Disclaimer: I haven't said it in awhile, but just so you know, I still don't own Gilmore Girls.

Three weeks after the wedding I walked down into the diner to get some breakfast and saw a very tan Lorelai sitting at the counter drinking coffee and talking to Luke.

"Lorelai! You're back!" I ran over to her and gave her a big hug.

Luke looked at me, "Gee, Grace it's good to see you too."

I turned towards Luke; "I was getting there. Hey Luke, good to see you! There is that better?" Without waiting for an answer I turned back to Lorelai, "So how was it, where did you go?" The last time I had seen Lorelai, Luke still hadn't told her where they were going for their honeymoon.

"It was amazing! We went to Cancun spent some time on the beach, shopping, and lots of time doing you know what."

"Ah jeez," Luke said and walked away.

"I'm with him, that was a little bit too much information."

"Like you didn't know what we would be doing."

"Ok, new topic."

After I said that Lorelai looked at my stomach, "Wow, you've gotten big while I was gone."

"Well gee, thanks. That'll really help a girl's self esteem."

Lorelai gave me a look; "You know what I meant."

I sat down on the stool next to her, "That's what happens when you leave me here for months."

"It wasn't months, it was weeks we left October 21st and got back November 10th which was late last night."

As soon as she said that a thought struck me, "Huh, so if it was November 10th last night, that means that it's November 11th today?"

Lorelai gave me a look that clearly said she thought I was crazy. "That is normally how it works."

"So that means tomorrow is the 12th. Huh, I can't believe I forgot."

"Forgot what?"

I gave a little laugh, "It's my birthday tomorrow."

Lorelai got very excited, "Really! We should have the hugest party!"

I looked at Lorelai; she looked like a kid in a candy shop. No, I take that back, she looked like a kid who was just told they could live in a candy shop. "A party? I guess, I mean I've never really had one before."

Lorelai nearly fell off her seat in shock; "You've never had a party?" I shook my head no, and Lorelai stood up from her chair, "Well my friend, you are getting a party, the most awesome party ever. Tell Luke I had to go, I've got to call Rory we've got some major planning to do."

She walked out of the diner as Luke came back over, "Where'd she go?"

I shook my head, "I'm not sure."

I heard the phone ringing and I turned over to look at the clock, 5:00am, who in the world was calling me at 5:00am? I answered the phone, still sounding very much asleep, "Hello?"

"Good morning birthday girl!"

"Lorelai? Do you realize what time it is?"

"Of course I do! It's 5 and time to start your birthday day! See normally we would do a birthday week, but since we didn't have a week we have to compact it into one day. So here's how it's going to work, every hour on the hour for 19 hours you will receive a gift. The first can be found right outside your door. Oh and I would be dressed decently for the 6:00am gift."

She hung up the phone and I got out of bed, why did I think it was a good idea to tell her when my birthday was? I opened the door to find a large wrapped package; I opened it to find a picture frame with lots of pictures from Luke and Lorelai's wedding. I loved it, I had mentioned several times that I wanted more pictures of everyone. But I knew that in less than an hour I would be woken up again, so I headed back to bed.

6:00am

I head a loud knocking at the door; I grabbed a robe and went to answer it.

I opened the door to find Luke standing there, "Hey, sorry. I didn't want to wake you but Lorelai said I had to and you know how she can be." I nodded to try and stop Luke's rambling. "Well anyway, I just was supposed to come deliver your gift so here you go."

He handed me two large grocery bags, "Heavy." I said.

"Oh sorry," He took them and set them on the counter.

I went over and looked in the bags, "What is it?"

"It's the kind of juice you always order in the diner, you mentioned the other day how you wanted to buy some, but you couldn't find any so I got these for you."

I couldn't believe he had actually remembered, I had only casually mentioned it once, "Thanks Luke, it's a great gift."

He gave me a somewhat awkward hug before going back downstairs, and I once again went back to sleep.

