Disclaimer: I do not own any Gilmore Girls characters, exept for the once I've added. The rest of the bunch belongs to Amy Sherman Paladino (one of the luckiest women on earth). and WarnerBrothers, yadda, yadda, yadda...The song that appears in this chapter ("When Suzannah Cries") is made by Espen Lind, not by me.

I would like to thank Inca (VoyICJ) for being such a good proofreader.

What has happened since the last time?

Lorelai and Luke are married, and they live in what used to be Lorelai's house, but they haven't had any kids yet.

Rory has finished her education and lives in New York, where she is working for a small newspaper. She has a boyfriend named Danny.

Lorelai's sister Suzannah (this is a sequel, remember? Read "The Gilmore Way" first.) is four years old. Every now and then she stays with Lorelai and Luke for the weekend.

Ok, let's get on with the story, shall we?

Not all that much ER yet, but don't worry, they'll be back soon.

Girls who miss their mothers by Ane Berentsen

When Luke returned home after a long day in the diner, he found Lorelai bustling in the kitchen. He quietly walked up to her and surprised her with a gentle kiss.

"Hey honey," Lorelai said with a smile on her face. She took the bags he was carrying out of his hands and set them down on the kitchen table.

"Are those cheeseburgers I am smelling?" Lorelai asked with a broad grin. Luke simply nodded. He walked up to her and pulled her to him.

"Guess what? I have a surprise for you."

"Oh I know, you are going to put on your baseball cap the right way," Lorelai said sheepishly. Luke had to smile.

"Not exactly. Lane asked me if she could do some extra work this weekend, she needs the money. That means I can take some time off." Lorelai saw where this was going, a whole weekend for themselves wasn't everyday-stuff.

"What have you got planned?" she asked, excited like a kid on Christmas morning.

"Nothing." Luke smiled at her, as if he had just made the suggestion of the year. Lorelai became a bit irritated.

"Nothing? That's your big surprise?" She asked incredulously.

Luke's smile became wider, as he explained.

"Don't you get it? This is the first weekend in… ages… that you and I can do nothing at all!" he said as he opened his bag and took a bite of his burger. "We can just...enjoy some free time." Lorelai had to think for a minute, before she could see what he was saying.

"You actually have a point there." As she sat down and began to eat as well, she got more and more eager to go through with his idea.

"I wonder if it's possible not to get out of bed at all between Friday and Sunday?" she said with her mouth full of fries. Luke chuckled.

"We don't have to go that far, but maybe we could agree to not leave the house." Before he was done talking, the phone started to ring. Lorelai got on her feet and answered it.

"Hello, you've reached the chill out residence?"

"Don't be silly, Lorelai, I know who I'm talking to." Lorelai realized that it was her mother at the other end.

"Well, nothing gets by you, Mum." She mumbled. Emily chose to ignore her daugther's comment.

"Actually, I'm calling to ask you a favour. You remember I told you that me and your father were going to look at the Middleton's new house in California later this week?

"Sure, I remember." Lorelai couldn't understand how this was concerning her. "Do you want me to carry your suitcases or something?"

This time Emily couldn't hold in her irritation.

"Why don't you try and keep your silly jokes to yourself for once, and listen to what I have to say? The thing is, our babysitter called. She's caught pneumonia, the stupid girl." It sounded as if the woman had become ill on purpose. Lorelai couldn't resist another comment.

"How very selfish of her..." she said dryly. She could already see were this was going. Emily continued.

"So I was hoping I could ask you to..." Emily began, but Lorelai interrupted her before she could even finish the sentence.

"No no no, I can't. Why can't you just take Suzy with you?" Lorelai's question made Emily sigh.

"Unfortunately, Marcie Middleton can't stand children. She claims to be allergic, she says they give her a headache." Emily said, clearly annoyed.Even though Emily felt the same way about Mrs. Middelton, Richard had claimed that this so-called holiday was of vital importance to his company. Therefore, she couldn't let Lorelai of the hook that easily. "What is it you have to do that's so important, then?" she asked in a suspicious voice.

