."
"Thanks for asking me to come to hell with you for the weekend. But having you here makes it more like heaven than hell."
"I make up for the moving flowers?"
"Easily."
"Good. Because you make up for the moving flowers for me." She leaned in and kissed him softly, pulling back just enough to look into his eyes, but staying close enough that she can still feel his breath mingling with hers. He started to lean in to kiss her again, but was interrupted by rude pounding on the door.