7:00am

My sleep didn't last long, as there was more knocking on the door. I answered the door again; "Your mother is cruel."

Rory smiled at me; "Actually this was my idea."

I looked at her, "Well then if it wasn't for the fact that you have a present for me, I would so not let you in."

Rory came in and gave me a medium sized gift bag; I opened it and saw the Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory DVD. "When we tried to watch it last time you said you had never seen it, and since you didn't get to finish it I thought you might like the chance to. Do you like it?"

I smiled, "I love it. You know, besides the whole getting woken up at all hours in the morning thing, this day has been pretty great already."

"And it only gets better, I'd be ready to go for your 8:00am surprise."

After Rory left I decided there was no point in going back to sleep and I got in the shower then started getting ready.

8:00am

I was still in the bathroom getting ready at a little after 8 and I still hadn't heard anything. I walked out of the bathroom to see if I had missed a phone call or something when I saw my 8:00am surprise. Jake was sitting at the table with a full breakfast out in front of him. "It's about time, the food was starting to get cold."

I looked around the room, no takeout bags, "Did you cook this yourself?"

He stood up to help me get seated, "That I did."

"Wow, my man has so many hidden talents! You are going to be cooking for me all the time!" It was an amazing breakfast, the food was fabulous and of course the company was great. At about 8:45 Jake told me to get my stuff because it was time to go.

"Go where?" I questioned him.

He gave me a look that told me I should know the answer, "Oh yeah! Work! Yikes, we need to hurry!"

9:00am

I walked into the Dragonfly and saw Lorelai waiting for me. She gave me a big hug, "Happy Birthday!" She lead me over to the desk, "Now you should know that I left Michel in charge of the 9am surprise, and his gift to you is that he's not coming in until 10!"

"Wow! A whole hour without Michel? That tops everything I've gotten so far!"

10:00am

At exactly 10 Sookie came hurrying out of the kitchen, "You got 10 Sookie?"

Sookie laughed and handed me a large brown envelope, "Not exactly, Davey was actually the one who had 10."

I was curious so I quickly opened the envelope and pulled out several drawings. Although I couldn't tell what a lot of the pictures were Sookie pointed out that they were all of me and him, "You and Jake are the only thing he's talked about since the wedding, he and Martha both really loved you guys."

I smiled and gave her a big hug, "Thanks Sookie! And tell Davey thanks for me." Sookie said she would and then quickly yelled something about needing to check on the bread as she ran into the kitchen. I laughed and headed back to work, wondering what 11 had in store for me.

11:00am

At 11 Lorelai walked in, handed me a note then quickly left the room. I opened up the note and read it.

Dear Grace,

I know that you always wanted a chance to ride me, but when you find out you were pregnant you decided you couldn't until the baby was born. (I realize this may be partially my fault scaring you that one time at the desk). But I wanted to let you know that once you have your baby me and Desdemona are yours for the day for you and one guest of your choosing (you know like Jake or that pretty Inn owner).

Love your friend, Cletus

I laughed; Lorelai would give me a note from a horse. The hour seemed to drag by, finally at about 11:50the phone rang.

Michel looked at me; "It's your turn to answer that."

I didn't feel like arguing with him so I answered the phone, "Dragonfly inn, this is Grace."

"Hello, I need to speak to an Eleanor Bennett."

I cringed at the voice, "It's me mom, you know that."

"If you would use your given name I wouldn't have to wonder."

This was the last thing I wanted to happen today, "What do you need mom."

"I wanted to know why you feel the need to humiliate me."

"You mean just in general or-"

She did not appreciate my sarcasm, "Do not get smart with me young lady, you know what I'm talking about. Letting Emily Gilmore know that you work in an inn and aren't living at home. It was awful they knew I had been lying to them about where you were."

"Maybe you shouldn't have lied to them, I mean is it really so horrible that I'm not living at home, that I have a job and am making a life for myself? It's what Ty did after all."

