Author's Note: Thank you for all the reviews. I'm excited about the direction this story is headed and I'm glad that you're enjoying it.

Chapter 3
"Plan B"

Emily spent the next morning trying work, but there was a weight on her shoulders. Lorelai certainly knew her well. She wasn't quite fast enough to dissuade her from bringing Luke to dinner. If she'd only gotten another word in she might have been able to avoid having the diner man over to dinner again. It wasn't that Emily didn't think he was a nice man. He was perfectly amiable and more social than she'd thought. She knew he didn't like her, but she figured that had more to do with her behavior at the wedding than anything else. Luke just wasn't the man that Lorelai deserved. He was divorced and he owned a diner. Emily recalled how she had to wipe down her chair when she met Lorelai for lunch once. It smelled of grease and he wore flannel. Flannel was acceptable attire for lumberjacks or long underwear, but it was not suitable attire for her daughter's boyfriend.

Emily stomped through the house and into the kitchen. "Lucretia," she bellowed. She looked around the kitchen and called into the dining room, "Lucretia! Where is that woman?" she muttered under her breath.

Suddenly a petite blond woman entered the kitchen. Her eyes were focused on the floor. "Ma'am?" she said softly.

"Who are you? You're not Lucretia," Emily said.

"I'm Janet," she replied with a tone of fear. "You hired me yesterday afternoon," the woman offered.

"Oh, yes I did," Emily said remembering. Obviously Lorelai's insistence that Luke was coming to dinner had thrown her as she hired Janet only 12 hours ago. Lucretia had been a fine maid until Emily caught her dusting around objects instead of picking them up and so she was promptly let go.

"I haven't given you all the instructions of the house yet, but every Friday Mr. Gilmore and I have dinner with my daughter and granddaughter. This week I'll need you to set another place at the table for my daughter's boyfriend," Emily practically choked on the word boyfriend, as if it were some disagreeable vegetable on her tongue.

"Yes ma'am," Janet replied.

"Speaking of my granddaughter, have you met her yet?" Emily asked.

"I don't believe so ma'am," Janet replied.

"Well you've either met her or you haven't," Emily said rather irritated. "Has she been in the house this morning?"

"No ma'am. No one has been here," Janet said averting her eyes again. She wasn't sure if this was the best work environment for her.

"That's odd," Emily said setting down a piece of mail. "I thought Rory would have stopped by for some breakfast." Emily glanced at her watch, "Or at least some lunch." She noticed that Janet was hovering in the corner of the kitchen and she rolled her eyes before turning. "You can go now Janet."

Emily walked out of the kitchen and into the living room. She looked out the window and over to the pool house. She didn't see anyone inside, but she decided to make a trip over to see if Rory was okay. She had given her enough space to make herself comfortable. Now was the time to make sure she had her thoughts in order.

Emily crossed the yard and knocked on the door of the pool house. She waited for a moment before she pushed open the door, which was unlocked.

"Rory," Emily called. "Rory are you here?"

Emily walked through the pool house in search of her granddaughter. She observed a book lying on the coffee table and a blanket strewn over the couch. She wandered into the bedroom and noted that her bed was unmade, but Rory was no where to be found. Emily sat down on the corner of the bed and surveyed the room. She noted that Rory had certainly made herself at home here. She had books piled on the nightstand, her laptop set up on the desk and clothes hanging in the closet. It was funny how comfortable Rory could be here when everything about the Gilmore house seemed to distress Lorelai. It made Emily happy to think that even though she wasn't able to provide a home that Lorelai could feel safe in, at least she could give that to her granddaughter.

Emily stood up and walked out of the bedroom and into the small hallway when she heard a noise. "Rory?" she called.

"Grandma?" Rory called back as she walked into the kitchen and set a bag down on the counter.

Emily walked into the kitchen and saw Rory unpacking a brown grocery bag. "Did you go shopping?" Emily asked.

"Yeah, there wasn't a whole lot here," Rory said throwing a few frozen pizzas into the freezer.

"You should have told me. I would have sent Janet," Emily said helping her unpack.

"New maid?" Rory asked removing a box of cookies from the bag.

"Yes," Emily replied simply. "You know you didn't have to go shopping. You're welcome to raid our cabinets anytime you'd like."

"That's okay Grandma," Rory said folding up the brown bag. "I needed to get out for while."

"Is everything okay?" Emily asked.

"Yes, fine," Rory said.

"Well I just wanted to stop by to tell you that your mother called me yesterday," Emily said. She noticed Rory's jaw clenched for a moment. "She's coming to dinner on Friday."

