A/N: It will never take me this long to update ever EVER again! I'm so sorry! I tried to make this chapter kind of long-ish. I didn't have a chance to read it over, so I apologize in advance for any mistakes.

An alarm clock rung loud and clear aside Lorelai's air mattress. The bright sun shone in her eyes through the curtain-less windows of the potting shed.

"When did we get an alarm clock?" Lorelai shouted to no one in particular.

She rolled over, flipping the air mattress to the side and leaving her in a very uncomfortable position. After she slammed her hand down on the alarm to silence it, she stood up, still half asleep, stretched, and made her way over to Rory's makeshift crib. Mia had gotten Saul, the inn's handyman, to mail a few pieces of wood together, so Rory would have somewhere to sleep.

Rory was somehow sleeping peacefully. Lorelai, who could now fully open her eyes, even though she wouldn't be completely awake without massive amounts of coffee, looked down at her daughter. Rory was worth all of this.

"You're up!" Mia was standing in the doorway.

"Just me, not Rory."

"She's not an early bird, huh?"

"And she got that from me. Any idea where this alarm clock came from?"

"I put it there."

"And set it for-" Lorelai glanced at the clock. "6:30 AM! Good Lord…WHY?"

"You need to get an early start today. Go get some breakfast and be back here at 8."

"Why?"

"You're starting work today."

"Oh, today?"

"Yup."

Lorelai made a face and half-moaned, but so Mia couldn't hear her.

"Kay."
When Mia left, Lorelai continued stretching, woke up Rory and fed her. After taking a cold shower, more of a bath since the shower head only half worked, she picked up Rory and headed to the inn for some coffee so she could actually make it to Luke's to get more.

She stumbled into the kitchen.

"Mia!"

Lorelai covered her mouth when she saw Mia talking to a plump woman wearing a bandana with blondish-brunetteish-red hair. She slowly backed out into the lobby through the large double doors.

Mia finally strolled out of the kitchen with a huge smile.

"Lorelai, hi!"

"I'm so sorry I walked in like that."

"Don't worry about it. So, I thought you were getting breakfast."

"Yeah, I'm going to Luke's. I'll probably collapse on the way or something if I don't have my daily pre-morning cup of coffee."

"Okay, then. Come into the kitchen. Sookie's making some."

"Sookie? What's a Sookie?"

"That's a Sookie." Mia and Lorelai turned the corner and walked back through the kitchen doors. Mia pointed to the blondish-brunetteish-red haired woman. "I just hired her a few minutes ago."

"To do what?"

"To cook."

"What happened to Rose? She made the good coffee!"

"Rose retired."

"In one day?"

"Well, dear, she was here much longer than you, so…Sookie! You made the coffee already?"

"It's a family secret", Sookie explained.

"Meet Lorelai. She just started working here, too."

Sookie smiled. Lorelai examined the woman. She was more of a girl than a woman. A girl about her own age.

"Blue or purple?" Sookie asked Lorelai as she shoved two coffee mugs into her face.

"Geez, those are huge. Um…purple!"

Sookie smiled yet again- she hadn't really stopped smiling. She walked, or more danced than walked, to the counter where the humongous coffee pots were set up. Lorelai noticed the kitchen was completely re-arranged from the day before. Sookie seemed like the kind of person who liked to do things her own way. She was brace, independent, and strong.- all the things Lorelai aspired to be. She drank the coffee Sookie gave her in the giant purple mug. They talked about Stars Hollow, add got to know each other. Sookie lived in Stars Hollow pretty much all her life, but she'd commuted to Hartford for school, so she was rarely in town. Lorelai was looking for someone who could help her out, being new in town and all, but this was good, too. She thanked Sookie, and after picking Rory up from the chair she'd set her in, she was back on her way to Luke's. Sookie's coffee was delicious. But one cup, even in a giant purple mug, just wasn't enough.

Luke lifted his head in mid-pour at the sound of the bells on the door.

"You have to get rid of those things!" Lorelai said. "Anywhere?"

"Sit anywhere…and the bells stay."

Lorelai rolled her eyes while she walked to the counter.

