Alright, second to last chapter! Can you believe it! It feels like I just posted this fic. Well, next chapter Lorelai will be comming out of her dream, and who knows what might happen. You'll just have to tune in and see!

A round of thanks go out to:

Rusty Bedsprings: My number one gal, of course! Sorry to make you cry. You might want some Kleenex if I got you going the last chapter...heh. Anyways, I was typing out the agruement scene and in the first draft it went on from there, but it really didn't make much sense and tended to repeat a lot. And, seeing as how I wanted to keep in line with the show, adding a bit of humor in an otherwise drama filled chapter was needed, so I came up with the concept of Jackson tackling Kirk. It made me laugh, and I'm glad people are starting to get my whacked-out sense of humor. lol. Thanks for the reivew.

Potostbeyeluvr: Ha! Ha! My evil plan worked! I wanted people to dislike Seth in the begining. Then, BAM! Understand where the guy is comming from and give him pity. Kinda like in Secret Window where you sympathize with Mort all through it until the very end when you realize that Mort's the villan all along. Wow. Might have just ruined that book/movie for ya. But it you haven't read it, it's great! Espically if you love S. King. I would suggest picking up Four Past Midnight (it's the set of novellas, yes novellas, that contains "Secret Window").

And more thanks go out to: Suz22, Orangeshertbet7, Bloodymary2, JoEySaNgEl1534, Franala, LittleGGlover, Epona9009, LukeNlorelai, Bloomin Dasiy, Izzpuppy, Once Upon a Whim, Beautiful Butterfly, Pokey, Forrsaken Goddess, Karah Bella, and Sucker4Soccer. Again, if I missed you I'm sorry. It's almost midnight and I'm onnearly zero sleep. Work with me here.

"Looks like I picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue."
(Airplane)

Somehow, in a course of events even Lorelai, the conscious, clear thinking one (for the moment, anyways) could not remember even for all the coffee in the world, they had ended up just sitting there in Luke's diner. Rory was still crying out the last bits of her tears, Lane (who she had remembered the slightly awkward introduction to) had left with the promise of a late night phone call or something to that degree, diner patrons came and left, and Luke just sat behind the counter, cleaning it with his rag mercilessly.

The last thing she clearly remembered, and could actually testify to was her standing, holding Rory and watching Seth walk out that door. And she, in some strange course of events, had finally got it. Everything.

Which lead her to feel like the bad guy in all of this, which is something Lorelai Gilmore was not accustomed to feeling. Victim, yes. Bad guy-type, never. That was Emily Gilmore territory.

And god save her if she was becoming her mother.

"Rory," Lorelai finally nudged her daughter, who seemed to be calming down. "We need to talk."

Rory lifted her head from Lorelai's shoulder, "Sorry about that," she pointed to the large tearstain that now accented Lorelai's sweater.

"It's not a problem. I should have brought Kleenex, but I kinda thought you'd throw them at me this morning, so I decided it was best not to give you ammunition," she tried for a joke. It was her defense mechanism after all.

Rory smiled faintly, "I probably would have. Earlier. Now, I would have thrown them at Dad. I can't believe they lied to me."

"It's not that hard to believe," Lorelai tired to keep up her false front. She had to appear like everything was okay. That what she was about to say was really what she wanted.

"Whatda mean? Parents lying to their children? You have that a little backwards."

She shook her head, "No, not in this case, kiddo."

"What are you talking about? Aren't you angry! You should be angry! Why aren't you angry?"

Lorelai sighed, "Yea, I was pretty angry. Hell, I'm still pretty angry, but I'll get over it. So will you," Lorelai gave another encouraging smile. "You're parents aren't bad people, Rory. If I had thought for one second that I was sending you to live with Cinderella's step family reincarnated, or for that matter the VonTrapp family, I would have done something. Something stupid and highly illegal, but something."

Rory pulled away from Lorelai, "What are you talking about? Are you saying you agree with what they did? You agree with them lying to me for sixteen years! For keeping you out of my life!"

Lorelai shook her head, "No. I'm pissed as hell about that, but it wasn't my call to make. They're right, I gave up my right to be your mother."

"So what, this whole 'I want to be here' thing was another lie?"

"No, no!" Lorelai shook her head violently, "I want to be here. Not just for the coffee, or because I like the town. I want to be here with you. God, I'm going to kick myself every day for signing those papers! But that's my mistake to live with." She let out another sigh, "I guess what I'm saying is that I gave up my right to complain. You are their child."

"But what about you?" Rory croaked out, "What if I want to stay with you?"

Lorelai shook her head, trying to keep a smile on her face, but her eyes were betraying her. "I'd love to have you, kiddo. But you belong here."

"They lied to me."

"I know they did. And it sucks, but they did it because they love you. And that's redemption points in my book."

"What?"

"They love you so much, Rory. And they didn't want to lose you. And they knew," she took another deep breath, "They knew that I was the only person that could ever take you away."

"But,"

Lorelai shook her head, "Your emotional right now. You'll understand soon enough. Just get yourself a clear head, kiddo."

"But what about you?"

