Thanks to: i dance with myself, Afw, JessluvrLL4ever8987, pottergurl427, ggpassion, TweetyBirdGirl, xhollywoodxheartsx for the amazing reviews! You guys are awesome!

Of course, I always love more reviews…they're pretty nice! And they make me happy. :D

So, this chapter is pretty long compared to the others, and it was my favorite one to write. It's another flashback chapter. Just to warn everyone, my schedule's about to get pretty crazy (I just finished my internship last week and college stuff starts next week…but, in the one free week I have I'm STILL busy…basically, I have too much crap and I have to pack, somehow), so I may not be able to update for a while. But, please still read and review. I'm going to the Dave Matthew concert tomorrow, so I haven't been able to concentrate on much else I'm so excited!

Enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 6

The room went silent as Trix turned to face Carrie. She was watching the screen in awe, as pictures continued to show on the screen; pictures of Lorelai with Rory when she was a baby, of her working in the Independence Inn in a fruity maid's outfit, of her chatting with Sookie with wine glasses in their hands. Trix smiled slightly at Carrie's apparent entrapment of Lorelai's life.

"Over the next eleven years, Lorelai went through many changes in her life. Not only did she give birth to a baby, but she moved out of her house and to the small town of Stars Hallow, Conneticut," Carrie's eyes were still focused on the screen, but she nodded along with what Trix was telling her. "She landed a job as a maid at the Independence Inn and, impressed by her skills, determination, and hard work, Mia, the owner, moved Lorelai up in the ranks until she was running the place. Lorelai was constantly busy with her job, but she always made time for her daughter. Rory was intelligent, witty, and Lorelai's pride and joy, her best friend. She refused to date because she never wanted Rory to get too attached to any man. Together, they formed a team. They lived in the shed behind the Inn for ten years until they were able to afford a house of their own..."

With that, Trix turned her head back to the screen as it sprung to life again.

Lorelai, age 27

"This is it, baby girl. We finally have our own house. Our own space to trash whenever we feel like it. Our own address, our own phone number, our own rooms…we can finally convince Al's to deliver here, since the shed is an "inadequate delivery option," we can have our own movie nights here while consuming more junk food then any normal human being should. We can blare whatever CD we feel like however loud we feel like—"

"Mom. Could you please open the door already."

"Oh, alright, alright…so impatient."

Lorelai pulled the key for the small blue house out of her jeans pocket and approached the front door, savoring every moment. She and Rory had just arrived at their new home and, after a sufficient amount of "oohing" and "ahhing," had stepped foot on the porch, where Lorelai had decided to give her little speech.

Lorelai beamed from head to toe as she inserted the key in the front door. This was it. This was the moment she had been waiting for. After saving up for years and years, she had finally saved up enough money to move her and Rory out of the shed and into a house, a real house. A place they could call their own. Their own home. Words couldn't even begin to describe the joy she felt at this very moment.

She was brought out of her Happy Days daze when Rory spoke. "Mom. Open the door, come on!"

Lorelai turned around and smiled at her eleven-year-old daughter, who only glared back. But, Lorelai could see she was smiling on the inside, just as radiant as she was.

"Alright, here we go!" With that, Lorelai turned the key all the way and pushed open the door to their house.

Lorelai and Rory slowly stepped over the threshold into their new house. It was—bright, to say the least. The walls were painted white in the foyer and, with the sun beaming through the door and windows, it made the house shine. Lorelai smiled giddily as she started walking excitedly around the house, naming off every room.

"Here's the living room where can do all our living and watch movies and eat obscene amounts of junk food, and here's the kitchen where we can store shoes in the stove and your bedroom is right here, conveniently close to the coffee maker, might I add, while mine is all the way upstairs!" Lorelai sped off toward the staircase, jumping up the stairs two at a time, still babbling a mile a minute. Her voice drifted off as she made it to the second floor landing. Rory walked cautiously into her new bedroom, and almost fainted at the size. She couldn't believe it. Her own room, where she could have her own bookshelves. It was the most beautiful day of her life.

"So, what do you think?" Lorelai asked, appearing at Rory's doorway. Rory didn't reply, only hugged her mother tightly. Lorelai beamed, wrapping her arms around her daughter. They finally had a home.

