Chapter 7

A/N: I would like to be the first to say that this new ratings system FREAKS ME OUT! lol! I was reading a fanfic and I was like 'what the… why is this rated K? how awkward!' so now… yeah, I'm just a little confused by it all… I read what all the ratings mean, but I still don't like it. hehehe anyway…

Well, it's been over 2 months people… but I'm back! That's right! Back in business baby! I've had ideas just FLOWING for this story, and for a new one I'm thinking of doing… but yes, it's all very exciting! The updates won't be as frequent as they used to be back in the day, but I try my best (I'm still a busy little body with the school musical and my theatre studies performance and… oh! Its too much!) anyway, please enjoy… but first off, lets see if we can remember all the reviewers…

ProFfeSseR: ah, such a loyal reviewer! Your feedback is much appreciated, as always!

Miss-Lionesse: lol yep I'm touching on the big issues here… hehehe!

ALIASobsessed89: oh, cake would be marvellous thankyou! Do you have chocolate mud? Because that would be just scrumptious…

that70slover: aha! I'm not going to tell you who it was now… all shall be revealed later – but let's just say you will be surprised!

Jamii: thanks for the review! Keep 'em coming!

Kimmers: thanks for another review Kimmers 'ole chap!

MM Vermelha: lol yeah I got what you meant! Now I just have to get over these new freaky ratings…

Natalia DeLuca: hehe I knew the Emily think would catch your attention, Natalia! Thanks for the review!

TruthFreedomBeautyLove: yay aussie! wootage! Hehehe! Look out for the aussie girl in my new fan fic… (coming soon to a fan fic website near you… lol!)

anjinho85: not pathetic at all! I've done that with fics all the time! Well, my hiatus is officially over, so you can expect fan fics MUCH more frequently… thanks for the review!

Gilmore Obsessed: 'tis quite different… and of course I love Rory and Marty! Don't like that Logan fellow… hmph… lol! Thanks for the review!

Well, I think that's everyone… thanks for your feedback over the last 2 months guys, especially to those of you that read my one-shots! The thing I hate about them is there is no next chapter to thank my reviewers! But to those of you that read them… thanks! Hehehe!

ON WITH THE STORY!

5 months, 3 days, 9 hours and 32 minutes after the birthday

The room turned icy cold. Everything was still, frozen, unbearable. The silence screamed in her ears until she finally cracked and fell to the ground in a fit of tears. She reached out to touch him, but he wasn't there. He was gone.

4:45am 21 days after the birthday

Luke woke up to find his wife lying next to him, her body still and her eyes wide open. They were red, and her cheeks were blotchy. It was obvious she'd been crying. She stared at the ceiling, not noticing that Luke had woken.

"Lorelai, what's the matter," he asked, immediately concerned noticing her state.

Her gaze didn't move. Instead she spoke, "I don't know my daughter at all."

"What are you talking about?" Luke said, sitting up and taking Lorelai's hand in his. She still didn't move.

"Where did I go wrong, Luke. Where did I, as a mother, screw up so badly that she would do this," she said, her glassy eyes filling with tears.

"Lorelai, you have to tell me what happened," Luke urged, rubbing her hand softly. Her eyes flicked to Luke, the sudden movement taking him by surprise.

"She's gonna get pregnant," she said quietly.

"Who's pregnant?" Luke said, his eyes widening at the prospect. Lorelai shook her head and bit on her lip to stop its trembling.

"She's just like I was. Parties, booze…" it had taken a while, but Luke finally realised who she was talking about. Amie.

"I never thought my kids would be like that. I thought it had somehow managed to skip a generation. I thought I was a good parent -"

"Lorelai, you are a good parent," Luke reinforced.

"No I'm not," she cried, "I'm a failure! But not you Luke, no, you're a good one. You made Jay turn out so good. And Rory too."

"You raised Rory by yourself for 9 years Lorelai, you were the one that made her turn out so well," Luke said, moving his hand to her face and wiping her tears as she lay there. She shook her head.

"No, you were there Luke. You were there when it counted, when she was a teenager. You made her good. And I made Amie bad," Lorelai spat. All of this was upsetting Luke. He'd never seen Lorelai like this before, never in their 20 years of marriage. She was distraught.

"Amie's not bad," Luke commented, "she's just… a little troubled." Lorelai let out a cold laugh.

"Don't delude yourself. I did all that stuff when I was her age. I was a bad kid. I was trying to escape from my parent's world – but what's Amie trying to escape from? Our world?" Lorelai choked, overcome by tears. Luke lay down and pulled her into his arms, stroking her hair as she cried into his chest.

"It's okay," he soothed, "things could be a lot worse."

"How?" Lorelai sobbed.

"Well at least she's not doing drugs. At that age, my sister smoke pot," he said, his eyes glazing over a little as he remembered all the times he had busted her and her friends.

