A/N: This chapter is much longer! Yay. I don't really like the way the scene with Logan's father came out though. So, I'm sorry about that.

By the way, I think this is the fastest I've ever updated a story, and it probably won't happen again.

Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls or any of the characters.

Rory Gilmore looked around her, at all of the other people in their matching vests, picking up the trash off the side of the road. Then the looked down at her own vest, and her own bag of trash. How had she let her life come to this? This wasn't her. She was not some criminal. She was a good kid, a smart kid—brilliant even. Hell, she was valedictorian at one of Connecticut's most prestigious private schools! She shouldn't be stealing yachts and picking up trash… she shouldn't be dropping out of school.

Oh god, what have I done? The reality of the situation hit her, as she pictured herself doing work like this, like a criminal, for the rest of her life. Moving into her grandparent's house hadn't made it real yet. The fight with her mom was driving her crazy, because she missed her best friend, but she still hadn't realized the gravity of the situation. She had dropped out of college! This was bad, very bad. Maybe not quite on the level of getting pregnant in high school, but pretty damn close. At least her mom had gotten her GED… and she took college courses later.

I should be in school. I know I was lying to Logan the other night, I'm not a new me… I have committed a felony, but I still love learning. Maybe I don't have to be a journalist… or maybe his father was wrong. Maybe… I don't know. But I have to fix this. I have to make things right.

---

Lorelai woke up and immediately noticed the lack of man beside her. She looked around for the clock, and was shocked to find herself in her own room, instead of her daughter's, where she remembered falling asleep with Luke. Her fuzzy clock read 12:00, which explained the lack of man, and the note lying beside her on the pillow explained her current location.

I didn't want to leave you alone, but we didn't really fit on Rory's bed… so I carried you up here once you fell asleep. I hope that's okay.

Love,

Luke

Lorelai smiled at the Luke's thoughtfulness and got up to get dressed for the day, or what was left of it anyway.

---

Rory took a deep breath and looked up at the tall office building in front of her. For a moment, she thought she wouldn't be able to do it. After all, going up there meant reliving the moment all her dreams came crashing down. After a moment of seriously considering leaving, however, her determination returned full blast and she marched in and stepped into the elevator.

She couldn't believe she was back here. Though her internship was very short-lived, she had loved every moment of it so much, until that one fateful meeting, where her boyfriend's father told her she didn't have what it took to be a journalist.

The elevator came to a stop, and she went down the hallway towards Mr. Huntzberger's office. What am I doing? I don't even know if he'll be here today. I'm not even prepared for any type of confrontation. God, I really have to stop with this whole spontaneous thing. It just doesn't work for me. I am not my mother.

At the thought of her mother, she felt sad at first, but then even more determined to make things right. As soon as she picked up the pieces of her life, she could go back home. She would return to her mother on her knees, begging, if she had to. She missed Lorelai so much. And really, she had been right. Dropping out of school was not something Rory should have done.

"—it's such a shame really." A voice interrupted her thoughts. "She was a pretty sweet girl, and smart too," she recognized that voice, it was definitely Mr. Huntzberger. "…but she just wasn't good enough for Logan!"

Rory came to a dead stop. Is he talking about me? She snuck up closer to hear better what he was saying, careful not to alert him to her presence.

"Yes, I know dear… I completely agree… Yes, the Gilmores have been our friends for quite sometime, but I agree with you. If she had been raised in a household like Richard and Emily's than she would be completely acceptable, perfect, even, but the fact is she wasn't. She was raised by that reckless mother of hers… Yes, can you imagine? Pregnant at sixteen! Really, what kind of mother could she have been? She was completely unacceptable for Logan."

I can't believe this! Rory was appalled. All this time, I thought he had been on my side, and yet here he is trashing my mother and me.

"Yes, dear, that's why I know you'll love what I've done. I know you were upset when I offered her that internship, but you didn't look at the whole picture… You heard she dropped out of Yale? Yes, well… Darling, don't you want to know why?... I let her get comfortable as an intern here, waited until she really fit in, and then I told her she didn't have what it took to be a journalist… Such a shame really, she was such a bright young woman, and a good writer too."

Rory's shock quickly turned to anger at hearing this part of the conversation. She quickly tore out of building and ran to her car. She drove on and on, not even thinking about where she was going, she let her instincts lead her. She knew where she needed to be right now, who she needed to be with.

---

"Luu-uuke!" Lorelai sang as she pranced into the diner. She sat down at the counter and batted her eyelashes at her flannel-clad fiancé, testing to see if she could get coffee without even saying a word.

"Somebody's chipper this morning." Luke stated as he poured coffee into a mug and set it down on the counter in front of her.

"Yes, well, I just have a feeling that today is going to be a good day." She picked up the coffee, and brought it to her lips, before immediately slamming it down on the counter. "Luke, this is decaf!"

"Well, you didn't ask for anything specific."

Lorelai just glared at him until he sighed and brought her another cup, this one with caffeine. He held just out of her reach and looked at her with reprimanding.

"I'd tell you that this will kill you, but something tells me you wouldn't listen."

"What? I can't hear you. Maybe I could hear better if I had some coffee!"

"You're hopeless." He sighed as he surrendered the drink to her.

"Thank you." She gulped the coffee down, and held the mug out, in a gesture to ask for more.

Luke looked at her in amazement, and then shook his head. "No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Please?"

"N-" Luke stopped mid-argument as he saw someone running down the street towards his diner. "'No…" He said again, this time from disbelief.

Lorelai was thrown off by his behavior, and looked at him, confused. "Luke, what is it?"

Luke continued to stare out the window, and Lorelai began to turn too, when the bell rang, signaling somebody's entrance. Lorelai's breath caught in her throat when she saw her daughter standing in the doorway, face flushed and completely out of breath.

"Mom!" Rory shouted before running over to join her mother at the counter. She threw her arms around her, and as soon as she did, the tears began to fall.

"I'm sorry!" She sobbed. "I'm so sorry. It was all a mistake. He just didn't want me to be with him, and he didn't really mean it. I shouldn't have done it. And I missed you so much! I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Lorelai looked up at look in shock. Instinctively, she began to rub her daughter's back, and whisper comforting things in her ear. Luke nodded his head towards his apartment, signaling that Lorelai and Rory should go up there to talk. Lorelai agreed, not wanting to make a scene in front of the whole diner. Slowly, she stood up, supporting her weeping child, and together the two of them made their way of the stairs.

Lorelai led Rory over to the bed, and gently lay her down on it. She sat next to her, rubbing her back, and waiting for her to calm down enough to explain what was going on. After a while, Rory's sobs began to subside, and she slowly sat up to face her mother.

"I'm sorry I caused a scene in the diner. I went home first, but you weren't there, so then I went to the Inn, but you weren't there either, so I figured you'd be here."

"It's okay Rory, but why are you here, what's going on?"

Rory took a deep breath. Being as smart as she was, it wasn't that often that she had to admit she was wrong. And she'd certainly never been this wrong before in her life.

"I want to go back to school."

Lorelai didn't move for a second, but they she smiled and she pulled her daughter into a hug, and held her tightly for a long time. When she finally let go, she became a little confused.

"Honey, that's great… but why were you crying then?"

"I've just made such a mess out of everything, and I don't know how to fix it alone. I need you mom. I miss you."

"I miss you to Rory, and I'll help you anyway I can. But what's going on? Why the sudden change?"

Rory explained the situation to her mom, and after some angry ranting, a few more tears, and a whole lot of hugs, they started planning and thinking of ways to fix the situation.

The Gilmore Girls were back.