The two Gilmore girls remained like that for a few more seconds before Lorelai unraveled herself from Rory to look at her daughter's face. "You happy, kid?"

Rory smiled, her blue eyes shining. "Yeah, mom, I am."

Lorelai squealed, saying, "YA-YA!" She threw her hands in the air as she yelled this. She then proceeded to clutch her hands together, a sparkle in her eye, as if she was scheming something. "Now all we have to do is get a puppy and we're all set!"

Rory eyed her mother warily. "You are not getting a puppy."

Lorelai gasped. "Why not?"

"Because you wouldn't have the slightest idea how to take care of it."

Lorelai mocked offense. "I'm sorry, you can't be my daughter, she's usually NICE to me!"

Rory rolled her eyes before passing her mother to go back outside. "Help me with boxes."

Lorelai groaned, leaning against the doorframe of Rory's room. She hated unpacking. Putting the boxes in the house meant you had to unpack them and unpacking meant you had to find a place for all your crap and then you had to find a place for all your boxes...Lorelai sighed at the thought. She was exhausted simply from thinking about it. Plus, she was lazy, and she didn't want to ruin the whole moving in aspect by immediately unpacking. This thought concept wouldn't make sense to anyone else, but she really didn't care. They weren't inside her brain.

"Mom!" Rory yelled, entering the house and lugging two boxes in her tiny arms. She set them in the living room before marching over to her mother and looking up at her, her hands on her hips. "We have to unpack."

Lorelai made a face. "I don't want to."

Rory sighed, crossing her arms. "Mom! We have to! We can't just leave all our crap out there."

"Yes, we can."

"No, we can't. People will think we're having some kind of garage sale and then they'll take our stuff and you'll lose your monkey lamp. Now do you really want that to happen?"

Lorelai stared at her daughter for a few minutes, weighing her options. She could either help her begin the long process of unpacking, or they could go get coffee. Mmm, coffee. Groaning, she slumped her shoulders, "No."

Rory smiled victoriously. "Good. Now get out here and help!"

Lorelai groaned again as she watched her daughter's retreating back. "Oh—what is happening to me!" She said dramatically. Rory whipped around to find her mother making weird movements. "I tried to walk and—my legs, they won't move! And, my arms...oh, they are heavy...so heavy, I can not lift them." She slouched over, her arms dangling, acting as if Professor Lockhart had removed her bones like he had done to Harry.

"Yeah, heavy with laziness." Rory retorted.

Lorelai snapped out of her dramatics. "Oh, you're no fun."

"And you're two years old. Now help!"

Lorelai grudgingly followed her daughter. "But I don't wannnnnna!" She whined.

Rory simply shot her a glare.

Lorelai stopped when she reached the front door. "Hey, I have an idea."

Rory turned around to face her mother, wearily. "No, I am not going to go on live television and claim I am Steven Tyler's other long lost daughter."

Lorelai waved her hand at this comment. "No, not that. I was saving that for next week."

"Gee, can't wait."

"Let's go get coffee!" Lorelai exclaimed enthusiastically.

Rory rolled her eyes. Coffee did sound good at the moment, but they needed to finish unloading the boxes. "But, mom, the boxes."

"They'll be fine."

"But—"

"Unless they have legs and walk away, I doubt they'll be going anywhere."

Sighing, Rory turned and walked back up the porch steps. "Fine, but you better be prepared to unpack when we come back."

"Where are we going if we're not going to Weston's?" Rory asked for the tenth time.

"You'll see!" Lorelai responded, giddily. They were walking through the town square, Lorelai's arm wrapped around Rory's shoulder. They had passed Weston's, their usual pit stop, and were headed straight towards Luke's Diner.

"Fine..." Rory grumbled. She hated being left out of things.

After a few more moments, Lorelai came to a halt and held her hands dramatically towards Luke's Diner. "Voila!"

Rory eyed the diner window warily. "The diner place?"

"Not just any diner place, Luke's Diner place. Or William's Hardware Luke's Diner place. I can't really figure it out, the multiple signs are really confusing."

The look of wariness on Rory's face had yet to go away. "But—I thought you said diners were gross and unsanitary and hang-outs for hookers."

Lorelai sighed dramatically. "You, my dear have been hanging around Emily too much. I came here the other day because Weston's was closed for some weird reason and I really, really REALLY needed some coffee, so I ran in here and bothered this guy in a backwards baseball cap wearing a really bad flannel shirt until he finally gave me some coffee. And guess what?"

