Disclaimer: I do not own anyone who you might recognize. Mickey and Elizabeth are owned by Lindsay. Owen is owned by me.

A/N: Thanks to Sarah for being such a great beta-reader. I'm posting this chapter before she goes through it because she's a busy woman. If she looks at it at some point, I may update. And thank you, Lindsay, for coming up with the whole idea and then browbeating me into writing it. Good call by you.

xoxoxo

E's cheeks were ruddy so that they stood out in two bright pink spots on her otherwise pale face and her long dark lashes fanned out from large closed eyes, now peaceful in sleep. Some redheads end up with the wispy blonde unnatural looking eyelashes, but not her girl. Mickey examined her daughter in the dark of the tiny bedroom; the only illumination came from a little lamp spilling soft orange light out from beside the bed.

The little face, though ruddy, was dirty, too. She should have given her a bath tonight before bed, Mickey reflected. Her first day of Kindergarten was tomorrow and Mickey wondered if E was nervous. If so, she hid it well.

The summer E had turned one Sookie gave birth to the beautiful Madeline. Although she was a full year younger than E, Madeline, with her silky golden hair and dark green eyes was E's closest friend. After spending the day with Madeline and Davey – playing fort, if Mickey recalled correctly – her daughter was sprawled on her futon with blankets strewn everywhere, fast asleep.

Mickey fingered the thin, worn fabric of the old flannel shirt that was tucked securely under E's arm and gave a tired smile. It was almost impossible to believe how quickly four years could pass. She would graduate next week with her degree as a Master Baker. It didn't quite seem real. Even more unreal was that she already had a job lined up.

When Fran of Westin's Bakery had died they lost their owner and their head baker. A distant relation had come forward and now owned Westins, but still resided in Seattle with no intention of returning. There was a General Manager, of course, who hired a baker but as it happened, Mickey's graduation coincided with the current baker's decision to open her own shop in New York City.

Mickey, with glowing recommendations from Sookie who had supervised her internships, and all the rest of her professors, had been offered the job. About two years ago she stopped wearing jeans and t-shirts exclusively and graduated to tailored slacks, fitted tops, and loafers. She found that looking the part was just as important as playing the part, and the part she wanted was successful entrepreneur. She thought now about Westins and an appraising look filled her eyes. She had an idea. She was a mere 21 years old but with sharp concentration, all her determination and strict budgeting she had a plan just might be the craziest and the most important thing she'd ever done.

On top of everything else, an apartment had become vacant in the building above Westin's and she and E had moved in last weekend. Four years of savings had allowed her to pay first and last month's rent along with a security deposit. It had left Mickey with a little extra, and things would be tight for a while.

The place was sparsely furnished and they each slept on a futon rather than an actual bed, but they had their own rooms, plus a kitchen and a living room, to boot!

Satisfied that E was sleeping soundly on the night before her first day of Kindergarten, Mickey headed back out into the little living room. They had found an old, worn gold-colored couch at Goodwill. Its springs were rusty but it was clean and cheap and they delivered it for an extra 20 bucks so Mickey was rather pleased with it, over all.

She noted as she sank into the stiff cushions that it smelled faintly of potato chips and she made a mental note to pick up some Febreeze tomorrow. Two boxes filled with E's old baby toys served as a coffee table and she propped her feet up on them now. Sookie and Jackson were getting a new TV and she had been promised the one they had now. It had been over 4 years since she'd owned a TV. It seemed like a million years.

The living room was drab and bare but Mickey had learned a few tricks from Lorelai over the years and she knew that within a month their new home would be great. The carpet would be the first thing to go, she decided. Someone long ago had been silly enough to lay the floor with an awful olive green shag carpet. Mickey decided that on her next day off she'd rip it up and see if there was any way to salvage what was beneath it. Hopefully it would be hardwood panels and if she were lucky, they wouldn't be ruined with the glue holding the carpet. If the gods were smiling on her, all she would need is a mop and some Murphy's Oil Soap.

Tomorrow was a big day. Her baby would be starting school and Mickey's heart twisted sharply so that she gave a quick intake of breath. She wanted for her daughter everything that she hadn't had. Mickey had been awkward and shy at school and had had few friends. She'd been teased and picked on some and she hated to think that her own baby might have to contend with the evils of other children.

Without meaning to, her thoughts turned to Rory. Rory had graduated from Yale three years ago with honors and had worked for a while at Hartford's newspaper. From what Mickey heard and saw she and Owen were still seeing each other off and on. He was submerged in medical school and while he, too, had graduated at the end of last spring, he was starting his residency and had little time for dating. When Rory had been offered a job at the New York Times she'd leaped at the chance and had accepted before even discussing it with Owen.

She remembered hearing Owen and Jackson talking one night when she'd come by for E.

"I just can't believe she's moving to New York and she didn't even talk to me about it."

"Rory is a very strong-willed woman," Jackson had wisely noted, not wanting to take sides. "Look, if it's meant to be, then it will be."

While she'd handed E into her little coat, Mickey had seen Owen nod, and then he'd looked up and seen her. Their eyes had met and she'd felt herself falling into those sweet silvery depths. They were the color of the ocean and she hated how they made her feel. She needed to be practical not romantic.

Shaking herself now, Mickey let out an impatient sigh. Why couldn't she get over him? Or rather, why couldn't he get over Rory? Even after she'd moved to New York they still managed to keep their interest in each other. It wasn't exclusive but they were both so busy that they offered the other a convenient person to hang out with when they had time to actually hang out.

To be fair, Mickey had tried to get over him. In the past four years, Mickey had gone out on several dates. Always keeping the men separated from E's life, she had tried to become interested in someone other than her old friend. It was no use, though. The guys were all nice, but invariably, for one reason or another, they didn't last long. Because of her age, the men she saw were either on their way to college, in college, on their way to graduate school, or just starting their careers. The last thing many of them wanted was a girlfriend who already had a kid. They wanted to have fun and Mickey wasn't fun. She was hard work and resolve and a scarcity of funds that was decidedly the opposite of sexy.

It didn't really bother her. She had friends and she had no interest in sex, something they would have found out eventually and then they would have been gone just as fast. Mickey had to admit that she was fairly satisfied with her life. She used to worry herself sick over E not having a man around but Luke had made good on his promise to baby-sit and he, along with Lorelai sometimes, spent a great deal of time with the little girl.

Mickey suspected that there was a certain amount of hero-worship going on in their relationship. Just today E had boasted to her mother, "Jackson took us to Luke's for lunch and he gave me a hot chocolate so I could be like Lorelai with her coffee and he gave me extra whipped cream on top. Nobody else got extra and when I grow up I want to work at the diner, okay, Mommy? Because then I can get to see Luke all the time." E had delivered this speech with methodical resolution while they ate hot dogs and brown beans for dinner at their little kitchen table. Mickey had smiled and nodded. "You can be anything you want when you grow up."

E had ducked her head and then tilted it upward with her eyes closed and gave her mother a close-mouthed smile. Mickey had laughed and said, "Finish your beans, please, Miss Diner-worker." Her daughter had giggled and then cleaned her plate.

Life was definitely good, Mickey thought. But things would be changing soon. E started Kindergarten tomorrow. Mickey began her new job next week and, if she had heard the gossip correctly, Rory Gilmore was moving to Europe.