"Do not bring Tyler into this! You are both very different people, and that was a very different situation."

I rolled my eyes, even though she couldn't see me, "No mom, we are very similar people and that was one very similar situation."

I could hear the disgust in her voice; "I do not want to hear anymore of your excuses. I need you to come to a dinner on Friday so you can straighten everything out."

I couldn't believe what she was saying, me straighten things out? "No."

"Excuse me. You will be there."

"No mom I won't. I have nothing to straighten out; I wasn't the one who lied. I wasn't the one who couldn't accept that her daughter is doing very on her own. I'm not the one who hasn't even called her daughter to see how she was doing. I wasn't the one to do all those things, those were all your decisions so if you want something done about them you fix them." I slammed down the phone.

12:00pm

I looked up and saw my 12:00pm surprise coming through the door, "Ty, perfect timing."

Ty came over, gave me a hug and told me Happy Birthday as Lorelai was coming into the room, "What's happening out here?"

I frowned I realized how loud I had been, "Sorry Lorelai, it was my mother calling and not to wish me a Happy Birthday."

Lorelai looked at Michel who was standing at the side of the desk farthest away from me, "What's up with you?"

Michel seemed almost frightened; "I've never seen her yell like that before."

Ty wrapped his arm around me, "You ok Gracie?"

"I'm fine, I feel good actually. And I don't think she'll be calling again anytime soon."

For my surprise that hour Ty treated me to lunch, we stayed at the Dragonfly because he didn't have long; he had meetings all day in Hartford. Way too soon he had to leave and I went back over to the desk.

1:00pm

As soon as I got there I saw a wrapped present lying on the desk. There was a note on the top.

Gracie,

I know you didn't want any big gifts, but I'm tired of your cell phone battery dying every time we try to talk. Happy birthday and I love you!

Ty

Inside was a new phone! And it was the one that I had told him I liked. Ok, so maybe I wasn't that surprised since there had been some less than subtle hinting, but it was still great!

2:00pm

I was anxiously awaiting my 2pm surprise, but it was already a little after 2 and nothing had happened. Michel was driving me bonkers so I decided to go into the kitchen to try and find Lorelai or Sookie. As soon as I walked through the door turned and the two of them stood together, trying to block whatever they were doing.

"What's going on?" I asked as I tried to peek around them.

"Hey, no peeking!" Lorelai said, "And what are you doing in the kitchen anyway?"

"Um, I come in here all the time. You know, when Michel starts making me crazy."

Just then Michel walked through the door, "Excuse me, but when did I become a delivery boy?" He handed me a vase full of flowers; "These just arrived for you."

I took them from Michel and thanked him, "What no tip? All of the other delivery boys get a tip." He pouted.

I rolled my eyes, "You want a tip Michel? Don't run with scissors. There you go!" He huffed and walked out of the room, I laughed it was just too easy.

I looked at the flowers; they were gorgeous Gerbera Daisies in a variety of colors. I pulled out the card, it simply said, "Happy Birthday! Jake."

I smiled; this was the best birthday ever!

3:00pm

After I got my flowers Sookie and Lorelai had shooed me out of the kitchen.

At exactly 3, Lorelai and Sookie came out of the kitchen, "Happy Birthday!" Sookie said and handed me a huge plate of cookies. I looked at my cookies, they were my favorites! Chocolate, chocolate chip with peanut butter chunks.

I took the cookies and was about to take a bite of one, "Thanks Sookie!" I stopped and thought back to kitchen, "Lorelai didn't help make these did she?"

Lorelai feigned hurt, "Hey!"

Sookie laughed, "No she wanted to, but I didn't let her. I just let her add some peanut butter chunks, I figured it'd be hard to mess that up."

I laughed and took a bite, they were amazing, not that I expected anything else from Sookie.

4:00pm

I looked up as I heard someone come in the door; it was Lane, "Hey Lane!"