"Actually, Luke and I are doing a lot of nothing this weekend." Lorelai could hear how silly she sounded.

"Nothing?" Emily asked, clearly confused.

"You're right, that's not a strong argument, is it? You know what, give me two seconds, Mum..." Lorelai put a hand over the phone before she turned to Luke. "You get the picture, huh?"

"Let her come." Luke was very fond of Lorelai's little sister, and he hadn't seen her in a long time.

"You sure?" Lorelai asked. She wasn't really convinced.

"I'm sure we'll get to do "nothing" some other time. Give the lioness what she wants, that's the only way she'll leave you alone." Luke wasn't exactly his mother-in-laws's biggest fan, and he strongly doubted she was his, but his sister-in-law was a cute girl who reminded him a lot of Lorelai.

Lorelai raised the phone again.

"OK, I'll take one four-year old, extra cheese and no tuna, please..."

"Wonderful!" Emliy was relieved. "We'll drop her of on our way to the airport on Friday, let's say around two?"

Lorelai was about to mumble "Fine" and hang up when she remembered something.

"I'll be at work then, you'd better come to the inn. Good bye."

"And Lorelai?" Emily said, before her daughter had the chance to hang up

"What?" Lorelai asked with a heavy sigh.

"Tell Luke the lioness says hi..."

Sookie had just put a chocolate cake in the oven when she heard Michel's displeased voice from the reception.

"Sookie, did you leave this corpse on my counter?" What's gotten into him know? she thought to herself while she went to check. Michel was pointing at a plate with a sandwich on it. Sookie sighed.

"Corpse, huh? This is ham!"

"Well, do you see it moving?" Michel's voice sounded sly. Sookie was just about to answer him when Lorelai came down the stairs.

"Hey, have either of you seen a jag?" she asked them.

"No. Why, did you order one?" Michel was being sarcastic.

"I wish...No, it's my parent's car, they're going on a holiday..."

"Here?" Sookie became a bit frightened, she had no idea they were expecting guests. Lorelai calmed her down.

"No, in California. They're just dropping Suzy off..."

"Here?" It was Michel's turn to be confused. Lorelai became a bit irritated.

"Yes, here, they're letting a four-year old stay at an inn all by herself for a week...I'm taking her home with me after work, okay?" Lorelai's tirade stopped when she heard a car outside.

"That must be them!"

She ran outside, followed by Michel. Sookie brought her plate back into the kitchen.

Lorelai waved at the little girl in the back seat as the car stopped and her parents came out.

Emily went to help her youngest daughter unbuckling her seatbelt, while Richard got two suitcases from the back.

"Lorelai, how generous of you to offer to take care of Suzannah for us while we're away!" he said as he placed the luggage in front of her.

"Offer? That depends on how you look at it, Dad..." Lorelai sent a suggestive look at Emily, who came around the car with Suzannah on her hip. Emily pretended not to notice it.

Richard put an arm around his wife as he pointed at the suitcases.

"Well, here's her luggage. A bit much, if you ask me, but your mother insisted..." Emily interrupted him.

"Richard, you know very well that she's a master at spilling her drinks. She's going toneed lots of changings for a whole week." Emily said and tickled Suzy's side playfully.

"And it's not like I know how to do laundry..."Lorelai mumbled to herself. "Michel, suitcases are your thing." she said out loud.

"Of course, your highness, would you like me to carry them to your house or perhaps both back and forth?" Michel was obviously in a difficult mood today, even for him. Lorelai handed him a key from her pocket.

"Just take 'em to my car, okey?"

As Michel disappeared with the luggage, Emily put Suzannah down and gave her a kiss on the forehead.

"We'd better get going if we want to catch our plane. I'll miss you, angel..." she said as she ran her fingers through her daughter's blond hair. Lorelai couldn't help but wonder if her mother had ever said anything like that to her when she was little.

"I'll miss you too, Mummy" the girl said as she clung around her mother's legs. Richard pulled her away and lifted her up.

