A/N: Sorry for the delay in posting… I had some writer's block. The next chapter should be up sooner.

Many thanks to those who reviewed (A-Karana, isis-sq1, Roxton7, idolizelorelai13, tom, Bambi McBimbo, papaslittlecj, ProFfeSser and Charmedchic72.). I love that y'all like this story.

The next day, the phone in the diner rang. Luke snatched it up while trying to balance two plates on his next arm. "Luke's."

"Hey, Luke."

"Rory?"

"Yeah, it's Rory. I-"

Luke cut her off. "Could you hold on for a minute, Rory?"

"Okay."

Luke pressed the hold button on the phone and returned it to its cradle. "I'm gonna take the call upstairs, Caesar." He called back to the kitchen. Quickly, he delivered the plates to the correct tables before heading upstairs. He grabbed the phone. "Rory?"

"Still here."

"Go ahead."

He could hear her take a deep breath before speaking. "Mom's back."

"I know."

"You know?" Wow. She'd thought her mother would be avoiding the diner at all costs, making sure she would never see Luke.

"Yeah. She came in yesterday."

Rory couldn't believe it. She'd thought that if, and that had been a big if, her mother had, eventually, decided to return to the diner, it'd be after quite a bit of time had passed. But Lorelai Gilmore was the queen of spontaneity, so she should've seen it coming. "Oh… I just thought you should know."

"Thanks anyway." Luke was touched by Rory's concern for him. He hadn't seen her too much over the past year and a half. After her mom had left, she'd frequented the diner less and less.

"You're welcome."

"Anything else?" Luke asked. It sounded to him as if she had something more to say.

Rory took another deep breath. "She missed you. You know that, right?"

He looked down and examined his shoelaces for a moment before replying. "Yeah. I – I know."

"Good. I'll try to stop by sometime."

Luke's head rose, and he smiled at this. "I'm looking forward to it."

After her last class on Friday, Rory sped out of Yale towards Stars Hollow. She arrived at the Dragonfly seventeen minutes later.

Upon arriving at the front desk, Rory hurriedly asked Michel about her mother's whereabouts. He half-heartedly told her that her mother was in the kitchen with Sookie. As she turned to leave, she distinctly heard him mumble something under his breath about no one ever dropping by to see him in his patented French accent.

She barged into the kitchen, grabbed her mother by the arm, and pulled her out the back door, ignoring her protests.

Lorelai was shocked. "What are you-"

"You went to see him?" Rory exclaimed.

Oh. Lorelai gave a small nod.

"Oh my gosh! What did you say?" Rory was ecstatic. Her mother going into the diner was a huge step towards… well, she didn't want to jinx it.

"I said I was back-"

"Thank you, Captain Obvious." Rory replied sarcastically.

"… for good."

Rory nodded. Much better. "And…?"

"And that I'm working at the Dragonfly."

"That's it?"

"That's it. He made me lunch. No… dinner. Well, what's between lunch and dinner? Whatever that is."

"Okay." Her mother still seemed on the down side. Something was up.

Something she wasn't willing to admit.

Before Rory left, she asked one last question. "You know he missed you, don't you?"

She looked at the ground and scuffed the toe of her shoe in the dirt, noticing the bright pink being shrouded with brown.

"Yeah. I know."

Rory figured that while she was in Stars Hollow, she should keep her promise and stop by Luke's.

She entered the diner accompanied by the jingle of the bell above the door.

"Hey Rory." Luke called.

"Hey, Luke." She replied, taking a seat at the counter.

He poured her a cup of coffee, assuming correctly that this Gilmore hadn't given up her beloved beverage. "Haven't seen you around much." He stated.

This was true. Rory had basically avoided the diner ever since her mother had left. She didn't want to have to face him or remind him of her mother. Rory had figured it would just be easier if she stayed away. But she didn't tell him that. "School." She offered as an explanation of her absence.

Luke nodded. He knew why she hadn't stopped by. "How's school going for you?"

"It's tough. Senior year is hard."

"You'll be out soon."

"Six months."

"Excited?" he asked.

Rory nodded. "Yeah. Nervous, though."

He shook his head in response. "You've got nothing to worry about."

She grinned. "I want you to come." Rory told him.

"Come where?"

"My graduation. You should come."

"I wouldn't miss it." He replied, smiling slightly.

Rory finished her coffee and pulled back her sleeve to check her watch. "I gotta…" She silently finished her sentence by pointing her thumb over her shoulder. "Town meeting's about to start." Rory grabbed for purse and pulled out her wallet.

"It's on the house." Luke offered.

"Thanks." Rory put her wallet away and stood to leave.

"Come back soon, okay?"

"I will." And with a parting smile she left the diner.

TBC… Next you'll see what happened at the town meeting.

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