Rory slowly walked up the steps to the Chilton entrance. She was feeling horrible about what had happened the night before and knowing that Sheena must have felt just as bad if not worse about it, made Rory sick to her stomach. Why had she done such a stupid thing? She never should have invited Sheila or anyone over for dinner.

Rory spotted Sheena standing at the top of the steps talking to another girl. She took a deep breath and decided to go up to them. Not wanting to interrupt, Rory waited until Sheena finished her conversation.

"Hey." Rory greeted, with her attempt to break the ice.

"Hey." Sheena repeated dully. She turned and started to walk inside the building.

"I'm really sorry about last night." Rory continued as she walked beside her friend.

"It's cool." Sheena answered, not stopping from her brisk walk.

"I mean you must feel terrible. I can't even begin to imagine how Tom and Sheila feel." Rory honestly sympathized for the family.

Sheena abruptly stopped. "Look, it's okay. Don't worry about it." And with that, Sheena left Rory standing alone in the doorway.

(Luke's Diner)

"I'm going over there."

"You're not going over there." Luke repeated smoothly.

"I'm a grown woman." Lorelai replied boldly. "I can go anywhere I want to go."

"Lorelai, if I have to, I will strap you to that bar stool and lock you in the diner to you come to your senses."

"One good hit… I'm sure I could knock her out." Lorelai pressed. "She'll never even know what happened."

Luke sighed. "Fine, if you want to go over there so badly, then go. Go knock on her door, wait for her to open it, hit her right in between the eyes, let them call the police, they'll come arrest you, take you to jail, and you'll stay there tonight, because I for one, will not come bail you out."

Lorelai frowned. "Okay, geeze… I won't go over there." She took a sip of coffee.

"What are you going to do about Rory, now?" Luke asked as he wiped off the counter.

"I'm not sure." Lorelai replied. "She seemed fine this morning when I dropped her off at school. We talked last night for a while. She feels pretty stupid about what happened."

"Did you tell her it wasn't her fault?" Luke asked as he raised his eyebrow.

"Of course." Lorelai casually answered.

"Good Lord." Luke sighed.

"What?"

"You shouldn't have said that."

Lorelai shook her head. "Why?"

"Because, it is her fault. She said a lot of mean things, especially to you. She did a lot of stupid things. She just let some egotistical, holy roller gain power over her." Luke inhaled deeply. "You can't just let her think she did nothing wrong."

"Luke, she's been brainwashed." Lorelai defended. "I'm not going to punish her for that."

"Then why did you almost slap her in the jeep? Why did you leave her at your parents' house?" Luke folded his arms.

"Because I was angry." Lorelai confessed. "I admit it. I was angry. I was upset that for once in her life, Rory didn't need me. She didn't want me. She had found someone else that she adored. She started acting different. She blocked me out." Lorelai's voice became louder. "But I chose NOT to slap her, and I went back to my parents' house and brought her home. Rory feels bad enough over what's happened. I am not going to make her feel any worse."

"I'm not saying…"

Lorelai quickly jumped from the stool. "And you have no right to tell me how to raise my child."

"Lorelai…. I …."

"No." Lorelai halted. "I don't want to talk to you anymore." She tossed a dollar bill onto the counter and left the diner.

(Chilton)

The final bell rang and Rory took a deep breath as she closed her locker and once again attempted to approach Sheena.

"Hey… Sheena…" Rory called. "Wait up."

"I'm late." Sheena quickly said. "I don't have time to talk."

"Late for what?" Rory asked as she finally caught up with the girl.

"I have a job now." Sheena said as she tossed her book bag across her shoulder.

"Oh… where'd you get a job?"

"The bank. I have to go." Sheena brushed passed Rory.

"Later." Rory whispered, knowing that no one heard her.

Rory slowly walked outside. Lorelai was waiting with a cup of coffee in her hand. Rory gladly took the cup.

"This isn't Luke's coffee." Rory noted after taking the first sip.

"No…" Lorelai replied. "It's Al's."

"Why are we drinking Al's coffee?"

"It was faster… I was running late." Lorelai covered.

Rory stepped into the jeep. "I can start riding the bus tomorrow… You won't have to make any more trips with me."

"You know I don't mind." Lorelai smiled. "Besides, I don't want to push you into anything until you're ready. You have a lot on your plate right now. A few more days of Chilton trips won't kill me." Lorelai pulled out of the parking lot. "So, what's on the agenda for tonight?"

Rory looked down at her lap. " We Were supposed to have bible study tonight."

"Well, we can still do that." Lorelai offered. "I don't really know a whole lot about the bible, but that's where the study part comes in, right?"

Rory didn't answer.

"We could invite Sookie and Jackson over." Lorelai suggested. "Jackson knows a lot about the bible. I bet you didn't know that his dad is a minister."

"Really?" Rory asked, becoming intrigued. "Jackson's dad is a minister?"

"Yes." Lorelai assertively replied. "He lives in Tennessee."

"Wow. I had no idea that Jackson was a son of a preacher man."

"Well, that's because Dusty Springfield didn't get the word out fast enough." Lorelai quickly remarked.

Rory giggled. "Okay… sounds like a plan."

"Yeah?" Lorelai asked, a bit shocked that Rory was up for the idea.

"Yeah." Rory repeated.