"Excuse me?" Lorelai asked her heart sank to her knees. Surely, she had misunderstood Mr. Gatti.

"I'm sorry, Lorelai, but you've been late every day for the past week. You're falling behind in your paper work, you don't come to the employee meetings." Mr. Gatti continued.

"Mr. Gatti, sir, I have an eight year old daughter. I'm a single mother and it's hard. I'm not trying to play the pity card on you, but I would appreciate it so much if you could just give me one more chance." Lorelai pleaded.

"I'm sorry. I've already given you several one more chances. You're to have your desk cleared by 4:00 pm this evening." Mr. Gatti sighed. "Good day, Lorelai."

"Good day?" Lorelai repeated. "You really just chose to say that to me?"

Mr. Gatti frowned. "Well, best of luck, then."

Lorelai flopped down into her desk chair and took a look around her office. For the last three years she had been working her way up from the janitor, to the desk clerk, and now she had reached office secretary, but it didn't matter she had lost it. What was she going to tell Rory? How would she provide food for them? How could she pay the rent? Lorelai began to pack her things and place them inside a brown box. She picked up the picture of Luke she had sitting on her desk. She traced the outline of his face with her fingers.

"How are you coming along with your dreams?" She asked the picture. "Did you find the perfect wife and mother? Did you go back to high school and graduate? Perhaps you continued on to college." Lorelai sighed. "Or maybe you went on to California. I never made it of course. I stopped right here in Pennsylvania."

Lorelai placed the picture inside her box and continued to clear her desk. Later that evening she set waiting in the living room. When Rory walked through the door she prepared herself to announce the news.

"Hey, sweets." Lorelai smiled.

"Hey." Rory replied.

"I need to talk to you."

"Okay." Rory smiled innocently.

"I lost my job today." Lorelai replied sadly. "Mr. Gatti fired me."

Rory looked puzzled. "Why?" she asked.

Lorelai took a deep breath. "Well, because I wasn't holding up the standards that they needed to hold up to." She floundered.

This explanation cleared up nothing for Rory. "But you've worked there a really long time." Rory concluded.

"I know." Lorelai agreed. "Sometimes things just happen."

"Are you going to get a new job?" Rory asked as she took a seat on the couch.

"There isn't much work around here. It took me a long time to work my way up at Mr. Gatti's. I would have to start over at another company. I don't know if I could pay our rent on a lower salary."

Lorelai knew this was a very deep and complicated conversation that she was sharing with her young daughter, but she believed that Rory did understand for the most part. Rory set in silence for a moment and let her mind wander.

"But I was thinking... Maybe this happened for a reason, and maybe we can make the best out of it."

Rory's attention suddenly focused back to her mother. "How?"

"We've both admitted to being lonely here." Lorelai began. "Perhaps a change of atmosphere would be the right solution. I could look for a new and better job. You could go to better school."

Rory pondered the thought. "Where would we go?"

"Well..." Lorelai paused. "Remember how I told you that I grew up in Hartford, Connecticut?" Rory shook her head yes. "Well, Connecticut has great schools. Yale University is there."

Rory's eyes began to sparkle. "Yale?" She asked.

"Mm hm." Lorelai confirmed with glee as she noticed the enthusiasm. "We could settle into a small town somewhere and start all over again." Lorelai had never admitted it to Rory but she had greatly missed Connecticut. In the back of her mind she had always considered going back. She often found herself picturing life in Stars Hollow, the perfect storybook town. She wasn't sure if Luke was still there or not. She hadn't seen nor talked to him since the night she walked away and left him sitting by the road. Lorelai came out of her daydream and awaited Rory's reply.

"I'll start packing!" Rory exclaimed as she jumped from the couch and ran into her bedroom.

Lorelai smiled with satisfaction. She'd finally be going back to where she belonged.