"She is?" Rory asked surprised. She assumed that her mother wouldn't set foot on Gilmore property ever again after the events of last Friday.

"Yes," Emily replied. "She's also bringing Luke with her."

Rory could tell by Emily's tone that she was anything but thrilled with the idea of Luke coming to dinner.

"So I was thinking," Emily continued, "that you might like to invite someone as well. Maybe Logan would like to come?"

"Oh," Rory said looking for the right words. She quickly remembered her mother's words to her a long time ago about Emily not doing anything out of the goodness of her heart. She wondered for a moment about her endgame. She knew that Luke made Emily uncomfortable and she figured Emily invited Logan to make Lorelai feel the same. "I don't know about inviting Logan."

"You two aren't fighting are you?" Emily asked.

"No, we're not fighting," Rory explained. "I just don't know if having him over would be the best thing. He's not Mom's favorite person right now."

"Your mother is a big girl Rory," Emily pressed her. "I'm not sure I've ever seen it, but I think she can behave like an adult. Besides, she's bringing Luke with her as reinforcement wouldn't you like one as well?"

"I'll have to see if Logan has plans. Maybe I'll invite him for dessert?" Rory suggested.

"That sounds wonderful," Emily said.

"Mom really wanted to come to dinner?" Rory asked Emily to clarify. Somehow something didn't seem right, especially since Emily said that Lorelai would bring Luke to dinner. Rory didn't think that her mother or Luke would ever want to set foot in the Gilmore house again.

"If you're wondering if I coerced her into coming to dinner the answer would be no," Emily replied. "Your mother decided to come on her own."

"I didn't think that," Rory lied. "I just figured she wouldn't want to see me for a while. She knows I'll be there right?"

"Of course she knows you'll be here," Emily chuckled. "Your mother just wants what's best for you. Maybe she's come to terms with your decision and she wants to make amends."

"Maybe," Rory replied feebly.

"So, what exciting plans have you got for today?" Emily asked.

"I haven't really decided yet," Rory said. "I thought I might see what was going on in Hartford today. I'm meeting Logan for dinner tonight."

"You're not having dinner with his family are you?" Emily asked alarmed. Although Lorelai had a tendency to be dramatic, Emily had a feeling she was telling the truth about the dinner Rory had at the Huntzbergers.

"No, just Logan," Rory replied. She still didn't know that Lorelai had given her grandparents the details on her vehement dislike of Logan's family. She thought they only knew of the internship.

"And have you given any thought to the job at your Grandfather's company?" Emily asked. "He asked me this morning if you were interested."

"I've thought about it a bit," Rory hesitated. In truth she had no interest in insurance or business. She wanted to be tactful in turning down her Grandparent's offer. "I'm really not sure insurance is something I'm all that interested in. I do appreciate the offer though."

"Alright," Emily replied disappointed. "I'll let Richard know. If insurance isn't of interest, what is?"

"I'm really not sure," Rory replied. "I'm not very interested in business."

"What about law?" Emily suggested. "A woman from my DAR group was just mentioning that her husband was looking for a good law clerk for the summer. Maybe you might like that."

"It might be interesting," Rory responded mulling over the offer.

"Well let me know," Emily said. "And don't forget to invite Logan over on Friday."

"Okay, I will," Rory replied.

Emily left the pool house feeling pleasantly smug. Although she didn't approve of what she heard about Logan's family she did approve of Logan. He was handsome, rich, polite and just the type of man who would fit into the Gilmore world. She knew Lorelai would be shocked and uncomfortable with Logan's presence and Emily thought it fitting because she would feel the same about Luke.

Rory sat down on the couch in the pool house and thought about her Grandmother's suggestion that she invite Logan to dinner. She was surprised that Lorelai had agreed to come to dinner. She was even more surprised that Luke was going to join her. To hear Luke tell it he would rather sell the dinner to Taylor and have it turned into a flower shop than go to dinner at the Gilmore's. She wondered if Emily was right. Was Lorelai bringing Luke for reinforcements? Rory thought about it and saw that if Lorelai came to dinner alone she would be outnumbered. She was nervous to see her mother again. It was a feeling she was unaccustomed to, aside from last summer after her indiscretion with Dean. Rory had seen Lorelai the night she unpacked at her grandparents, but they hadn't spoken. Rory simply turned her attention back to her books to avoid Lorelai's gaze. It wasn't the wisest decision she could have made, but she was unsure of what to say. There'd be no avoiding conversation on Friday. Rory picked up her cell phone and thought that her Grandmother was right. A reinforcement might not be a bad idea after all.

TBC

Author's Note: Sorry, much like filler episodes this chapter was needed to set up dinner, which will occur in the next chapter.