Disclaimer: This is an original story based upon the characters of Gilmore Girls. No copyright infringement is intended and no profit will be made from this story.

Author's Note: Thanks to all who have read and reviewed the first chapter. I am sorry I am so slow in updating—I have a crazy life right now. I hope you enjoy this next installment!

At first, I really didn't think it was going to be that difficult—I mean, I did have a degree from Smith. I was president of the DAR, I sat on at least twelve different boards, surely I could cook one meal for my family. I had dismissed the cook at four, telling her that I wouldn't need her that night, and after rummaging through my closet for some old clothes and donning one of the red stripped aprons I had set to work.

In the beginning it was rather fun—I had never had the kitchen all to myself before. I remembered back to when I was a girl and had once come into the kitchen during the preparations for a party. I couldn't have been more than four or five and I was fascinated with the elaborate preparations. I had asked the cook so many questions until finally she had given me small bowl of chocolate cookie dough and let me make little cookies. It had been fun until my mother had caught me in the kitchen, "fraternizing" with the hired help. I guess after that I never cared about such things. Now here I was in my very own kitchen, making dinner for my family. I felt very proud of myself as I took the defrosted chicken and started studying the Betty Crocker Cookbook I had found to see what to do with it.

An hour later, I was covered in flour, had burned my hand on the burner twice, let the vegetables overflow, the rice had burned and stuck to the pan and the chicken was still lying in its eggy goo. I was completely hopeless.

"Emily?" I heard Richard call. "Are you home?"

"Richard!" I yelled, putting my face in my hands and starting to cry.

In two seconds he was in the kitchen, his hand over his heart.

"What is it? What's wrong?" he cried out as he came around the corner.

With my face still in one hand, I gestured the kitchen disaster all around me. "The rice is burnt, I can't make the stupid pie, and I don't have the slightest idea what to do with the chicken!" I cried out.

"Emily Louisa Victoria Jane Simmons Gilmore you scared me half to death," he said, taking a deep breath and his hand off of his heart.

I looked up at him angrily, "Well, Richard Charles Darren Michael Gilmore I am very, very frustrated!"

He came closer to me, and put his arm around me, "What on earth are you doing anyway?" he asked.

I leaned into him and sighed, "I wanted to cook dinner tonight."

"What on earth for?" he asked.

"Because I am the mother of this family, and I have never once in the thirty-eight years I've been a mother, cooked a single dinner for my family and I wanted to do it just once."

He chuckled softly and kissed the top of my head.

"Don't patronize me Richard," I whined. "I had it all planned out, it was going to be so lovely. Can you imagine Lorelai's face when I bring in a meal that I cooked myself?" Then I gave that one a second thought

"Don't answer that," I said walking towards the maid's bell, getting ready to ring for her to come clean up.

"Just a minute Emily," Richard said stopping me. "I have an idea,"

"She's here!" Richard called from the front hall, as soon as the doorbell rang.

"Send her right back!" I called back and I listened for the sound of her voice, while glancing at myself in the toaster to make sure I'd got all the flour off my face.

"Right back here," Richard said, motioning her to come back into the kitchen.

She stopped at the door and stared for a minute. I don't think she has ever seen me wear pants.

"Sookie!" I said smiling, trying not to sound too relieved.

"Hello Emily," she said smiling back, obviously unsure of why she was there.

"Come in, come in, Dear, it's good to see you," I motioned to her.

"It's good to see you too Emily—um, I'm a little confused. Richard said it was an emergency?"

"Oh it's terrible, the girls and Luke are coming here for dinner in about an hour and a half and our cook had to leave work early today to go visit her cousin in the hospital."

She just looked at me and raised an eyebrow. "Emily, there are a thousand caterers and cooks in Hartford. You would not have called me from Stars Hollow to come cook dinner for your family because your cook is gone. What's up?"

I tried to come up with another story, but she raised the other eyebrow and I realized that too many years of working with the me of twenty years ago had made this girl immune to stories.

"Here's the thing," I said. "I wanted to cook dinner tonight for my family. I thought it would be easy, but everything is falling apart. They're coming soon, and so I was hoping that you could help me and then kind of conveniently slip out before they get here. It's awful of me to ask Sookie, I am desperate."

She smiled, "Where's another apron?"

In all the years I had known Sookie, she was always "Lorelai's friend," True, I had gone to her wedding, I had seen her on several occasions, but I had never really gotten to know her. For the next hour we made small talk as she breaded the chicken and I diced the tomatoes for the salad. She was a thoroughly charming woman and I enjoyed our conversation immensely.

"Alright," she said, taking a steaming blackberry pie out of the oven. "I have to go. They'll be here soon and I have to go get my kids into bed. Are you going to be okay?" she asked in such a sweet caring way. No wonder she was best friends with my daughter.

"I'll be fine Dear, thank you so much. I really appreciate it."

"Don't mention it," she replied, wiping her hands on a dishtowel. She pointed to the door to the patio. "Can I get out this way?" she asked.

