Author's Note: Sorry for the delay. I promise if you stick with me I will try to update more frequently! Last time we left our group Luke had agreed to move in with Lorelai, Emily admitted to Lorelai that she thought Rory should return to school and Rory and Logan shared a strained evening. Thanks for the reviews.

Chapter 14
"Uncertainty and Resolve"

Luke was waist deep in a pile of boxes in the kitchen when he heard the apartment door slam. He looked up and saw Lorelai standing before him. Her eyes looked watery and he could tell that she was holding back tears. He kicked a few boxes out of the way and walked over to her with his arms out ready to hug away the hurt that he saw in her face.

"What happened?" Luke asked as Lorelai fell into his arms and rested her head on his strong shoulder.

"My mother," Lorelai said simply.

"So you two went a few rounds I take it?"

"Of course," Lorelai replied as she broke away from him and walked over to the kitchen table. "Except I'd have rather been in the ring with Tyson. At least he'd have bit my ear off so I wouldn't have to hear anymore."

Luke walked over to the table and took a seat next to her. He leaned in and placed his hand over her knee. "What happened?"

"She wanted to talk about Rory," Lorelai explained. "And, if you can even believe this, she agrees with me now."

"She agrees with you?"

"Yeah, she thinks Rory needs to go back to school now. Of course she came to this point after she put down my first home, my job and everything else about me that she finds reprehensible."

"Why is she suddenly on your side?" Luke asked. "I mean, it's probably not a bad thing, but it's been a few weeks."

"I know," Lorelai replied starting to get more animated. The color was back in her cheeks and she looked more like the spitfire he knew. "Apparently she's always been on my side. My father used some sort of Jedi mind control on her and she had no free will, but now she'd decided that Rory needs to go back to school."

"Well at least she agrees with you," Luke tried to see the bright side, which was slightly unusual.

Lorelai stood up quickly and paced a few steps before speaking again. "But why? What happened to make her come to me? Oh, and by the way, she has no intention of telling Rory she thinks she should go back to school. She wants me to talk to her again."

Luke said nothing. He leaned back in his chair and pressed his fingers together while he thought.

"What?" Lorelai demanded.

"Nothing," Luke said. "I just…maybe you should try to talk Rory again."

"How can I talk to her? She blew me off at dinner and she hasn't made any attempt to talk to me."

"I know that, but she did come to the diner," Luke tried to reason.

"To talk to you, not me," Lorelai cut him off before he could say anything. "I'm always the one who goes to her to make things better."

Luke gave her a look that told her she was being childish, but she didn't care. Rory continually ran to her grandparents when she didn't like what Lorelai had to say. It was tiresome. It seemed that whenever Lorelai had something exciting and happy to celebrate, Rory let her down. Her college graduation was one; the run–through of Dragonfly was another. Now, just as Lorelai's life was falling into place Rory refused to listen to her.

"You do realize you're her mother though," Luke said.

"So, what's your point?"

"Just that usually the parent is the one that goes to the child to make things better," Luke tried to say gently.

"I have," Lorelai protested. His words stung because they were more reasonable than she'd like to admit.

"Right," Luke replied. "But maybe Rory came to me because she really wanted to talk to you but she didn't know how. Maybe she knows she's wrong but she doesn't know how to make things right."

"So you think I should talk to her again too?"

"I do," Luke sighed.

"You realize you're in complete agreement with my mother."

"Don't think that didn't come to my attention."

"You and Emily are thinking alike," she chided him. "It's kind of a scary concept."

"I realize that," Luke replied. "And don't think it's only scary for you. For me it's down right terrifying."

"So I should try again," Lorelai stated as if she were trying to talk herself into it.

"That might be best."

Lorelai scanned Luke's apartment and noticed all the boxes that were strewn about the area. She wasn't in the mood to continue to talk about Rory so she walked over to the counter and peered into a box that was open. "Are you moving somewhere?" she asked teasing.

"I was thinking about it," Luke replied standing up. "I heard that my new place might be low on actual kitchen utensils."

"Really?" Lorelai continued her game. "So what's this new place like?"

"Well it's been called the Crap Shack by its owner," Luke said walking over to her and standing very close to her.

"The name sounds very inviting. I can see why you picked it," Lorelai said running her fingers up and down Luke's arm. He had rolled up the sleeves of his flannel shirt and his forearm was exposed. Lorelai always thought he looked sexy with his sleeves slightly rolled.

"Well it was more for the roommate than anything," Luke said softly as he moved his lips by her ear.

"Oh you have to share a bed?" Lorelai said in between giggles. "That's a shame."

"Somehow I think I'll manage," Luke replied. He had just moved in to his kiss her lips when Lorelai put a hand on his chest and pushed him back.

"Wait, I almost forgot!" she exclaimed as she broke away from him and ran to her purse. She began digging and finally produced a small shiny item. "This is for you," she said.

She presented Luke with his own newly cut key to her house. "I know you've been a fan of climbing in windows and breaking the back door in the past, but I thought it might be nice for you to be able to use the front door," she smiled.

"Thank you," he said taking the key from her and attaching it to his key ring. "So it's official then."

"Very official," she said wrapping her arms around him. "I think we could get Taylor to notarize it it's so official."