"Hey Grace, Happy birthday!" She said and handed me a gift.

"So you're a part of this whole scheme too?" I asked as I opened it.

"Yep, you know how hard it is to say no to Lorelai, plus you need to be educated."

"Educated?" I asked, she nodded towards the gift, I unwrapped it to find several CDs bundled together.

"You have been deprived, so this is a great starter pack to learn about great rock."

I laughed, it was so very Lane. I noticed an unlabeled CD, "What's this?"

"That is Hep Alien's very first professional demo!"

"Wow, really! That's so cool! Thanks Lane!"

"Make sure to let me know what you think of it."

I told her I would and she left. I looked at the clock, 4:10, only 50 more minutes until my next surprise.

5:00pm

At a little before 5 I had run to the bathroom so I wouldn't miss whatever was coming next. Apparently I had taken too long though and when I returned to the front desk there was a bag sitting on it with my name on it.

I opened it and saw an outfit that I had seen the other day at the mall. This must've been from Rory; she was the one with me when I saw it. As I unfolded the clothes to get a better look at them, a note card fell from them.

Happy Birthday Grace (again)!

You'll want to wear that tonight, I'll be back at 5:45 to pick you up and take you home so you can get ready.

Love, Rory

A little after 5:45 I heard Rory come in, "Hey Grace. Ready to go?" She asked.

"Yep," I replied and gathered up the various gifts I had gotten while I was at work.

We loaded everything into the car before Rory threw me something, "Put that on."

I looked down in my hands to see a black blindfold, "Are you kidnapping me?"

"No, just put it on, you'll understand later."

I knew I wasn't going to get any answers so I put on the blindfold and Rory helped me into the car. When we got to the diner Rory helped me out of the car and got me up to my apartment door. She took off my blindfold, "I'll see you later, and don't go anywhere!" She said before going back downstairs.

6:00pm

I opened my door at almost exactly 6, to find that everything had been decorated. There were handmade signs everywhere from everyone! There were also streamers and balloons everywhere! I even opened up the bathroom door to find that someone had made a balloon person who was sitting on the toilet, I'm assuming that one was done by Lorelai.

I went back out and noticed the room was dark besides those lamps that were on, I went over to the windows to find that they had all been covered by black paper. There were signs on the paper saying, "Do not look out the window!" But I was curious and I took the paper off anyway, only to find another sign that said, "Hey! I mean it!" I laughed and decided to leave it alone. Plus I needed to get ready for whatever big thing was coming next.

7:00pm

I heard someone knocking on the door, "Come in!" I yelled.

"Hello?" I heard Lorelai yell.

I came out of the bathroom, wearing my new outfit and brushing my hair, "Hi!"

She looked at me, "Were you just in the bathroom?"

"Yes." I answered, wondering what her point was.

"Was Wally done?" She asked seriously.

"Who's Wally?"

"Balloon man, duh." She said, as if I should have known.

"Oh of course, what was I thinking?"

"You ready to go?" She asked and pulled something out of her back pocket.

"Oh no, is that the blindfold again?"

"Yep, now come here." Once again I was blindfolded and led down the stairs. She led me out of the diner and across the street before she stopped and took off the blindfold. Right as she did I heard everyone yell, "Surprise!"

The whole Town Square was decorated, much like my apartment was, only down here it looked more like a carnival. There was food, games and even some inflatables.

Lorelai turned to me; "This is your birthday party to make up for all the missed parties." She started leading me around and pointing things out, "We have classic birthday party games like pin the tail on the donkey, egg and spoon race, ring toss, we have a few non-freaky clowns, a piñata, and an inflatable bounce house. I realize that you can't use it, but I thought it added a very festive feel to the party."

I looked around and noticed a large pile of gifts, "Whoa!"

Lorelai followed my gaze to the presents, "Those are all for you."

"From who?" I asked.