"Now, you, promise me you'll be a good girl while we're away..." He tried to keep a strict face. He hated the feeling he always got when he left his little princess in someone elses care, and he knew that Emily felt the same way. But neither of them wanted Suzannah to know what a big deal it was for them, that would have made her even more clingy than she already was.

"Daddy, remember you promised to bring me something!" Suzannah's eyes began to sparkle.

"I won't forget..." Richard chuckled as he kissed her cheek and handed her over to Lorelai.

As the car drove away, Suzannah's eyes became wet and shiny, she sniffled quietly and her chin started shaking. Lorelai tried to make her think about something else.

"Hey, you know what this means? It means I'll get to call you Suzy for a whole week!" She tried to cheer the little girl up.

"Lorelai, how long is a week?" The younger sister asked.

"Uhm...it's about as much time as it takes Mum to fire a maid. A good one."

"Not longer?" Suzannah smiled, clearly relieved.

"That's right." Lorelai smiled back. "Now, let's go see if Sookie can find something for you in the kitchen.

"Sookie!" Suzannah exclaimed once she saw the cook. Ever since she could chew for the first time, she had connected this woman with sweets and other good things. The fact that her children were fun to play with was a bonus.

"Suzy, what a nice surprise! See, I've just made a chocolate cake, and I was just thinking "Oh no, there's no one her to lick the bowl..." Sookie knew exactly how to become a kid's best friend.

"Wow, looks like you have some work to do..." Lorelai placed her sister on a chair by the kitchen counter, and Sookie handed her the bowl. Two seconds later the little girl was in heaven.

"Aww, she's so cute! She's a lot like you, you know." Sookie smiled at Lorelai.

"Sure, if you don't take her size, her blond hair and the fact that she has Rory's big eyes into account, then sure, we're identical twins." Lorelai said in a sarcastic voice. "And by the way, the eye-thing; I still haven't figured out how she did that!"

"I wasn't talking about her appearance. You know what I mean, she so...lorelai-ish!"

"Well, I guess that's what "The Gilmore Mansion" 24/7 will do to you..." Lorelai said with a shrug.

Luke had just finished dinner when the Gilmore sisters came home. As soon as Suzannah saw him she ran straight into his lap, clung to his waist and held on thight.

"Nice to see you too, Suzy..." Luke wasn't quite sure how to react on the girl's greeting.

"She's been asking about you all the way home." Lorelai said as she took of her coat.

"Well, you know me. Always popular with the ladies..." Luke lifted Suzannah up as he got on his feet and gave Lorelai a kiss. Just as she was about to ask him what he had prepared for dinner, the phone started ringing.

"I'll get it." Lorelai went into the hallway and answered it. She was happy to hear her daughter on the other end.

"Mum, it's me..." Rory was so glad she had finally managed to pull herself together and call her mother.

"Hey, it's my urban girl! How's big city life these days?" Lorelai laughed. Rory was glad her mother asked.

"Well, actually..." Rory was interrupted, before she was able to finish her sentence

"You know what, honey, I know don't tell you this as often as I should but...I'm so proud of you for making it on your own. I wouldn't even last two days in "the big apple" all by myself..." Lorelai was almost becoming a bit sentimental.

"Mum, I was just about to tell you that..." Rory tried once more, but was interrupted again.

"I just want you to know that...I think it's great that you're so independent. Luke and I were just talking about you the other day, we just...we both think you're so amazing. Anyway, I just had to tell you. You were trying to say something?"

Rory was about to cry. Why does Mum have to throw this proud-stuff in my face right now? she thought to herself. I can't tell her, not now.

"Uhm, it was nothing, Mum. How is Luke?"

"Good as can be, sounds like he's giving Suzy a piggy-back ride in the kitchen…" Lorelai couldn't tell who liked the game the most, Luke or Suzannah.

"Suzannah's there?" Rory asked.

"Yep, the babysitter's ill, so she's staying here while Grandma and Grandpa are in California."