"Just because I'm not your mom, doesn't mean I can't be your friend," she offered weakly. Rory collapsed back into Lorelai's arms, primed and ready for a new round of tears. Lorelai just patted her head, "Oh, come on now, Rory. Your gonna be fine. This will all blow over soon enough."

Rory mumbled out something into her sweater. Something she'd probably never know, and never should. Somethings were best left unheard.

Lorelai bit her lip. This next part was the one she dreaded the most. But she had to do it. She had to be the adult. Something she had dreaded becoming for ages now. "But your not gonna get better until you talk with your parents."

Rory lifted her head out of Lorelai's sweater again, "What?"

"You need to go home, Rory. Talk with your parents. Honestly. You know, a little heart to heart," Lorelai tried to maintain a friendly smile on her face. "You need to understand why they did what they did. And they need to know that you're still their daughter."

Rory bit her lip, "Now?"

Lorelai nodded, "This situation is just like taking off a Band-Aid. Just rip it off, baby," she tired for another joke, but once again fell flat.

Rory's face fell a little, "Oh."

"Do you want me to drive you?"

Rory shook her head, "No. That's okay. It's not far."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

Lorelai took another deep breath. "Then I guess, this is goodbye for now, then?"

"Are you gonna stick around?"

She shook her head, "I lied before. I really have to get back."

Rory's face fell even more, "Oh."

"But I'll call you when I get home. Then I'll e-mail you, and send you a dozen greeting cards. For all different occasions!"

Rory's face brightened up a little, not much, but it was an improvement. "So, you won't be a stranger?"

"Never." Lorelai grabbed out a pen from her purse, and grabbed a napkin from one of the near-by dispensers. "Here's my info," she said as she scribbled down her address, phone, and e-mail. "And if you ever need anything, a place to crash, a shoulder to cry on, or just because, don't even worry about calling me. I'll drop everything. If I'm in a wedding, I'll walk back down the isle and say 'sorry, my best friend needs me' to everyone to dares ask what the heck I'm doing. In an important business meeting, I'll drop my coffee and run out of the building without so much as a 'sorry boss, was that coffee that just landed in your lap hot'. Somewhere in Europe being swept up into the arms of Johnny Depp and you need me, I'll just say 'Sorry, Johnny' and hop the next flight outta there."

Rory's face brightened with each new example, "You promise? Even if Johnny Depp offers you a wedding ring?"

"Well, I like to be a rebel, and seeing as how he's proposed to everyone else in the world, it would only be natural for me to decline," she smiled, "But if that did happen, I'd give the ring back and say 'Sorry, Johnny, my best friend needs me'." She slid the napkin towards Rory, "So whatda say? Should we give this crazy friendship a shot?"

Rory smiled, and took the napkin. "I'm in."

"Alright then, I'll need your contact info, if you don't mind," Lorelai grabbed out another napkin and handed it along with her pen to Rory.

"And I promise that if you need me, no matter the situation, I'll drop everything and be there for you." She smiled as she scribbled down her phone number, e-mail, and address.

"Even if Prince William proposes to you?"

"Even if dear Will finally comes around," Rory said with a mock sigh as she pushed the napkin back at Lorelai. "I'll be expecting your call."

"I never disappoint."

Rory sighed, "So, I guess this is goodbye then." Rory leaned in and gave Lorelai yet another hug.

"For now," Lorelai added as the girls pulled out from the hug. "You're gonna hear from me so much, it'll be like I never left. Pretty soon I'll start to annoy you."

"Never," Rory smiled back at her.

"So, you gotta get home, then," Lorelai reminded her.

"I know," Rory sighed, "I'm going," she stood up. Then she leaned down and gave Lorelai one of those awkward one-armed hugs, and walked out of the diner.

Lorelai watched her disappear down the street, slowly feeling her face fall. As soon as Rory was out of sight, she finally let her real emotions show.

She just banged her head down on the table and sat there.

"You did a good thing," Luke's said gruffly.

Lorelai raised her head, he was sitting across from her, coffee pot in hand. She had no idea when he actually came over to her, but that didn't matter. "It was the right thing," she sighed.

"Yea, but it was still good. I know you didn't want to do it. But you didn't let Rory know that. And that's where the good thing comes into play."

Lorelai sighed, "I wish I could go back in time. Ever had that feeling? I mean, the second I gave her up, and I mean the second, I regretted it. I knew I hated it, but I did it anyways. Cause I knew that I could never offer her the things that real parents could, y'know? I was just a kid. A really, really stupid kid."

Luke gave her a warm, encouraging smile, "But you did what was right for Rory. Just like you did just now."

Lorelai shrugged, "It's nothing to be proud of."

"No, it is. Not everybody would do that," he stood back up and filled her up a new cup of coffee.

"Thanks," she mumbled out as he walked away.

But just before he reached the counter, he turned back around, "And, if it helps,they did name her Lorelai. Rory's just a nickname."

She turned back around in her chair, "Really?"

"Yeah."

Lorelai turned back around her in chair. The news making her feel slightly better about Seth and Allison, but it wasn't enough to rectify the situation. But she had to move on from it. What was done was done. She'd made her decision, and now she'd have to live with it.

At least now she had a friend to help her through.

Last Chapter up soon!
Please Review, as always.