"So what are you doing here?" Luke asked.

"Coffee."

"This is a diner, not a coffee shop."

"Well, you serve coffee, don't you?"

"Of course."

"Okay, then."

"But I don't do lattes and cappuccino and cinnamon sticks."

"Good to know."

"You just want coffee?"

"Just coffee.

Rory opened her eyes suddenly.

"Hey, babe." Luke, Rory's awake, more coffee!

"She can't drink coffee!" Luke yelled.

"I was kidding."

"Who is that, anyway?"

"This is Rory…my daughter."

"You're daughter?" Luke was uncomfortable now.

"Yep."

"She's quiet."

"Yep." Lorelai was enjoying this.

"And pretty."

"Thanks."

"Yep."

"Is this awkward for you?"

"Yep."

"Luke!"

"Sorry, sorry…but, Rory?"

"Her real name's Lorelai."

"You named her after yourself?"

Rory let out a whimper.

"Yep."

"Creative", Luke said sarcastically.

"Hey, if guys can do it-"

He stopped her mid-sentence, "I wasn't taking a stab at your feminism."

"Good, great."

"Getting the coffee now." Luke started to walk into the storage room to get a cup, but he stopped when he heard an unfamiliar, wavering voice call out, "Duke!" and then Lorelai yelling out, "Rory!"

He walked back to the counter. "What? What happened?"

"Her first word!"

"That's great…wait, her first word was duke?"

"I think she was referring to you."

"Me? My name's Luke."

"She's 8 months old. She can't pronounce it et!"

"What's so hard about Luke?"
"Luke!"

"Right, sorry, so why was I her first word?"

"I think it's the great coffee."

Luke looked down at Rory. She was holding a bottle that Lorelai had filled with coffee.

"You didn't!"

"I did!"

"How did you get the coffee?"

You shouldn't leave the diner without someone here. A customer might go behind the counter and pour themselves coffee!"

"I was going to get cups. I'll get right on that."

Coffee and Rory close at hand, Lorelai was in a rush to get back to the inn. She'd been so happy about Rory's first word that she'd completely ignored the time. It was already 7:52! At this point, she was running. She ran past Al's Pancake World, past Miss Patty's Dance Studio, and all the way back to the Independence Inn.

Mia was checking a guest in when the door opened. She looked at her watch.

"8 o'clock on the dot, very good."

Lorelai smiles weakly.

"Okay, so while you were out, I ran into a problem we hadn't thought about before."

"What?"

"What are you going to do with Rory when you're working?"

"I thought she could come with me."

"To clean rooms? Are you sure?"

"That's a lot of responsibility."

"She's my daughter."

"Okay, follow me."

"Lorelai carried Rory up the stairs of the inn. She hadn't actually seen it yet. She was amazed at how beautiful it was. The hardwood floors and carved oak walls were incredible. Mia led them into a room on the right.

"This is the storage room. You'll get your cart everyday from here."

"My cart?"

"It has cleaning supplies, you know."

"Oh yeah, I know."

"Lorelai grabbed one of the carts that was already set up with everything she'd need. She rolled it after Mia, who was leading her to another room. Mia instructed her to clean only even numbered rooms, up to sixteen. She'd have to restore the room with fresh towels, draw the curtains closed, make the beds, pick up things from the floor, and mop the bathrooms. It didn't seem too challenging. Mia left. Lorelai picked up a stack of towels that was on the cart and filled the empty space with Rory, who sat there giggling the whole time. As she worked, an overwhelming feeling of relief rushed over her. And the thought of Emily's reaction if she were to see her mopping the bathroom like Gloria, Samantha, Veronica, or any other one of the thousands of maids Emily had ever hired sent a massive grin across her face.

A/N: I know not much happened, but I will soon, if not in the next chapter, then the one after that, and that's soon because to make up for not updating, I'm going to try to update tomorrow and the next day and possibly the next day. Right so, please review!

One more thing: I plan on stopping with the cute, boring endings soon and getting into cliffhangers as soon as possible.

Next: Lorelai starts running low on baby food, diapers, and most importantly, money. Also, Lorelai's first town meeting.