"Sounds like you've got your hands full…" Rory sighed. "I'd better get going anyway."

"OK, babe. Tell Danny I said hi."

"Will do. Talk to you later." Rory barely managed to get the words out and hang up before she started crying. Lorelai remained by the phone for a little while. There was something that just wasn't right about her… she thought. Well, well. She'll tell me when she's ready.

That night, Lorelai was awakened by a sound. She shook Luke until he woke up as well.

"Did you hear that?" she asked him with fear in her voice. "Sounded like there's somebody downstairs…Might be a killer or something! You go check!"

Luke was tired and rather uninterested.

"Why do I have to check? You're the one who's imagnining it…" he was about to go back to sleep when the bedroom door opened and in came Suzannah.

"Imagnining it, huh?" Lorelai was proud to have proved Luke wrong.

"Ouh, a four-year old girl in pyjamas, scary!" Luke said in a sarcastic voice. Suzannah came closer to the bed.

"I want my Mummy!" She sounded as if she was about to cry.

"That settles it, the kid must have lost it." Luke said and the sarcasm was obvious in his voice. How anyone could wake up in the middle of the night and long for Emily Gilmore was beyond him.

Lorelai reached out and pulled her sister into bed with her.

"What's wrong, cupcake?" She asked as she gave Suzannah a peck on the cheek. "You've spent the night here like…a million times!"

"They're so far away this time…" Suzannah said in a thin voice.

"The further the better, I'd say…" Luke was at it again. Lorelai sendt him an angry look.

"And this time…" Suzannah continued "This time Mummy forgot to pack Lumpy!"

Lorelai sighed. Lumpy was Suzannah's favourite toy, a blue teddy bear she'd had since she was a baby. The old thing was dirty, full of holes where the stuffing came out, and it smelled of old vomit, but Suzannah wouldn't let anyone wash it. "Forgot to pack it", huh? Lorelai though to herself. Mum's probably thrown the thing away to let me deal with it being gone. Lorelai's thoughts were interrupted by Suzannah's talking.

"Lorelai, please sing me my song…" the little girl begged.

"She has a song?" Luke was surprised.

"Suzy, I thought that was our little secret." Lorelai didn't feel like singing, especcialy not in front of Luke.

"I repeat, she has a song?" Luke was becoming interested.

"It's just this old pop-song I remembered that has her name in it. I sang it to her once, and she loved it, allthough it's sad enough to make a stone cry." Boy, right now Lorelai regretted ever having introduced that song …

"Sing it now!" Suzannah demanded as she lay down and closed her eyes.

"OK, OK…" Lorelai realized there was no other option. "When Suzannah cries, she cries a rainstorm, she cries a river, she cries a hole in the ground. She cries for love, she cries a sad song, she cries a shiver, sometimes she cries for me too..."

The next morning Lorelai slept in while Luke brought Suzannah downstairs to make breakfast.

When Lorelai finally got up and was about to enter the kitchen, the phone started ringing. She was surprised to hear Rory's voice on the other end, she didn't usually call two days in a row.

Lorelai' suspicion that there was something going on was strengthened.

"How's it going, honey?" she asked.

Rory tried to hide the sadness in her voice.

"You know…not much. How's...home?"

"Well, let me paint you a picture: It's Saturday morning, Luke and Suzy are making breakfast, I think I can smell scrambled eggs and bacon..."

"That sounds nice." Roy was still struggling to make her voice sound normal.

"We have lit some candles on the kitchen table, Suzy's running around in her pyjamas begging for cocoa, and I think Luke is about to give in..."

Rory's eyes filled up with tears. Her mother was torturing her without knowing it. Lorelai continued.

"So, that's the situation over here. What are you and Danny up to?"

That's it! Rory thought as she started crying. I can't do this anymore! She took a deep breath before she was finally able to get the words out.

"Mum, I want to come home!"

This is not the best of cliffhangers, I know... But at least you don't know what Rory's so upset about.

Please, please, please leave me a review, I'd really appriciate it. The next chapter will be posted soon.