"I don't think that's necessary," Luke chuckled.

Lorelai rested her head on Luke's chest and asked shyly, "So you think I should talk to Rory again?"

"I think you might want to try," Luke said.

"Well, maybe after the hearing I will," Lorelai said.

Emily entered the house and slammed the door behind her. Why couldn't they ever have a normal conversation? Why did it always end with one of them storming out mad? She removed her coat forcefully and walked into the dining room where she found Richard reading the paper.

"Hostile DAR meeting?" Richard asked absently, not looking up from his paper.

"No," Emily replied hanging her coat on the back of the chair. "I was having lunch with Lorelai. Although neither of us even ordered anything."

"You were having lunch with Lorelai?" Richard asked looking up.

"Yes."

"What does she need?" Richard asked.

"She doesn't need anything," Emily replied. "I called her."

"Why, is there something wrong with Rory?"

"No," Emily replied. She hadn't told Richard that she was going to see Lorelai. She hadn't told him that disagreed with his plan in so many words. She had eluded to it, but she hadn't told him that she was convinced that he was wrong. She told him she'd give Rory time to adjust to the new environment and job, but that was lie. "I wanted her to try to talk to Rory again."

"Why, is there something wrong with Rory?" Richard asked.

"No, there's nothing wrong with her. I just think they should be talking."

"You're trying to mend the relationship between them?" Richard asked surprised. He wasn't sure what had gotten into Emily. Normally she was elated when Rory came to them for help. Normally she would try her hardest to keep Lorelai away from Rory, but over the last few days it was clear that Emily was unhappy with the situation.

"No," Emily insisted. "Rory's court date is coming up and I think it would be nice if her own mother were in the court room."

"I thought you told me this morning that Lorelai couldn't make it," Richard said.

"Well I thought it wouldn't hurt to try to get her there," Emily replied. "Lord knows what's going to happen."

Richard finally put his paper down and walked over to his wife. "Everything will be fine. We've got an excellent attorney and this is Rory's first run-in with the law. She's a very well behaved young woman and this is her first transgression."

"But it's not Logan's," Emily reminded him.

"No, it's not, but I don't see how that has anything to do with Rory."

"What if they look at her being with Logan as a bad sign?"

"I'm sure they won't Emily. Do you think Mitchum Huntzberger is going to let his son go to jail?"

"No, I don't," Emily admitted. "Maybe we should have used his lawyer though. From the sound of things it seems like he's gotten Logan out of a few questionable situations."

"Our lawyer is just fine," Richard said. "Besides, if you want to distance Rory from Logan then it might be best to use a different lawyer."

"You're probably right," Emily said. She still felt worry over the pending court date. There was something in her gut that told her things might not work out as well as Richard insisted they would.

"So is Lorelai coming on Wednesday?" Richard asked.

"I don't think so," Emily said absently. "She has that meeting she couldn't change."

"Meetings can always be changed. She's acting like a scolded child. She's got to realize that Rory is a grown woman. If she doesn't wish to speak to her mother then she doesn't have to. Lorelai should know that better than any of us."

"You're very quick to jump to Rory's defense lately. It's not as if we're going to court over a misunderstanding. Rory and Logan stole a boat. She's dropped out of college and you seem to have no problem with it."

"Of course I have a problem with it! Do you think I like that Rory might have a criminal record? Do you think it's my dream for her drop out of Yale? She was on the right path--the path that Lorelai rejected. She's a smart young woman and I hate that she's dropped out of college, but look at what's happened between Lorelai and Rory. Lorelai disapproved of her decision and Rory ran to us for help. If I'd rejected her then where would she have gone?"

"I don't know," Emily said quietly.

"Exactly," Richard replied. "Whether we like it or not we have to be the ones to support her right now. I'm hoping that after some time we can convince her to return to school, but until that time we need to let her find her own way."

"If you think this is what's best," Emily replied.

"Obviously you don't agree," Richard said irritated.

"I just wonder if Lorelai didn't have the right idea. If we'd have banded together and insisted Rory return to school it might have shocked some sense into her. Now she's living in the pool house, working at law firm and seeing Logan every night."

"What would you have me do about that Emily? Maybe the girl needs to see what the real world is like for a while. It might send her running back to school."

"Or it might send her running to Logan," Emily shot back.

"We like Logan," Richard said forcefully.

"Yes, we do," Emily said. "I'm just not sure they should spend every free moment together right now. Rory should be thinking about her future."

"Maybe her future is Logan," Richard said sensibly. "He's nice boy from a very wealthy family and he's attending college. He'll probably inherit the journalism business from his father. I don't see why this is problem."

"It's not," Emily lied. "It's not Richard." Emily reached over and patted his hand. "I just have a lot on my mind. I've been worried about the court date. I'm fine. You're right."

"You're sure?" Richard asked.

"I'll be fine," Emily insisted. "I just need to get my mind of it for a while. I think I'll try to make some progress on the DAR fall fundraiser."

"Emily," Richard said seriously. "Everything will be fine."

"I know Richard," she said sadly as she left the dining room. She walked over to the stairs and sighed. She wasn't sure how things were going to work out, but the more she thought about it the more she wondered if Lorelai weren't right about everything.

TBC