Disclaimer: I don't own anything that you recognize; if I did, do you think I'd be writing fanfiction? I don't own The Cheesecake Factory, Moby Dick or The Lord of the Rings, The Boston Globe, or Boston Latin School, although I did attend school there for 6 years. I only own the Masons and my plot idea…the WB and the creators of "Gilmore Girls" owns everything else.

Chapter 1- Sweet Sixteen

Lorelai Gilmore-Hayden awoke to the cries of her 6 month old daughter, Brooke. She rolled over to see that it was 4:00 in the morning. Groaning, she stood to go to Brooke's room and realized what day it was—October 8. It was Rory's birthday, her 16th birthday. She thought about her oldest daughter, knowing that today the Masons would be giving her the letter and she wondered if Rory would want to get to know her.

Sighing, Lorelai continued to Brooke's room and picked up her crying daughter. Settling down in the rocking chair, Lorelai began to sing to Brooke. It wasn't long before the little girl had fallen back to sleep. Lorelai placed her back in her crib and made her way back to her bed. She curled up next to her husband and quickly fell back asleep.

The next time she woke up her 8 year old daughter, Madison, Maddy for short, came running in to get her parents up.

"Mommy! Daddy! Come on, I need to get to school."

"Maddy, you can walk to school, you know that," Lorelai muttered, rolling over to look at her daughter.

"But Mom, you need to take me to Luke's for breakfast, unless Dad wants to get up and cook."

Lorelai made a face and said, "Fine, give me a moment to get dressed." No matter how hard she tried, Lorelai had still never managed to cook anything without burning it or making a mess somewhere. Chris cooked most of the time, but he could be very cranky early in the morning.

She gave him a quick kiss and told him, "I'm going to take Maddy for food. I'm leaving Brooke with you though."

He muttered something and she took that as an "ok" before getting dressed to leave with Maddy.

The two girls walked the short distance to Luke's and took a seat at the counter. Lorelai called Luke over.

"Hi Luke, we need two coffees and I want pancakes and bacon and whatever this young lady wants, she can have."

"I want 2 eggs sunny side up and a side of toast," Maddy said quietly.

"Lorelai, she's 8! I can't give her coffee," Luke said, looking at the young girl.

"Luke, you say that everyday. And everyday you give in and let her have some. Come on."

Maddy looked at Luke and gave him her best puppy dog eyes and said, "Besides, I'll be 9 in two months."

"Fine, it'll be ready in a few minutes," Luke said, with a sigh.

After breakfast, Lorelai walked Maddy to Stars Hollow Elementary School and then, called Christopher at home. It was his day to stay home with Brooke, while Lorelai went to work at the Independence Inn, which she was manager of.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," she said into the phone.

"Hi sweetheart, did you get Maddy to school?"

"Yup, is Brooke awake yet?"

"Yes, she is, I'm just about to feed her," Christopher said, fixing Brooke's bottle.

"Ok, I have to go now, I'll be home around 2. Love you!"

"Love you too. Have a good day!"

After having Rory, Lorelai finished high school and then, her and Christopher had both attended college and married soon after. Lorelai had been manager of the Independence Inn for 7 years now, working her way quickly from night manager. Christopher was a independent Insurance Broker and since he worked for himself, he could choose his own hours and even work from home.

When Lorelai got to the Inn, she exchanged some few choice words with the concierge, Michel, before entering the kitchen for some more coffee. She spoke with her best friend, the chef, Sookie and then ventured into her office to take a look at the books.

Later that evening, after picking Maddy up from school and returning home for dinner, Lorelai and Christopher received a phone call that would changed their lives.

Lorelai Leigh Mason, known also as Rory, hit the off button of her alarm clark before rolling over and standing up. Tiredly, she made her way to the bathroom. When she returned to her room, there was a box on her bed. She picked up the note and read:

Good Morning Birthday Girl!
Just a little something from your mother and I to start the day. We hope you like it.
Love,
Daddy

When she opened the box, she found a beautiful black skirt that was slightly longer in the back than in the front. There was also a beautiful baby blue peasant shirt. She changed into that outfit and pulled on a pair of black heels. She brushed her hair and left it straight and down. She grabbed her backpack and made her way down to the kitchen, where her family was waiting.

Maria Mason, Rory's mother, was standing at the stove, cooking bacon and eggs, Rory's favorite breakfast. Dave, Rory's father was sitting at the kitchen table, reading the Boston Globe. Andy, her 18 year old brother sat on one side of her father and Abbie, her 14 year old sister sat on the other side. As Rory looked at her family, she once again wondered where she got her looks from.

Her mother had strawberry blonde hair with emerald green eyes. She was just over 5 feet. Her father was almost 6 feet tall with sandy blonde hair and brown eyes. Andy was tall and lean, with their mother's green eyes and very blonde hair. Abbie was still shorter than Rory, but she had been growing very quickly. She had her mother's reddish-blonde hair and green eyes. Rory was very different than all of them. She was 5 foot 7 inches with dark brown hair and striking blue eyes. Once again, though, she dismissed those thoughts, believing she had taken after her grandparents.

"Good morning, my darling daughter!" Dave Mason said, standing to hug Rory, "Happy birthday!"

"Happy birthday!" Maria, Andy and Abbie cried in unison.

"Thank you," Rory answered, smiling at them all.

Maria handed Rory a plate and they all sat back down.

"So, Rory, tonight we're going to The Cheesecake Factory for dinner, is that ok with you?" her mother asked.

"Of course," Rory answered, taking a sip of her coffee, "You know that's my favorite place."

"That's why we chose it! So, do you feel any older?" Andy asked.

"I guess, a little bit, I'm not sure. But, I can go get my learner's permit now!" Rory answered smiling.

"Yes, you can," Dave said, laughing, "I'll take you as soon as I can."

"Ok, Daddy."

After they finished breakfast, Dave drove the kids to the bus stop on the way to work. They met up with Rory's best friend, Laura and they all got on the bus to Boston Latin School, where Rory was a sophomore, Andy, a Senior and Abbie, an eighth-grader.

When the day was finally over, and the three students returned home, Rory went to her room and took out the book she was currently reading, Moby Dick. She spent the afternoon reading undisturbed, the rest of the family knowing better than to disturb her when she was in the middle of reading.

At 5:00, Rory got ready for dinner. She curled her hair and applied some make-up, putting back on the outfit her parents had given her that morning. She exited her room, just as her father came in from work.

"Hello, Rory, did you have a good day?" he asked, putting his briefcase on the counter.

"It was good, Daddy. How was yours?"

"It was fine. Let me go get changed and we can leave. Why don't you go get your brother and sister."

With that, Rory took off towards Andy and Abbie's rooms and her father went towards his. Fifteen minutes later, they left for the restaurant. Dinner went well, and when they got back to the house, it was present time.

Andy gave Rory a collector's edition set of The Lord of the Rings and Abbie gave her a matching sapphire bracelet, necklace and earring set that she said would bring out Rory's eyes. Her parents gave her some more books, as well as a journal and two more skirts. Lastly, they gave her two envelopes.

"Rory, please wait and read these when you are alone. Read this one first," Maria said, pointing to the bigger envelope.

Rory saw tears in her mother's eyes, but didn't question her. They all sat around and talked for a little while longer, before Rory excused herself to her room to read her letters.

Next Chapter: What happens when Rory reads the letters?

A/N: Please r/r and let me know if I should continue or not…new chapter soon!