"Oh my gosh," Lorelai cried, "what if she is smoking pot?" Luke shook his head in response.

"She is not smoking pot. I know it," he replied. Lorelai pulled back from his arms, her tears subsided as she wiped her eyes.

"We can deal with this," Luke said, staring into her eyes. She nodded.

"Come on," he said, brushing the hair out of her face, "you were always the strong one." This brought a chuckle to Lorelai.

"Was being the keyword," she replied huskily.

"Come on, sit up," Luke ordered. Lorelai looked at him, puzzled.

"Sit up," he repeated. Lorelai obliged and pulled herself up to sit. She wiped her eyes and looked at Luke, who had sat up himself. He took her hands in his and looked straight into her eyes.

"You are a beautiful, kind, loving and strong woman. You are a fantastic parent Lorelai, seeing how good you were with Rory was one of the things that made me fall in love with you. You have done nothing wrong in raising our children, and no mistakes they make are your fault. Do you understand?" Luke said, gently rubbing his thumb over the back of Lorelai's hand. She nodded and he pulled her into his arms, hugging her tightly.

"You're a little crazy sometimes, but I still love ya," Luke said playfully, causing Lorelai to laugh quietly.

4 months before the birthday

"I'm Tom," he said, breaking the silence. Well, the silence between them. In reality, the room was far from it.

"I'm Jay," she replied, a small, genuine smile growing on her face.

"So, ah… I don't want to sound ignorant… but whose party actually is this?" he asked somewhat sheepishly. Jay smiled.

"Sarah McGregor. Her parents are away in Hong Kong, so naturally, she threw a party," Jay replied. Tom chuckled.

"Is she at Stars Hollow High?" he asked.

"The one and only," Jay replied. Tom nodded.

"Is that where you go?" Tom asked hopefully. He felt relaxed with this girl, something he hadn't felt around anyone in Stars Hollow so far. But, unfortunately for him, Jay shook her head.

"I go to Chilton – it's in Hartford," she replied. Tom's face dropped and he let out an 'oh'. So much for making a new school friend.

"But I live 'round here," she added in quickly. "I'm guessing you're new to town?" Tom nodded.

"Moved here from Seattle a few weeks ago… I met a girl called Alex in Luke's diner last Thursday, and she invited me to this party… thought I may as well socialise… I can't seem to find her here anywhere though," Tom said, looking around to illustrate his point. Jay smiled at the mention of Luke's.

"There would be a reason you can't find Alex – she's probably out the back somewhere with Jamie Weston… her boyfriend," Jay said cautiously. She was surprised when Tom chuckled and didn't seem disappointed at all. Alex was a pretty girl, she wouldn't be surprised if he'd liked her. She noticed how awkward he seemed just standing there, so she sat on the arm of the couch and patted the opposite one, indicating for him to sit. He obliged with a faint smile.

"So umm… I don't really know anything about this town yet, I haven't really had time to look around… think you could give me a tour sometime?" Tom asked hopefully. "We could stop off at Luke's for lunch; the burgers seemed pretty good last time I went there." Jay smiled at another mention of Luke's.

"Sounds good. And," she replied in a hushed whisper, "I bet you anything I can get our lunch at Luke's for free."

Tom raised his eyebrows, "really?"

"Mmhmm," Jay replied, "I'm on good terms with the owner."

"Ah, small town charm," Tom replied, and Jay chuckled.

"Yeah, it helps that he's my dad," Jay added.

"Who is?" Tom asked, confused.

"Luke."

"Oh!" Tom laughed, "why didn't you say that before! Here's me going on about Luke's… and it's your dad's diner."

"Yeah, I work there too," Jay added. Tom laughed.

"Okay, now I feel like a real idiot," he said, face reddening slightly. Jay chuckled.

"Don't, I just like to tease," she said, and poked her tongue out a little. Tom smiled at her, but then quickly looked away, feeling slightly uncomfortable. He noticed the other girl that looked like Jay again, and she was kissing the tall guy from before, and all the other guys seemed to have disappeared.

"Is that your sister?" he asked, gesturing in her direction. Jay craned her neck to see what was going on and then rolled her eyes when she saw Amie and Michael Haywood necking in the corner.

"Yep, that would be Amie," Jay replied irritably.

"You and her seem very… different," Tom commented, choosing his words carefully.

"Well, we are. Personality wise, anyway. We pretty much look the same," Jay replied.

"Yeah I noticed that," Tom said, looking over at Amie again, but starting to feel uncomfortable, looking away just as quickly.

"We're still best friends though. She's just very… well… like that… at parties," Jay said, gazing over at Amie.

"The opposite of you," Tom commented.

"Well, yes," Jay chuckled, "I'm the good girl of the family."

Tom smiled cheekily, "good to know."

A/N: Another random chapter from me… and it can only get better! Please take the time to review, it makes me happy! And… yeah that's all I can come up with. You can even flame if you want! I could do with a good laugh…