"Yes, that will be fine. Thanks again Sookie." I said waving to her.

She waved back, picked up her purse and started out the door. She paused for a minute and then turned back to me. I turned back to face her and she looked like she was hesitating to say something.

"Yes?" I asked.

"You know Emily, I offer cooking classes at the Inn every Thursday morning. You should come over some time." With that, she headed out the door.

When Sookie left I bolted upstairs and changed my clothes into something a little nicer. She had been gone maybe fifteen minutes when the doorbell rang. I quickly sprayed on some cologne and then walked downstairs.

"Hi Mom," Lorelai said smiling as she handed Alicia's carrier to Luke and took off her coat.

"Hello everybody!" I replied. "How is everyone this evening?" I asked, gesturing them all into the living room. We all sat down for drinks and I held out my hands for the baby.

"Let me see my girl," I said cooing at Alicia.

"Careful Mom," Lorelai said handing me a massive burp cloth, "She's spitting up a storm tonight."

"Well, like mother like daughter," I said, giving her a little wink and throwing the burp cloth over my shoulder as if I was the authority on dealing with spit up.

Rory came about ten minutes later and after we had chatted with her for awhile, Richard stood up and announced it was time for dinner.

"Your mother has a surprise for you tonight," he said, smiling over at me. I adopted my most confident stance—hoping I wouldn't give myself away. "I made dinner for you all tonight," I said smiling proudly.

For a minute Luke, Lorelai and Rory just stared at me.

"Oh come on, it's not like it's that hard. I wanted to make dinner for you all and so I did. We're having chicken, rice salad and I even made a blackberry pie." I said, standing up and sheparding them all to dining room. The table was all set and I went in the kitchen and brought out the chicken.

"Lorelai, stop looking at me as though I've grown a third arm; I wanted to cook dinner. Is that so hard to believe?"

"Um…you want the truthful answer? Yes!" she retorted.

"Would it kill you to maybe be a little enthusiastic?" I asked.

Luke passed his plate over to me, "I'd love some Emily," he said and I graciously gave him a serving of rice and chicken. Rory passed her plate next and I gave her some as well. Richard was getting Alicia settled in the high chair. Lorelai looked at Luke cautiously as if she was waiting for him to kill over as soon as he tasted the food.

"Would you stop already?" I said, still standing over her waiting to serve her.

"It's delicious," Luke said, looking over at me. Lorelai's eyes widened and she turned up to me.

"Okay, load me up," she said and as I placed the rice and chicken on her plate, she mumbled to herself. "My mom cooked dinner and now is standing over me serving it to me. I'm in the Twilight Zone."

The dinner went over remarkably and we had a great talk. Everyone was amazed when I brought out the blackberry pie and I got so excited watching their faces that I was almost forgetting that it was Sookie that had made the pie and not me.

Soon they had to leave, Rory had a paper due and Luke had to get back to the diner.

"Thank you for a great dinner Emily," Luke said, placing his hand on my elbow.

"You're welcome Luke," I replied, "Have a good night." I hugged Rory and Lorelai goodbye and kissed the baby and then said, "Well, I guess I better clear the table,"

"You're not going to do the dishes too are you mother?" Lorelai asked incredulously.

"No, " I replied. "I'll let the maid do them, I'll just clear the table." I said, "See you later," and I took a stack of dishes into the kitchen. A minute later, Lorelai came in with a stack of dishes as well.

"What are you doing?" I asked. She put the dishes down and looked me in the eyes.

"You want to tell me what is going on?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" I replied, trying to cover myself.

"That was Sookie pie Mom, I know Sookie pie anywhere. I can smell Sookie pie from a mile away."

I sighed disappointedly. "Yes, it was Sookie's pie. I wanted to make dinner for everyone tonight—just once. It was a total disaster. I called Sookie and asked her to come help. She did and slipped out before you got here. I wanted you to think it was all me." I said kicking the ground with the toe of my shoe. I looked up at her. "I did dice the tomatoes for the salad." At that we both started laughing.

"It was a nice effort Mom," she said, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"Thanks," I said, then thought about Sookie's earlier suggestion, "Lorelai, Sookie said that she holds cooking classes at the inn. Would it be alright with you if I came to one sometime?"

She stared at me incredulously again and I wondered if she was more surprised at my wanting to take cooking classes or that I asked her if it was alright with her.

"Sure Mom, that would be fine," she said and that paused for a minute, "Maybe I could take one with you sometime," she almost mumbled.

"Really?" I asked.

"Sure," she replied, "But I really have to leave now. Rod Serling is going to pop out any moment and start his monologue. 'Lorelai Gilmore, age thirty-eight, just agreed to go to a cooking class with her mother. Lorelai has just entered the Twilight Zone," she said, adopting a male voice.

"Goodnight Crazy girl," I said, shaking my head.

"Goodnight Mom," she said smiling as she walked out of the kitchen.