She motioned around the square, "Everyone, just about the whole town showed up, they really love you Grace."

We spent the next hour hanging out, playing games. I was crowned the great pin the tail on the donkey loser, as I accidentally pinned the tail on Kirk instead. I got to hit the piñata, and they didn't even make me put on the blindfold, probably because of the pin the tail donkey thing. I was having a great time.

8:00pm

Before I knew it, Luke was walking up to me with a gift.

"What's this?" I asked.

"Well it's 8, so it's time for your next surprise."

"I thought the rest of my surprise was my party?" I asked.

"Nope, you've got 3 more hours left still."

I opened my gift and stopped in shock when I saw what it was. "Luke, this is too much." I said softly.

He had given me a very expensive digital camera that doubled as a video camera, "Well you're gonna need it, I mean you'll have a kid and all. You're gonna want to take pictures and videos."

I gave him a big hug, "Thanks Luke! This is really awesome!"

I saw Lorelai coming over, "Ok, we are now heading into teenage party, complete with dancing, karaoke and make your own music video. Let's go!"

9:00pm

It was a little after 9 when Lorelai pulled me away from the party. She handed me a couple pictures and looked through them.

They were pictures of dollhouses, I looked up at her and she started to explain. "When I was little my parents gave me this really awesome dollhouse, except it was 'Just for looking at' and I always wanted one to play with. Now I'm guessing since our families are similar you either had one just like it, or knowing your parents, you didn't have one at all. So I found this really cool one and I thought, now you could finally have a dollhouse to play with, and if you have a girl you could pass it down to her too. It's already in your apartment, all set up for you. "

I was in awe, I loved it. "You're right, I didn't actually have a dollhouse like that but Alyssa did. I spent my whole childhood wishing and hoping for one of my own, but this is even better." I gave her a big hug, "Thanks Lorelai, you've made this the greatest birthday ever!"

10:00pm

I was startled when Kirk tapped me on the shoulder, I thought for a moment he was coming to get his revenge, but instead he handed me an envelope and walked away. I opened it to find a gift certificate for, '1 free night of babysitting from Kirk,' and another for, '1 free Scuba Diving lesson from Kirk.'"

I was laughing as Lorelai walked over, "Kirk was my 10 o'clock surprise?"

"Well he overheard us talking and we were getting desperate, you're just too old. If you were turning 18 this never would've happened."

I showed her the gift certificates; "It's a very cute idea, but scuba diving lessons?"

She laughed with me, "Who knows, it's Kirk."

11:00pm

I was beginning to get very, very tired. Which made sense since I had been woken up at 5 this morning and I normally was asleep by 10.

I started shivering right as Jake walked over to me and handed me a hat and some gloves, "Hey crazy, do you realize it's 11 o'clock at night in the middle of November and you don't even have a jacket on?"

I shrugged my shoulders; "I have a sweater on." I put on the hat and gloves, "Is this my 11 surprise?"

He laughed, "No I got those from your apartment earlier, but it is time for your surprise."

He led me over to a bench and we sat down, most everyone had gone home but a few people were still lingering around the party. He handed me a small jewelry box and I opened it. Inside was a silver chain bracelet with a toggle clasp and a silver heart tag. Engraved on the tag were the words, "I love you."

I stopped and stared at it, he had never said that to me before. He lifted my head so I was looking at him; "I mean it you know. I love you."

Tears came to my eyes and I couldn't seem to find the words, but they finally came, "I love you too!" We shared a long kiss until the remaining people at the party started to cheer.

We broke it off and started laughing; "This really was the best birthday ever!"

A/N: This was my favorite chapter so far! I hope you enjoyed it! Oh and last time I again missed it, but the story is now over 20,000 words! Also I want to give a big thank you to sarahb2007 who has been BETAing my story for me and gave me the dollhouse and gift certificate gift ideas! Thanks Sarah! If you enjoyed this chapter, please review and let me know!