"What." Rory replied, dryly.

"It is possibly the BEST coffee I have ever tasted! Hands down, ten times better than Weston's."

"But, Weston's is disgusting."

"Exactly. So his is like heaven." Lorelai sang the word heaven, throwing her hands around insanely.

"You're insane." Rory deadpanned.

"And his coffee pot is pretty." Lorelai cooed. She led her daughter to the front door and they entered, the bell signaling their entrance. Rory stopped dead in tracks and surveyed the diner. After deciding the 50s style tables and long counter were not that

harmless, and actually appeared clean, Rory shrugged her shoulders. "It's okay."

"Okay?" Lorelai asked, drawing out the short word.

"Well, yeah...it actually looks clean. All the hardware stuff is kinda cluttery, but other than that, it's fine."

Lorelai smiled and rubber her daughter's shoulder. "That's my little circus freak. Now let's sit!"

The two plopped down at one of the round tables by the window. Lorelai squished around in the chair, clapping her hands like a little kid. Rory tried to hide a smile as she watched her mother's crazy antics. After the proper amount of squishing, Lorelai looked at Rory, raising her eyebrows. "See? Not bad."

Rory caved. A huge smile covered her face. "Yeah, not bad."

Lorelai grabbed one of the menus from the center of the table and opened it, making "mm-hmm" noises as she read the choices. She made a face when she saw the listing for the Monte Cristo sandwich. Who actually ate the Monte Cristo sandwiches anyway? Personally, she found them disgusting. She had never had one, but they sounded disgusting. Cristo? Crisco? Too much of a similarity.

She looked over her menu to see Rory surveying a menu as well, her blue eyes darting as she read the words. She couldn't believe her daughter was eleven years old. She had grown up in the blink of an eye. Next thing she knew, she'd be attending university classes or joining motorcycle gangs or collecting social security. Social security? THAT was a scary thought. That would mean Rory would be 65 and she would be 81…wow, that was old. But, maybe it was a good thing they were only 16 years apart. That way, she could spend most of her life with her precious baby girl.

"Mom, you're doing that whole staring thing again." Rory's words snapped Lorelai out of her daze. Lorelai looked at Rory to find her staring back at her, her head cocked to the side. When Lorelai smiled, Rory said, "And, before you even start talking, I know what it will be about: that I'm growing up so fast and should join a motorcycle gang and Kurt Russell is really my daddy?"

Lorelai shook her head, contemplating what her daughter had just said, a serious look crossing her face. Then, she quipped, "Actually, I found out the other day your daddy is really David Bowie."

Rory made a face. "Ugh, gross Mom!"

Before Lorelai could continue pestering her with that thought, she bounced in her seat, exclaiming, "Ooh, there's the angry diner guy I annoyed yesterday to get coffee!"

Rory turned to see Lorelai pointing at a brunette man that had just appeared from the kitchen, holding hot plates. He was wearing a flannel shirt with a backwards tan baseball cap. He had a scowl covering his face that seemed as if it was permanently glued there.

"Maybe that's Luke." Rory suggested.

"Maybe he should really do some major shopping." Lorelai replied. "Who wears a backwards baseball cap anyway? The kids from Saved by the Bell?"

"Hey, I like that show!" Rory said, defensively.

Lorelai patted her daughter's hand, "I know, honey, which is why we're getting you medicated next week."

Rory rolled her eyes as Lorelai turned her attention back to Luke, who was heading for their table. Recognizing Lorelai's eager face, he sighed. "Ah, jeez. You're that crazy coffee lady."

Rory snorted as Lorelai said brightly, "Well, not exactly the best stripper name, but I'll take it!"

Luke grunted, pulling out his pad and pen. Staring at the two blankly, he said, "What can I get you?"

Rory was about to tell him her order when Lorelai asked, "Are you Luke?"

Glaring at her, Luke replied, "Yes."

Lorelai, however, didn't seem to hear him. "Or are you William?"

Luke furrowed his eyebrows at this question, "What?"

Lorelai gave him her famous idiot stare. "Well, there's that William's Hardware sign out there with the Luke's Diner sign and that's kinda confusing. Especially for business. You know, what if someone came in wanting a monkey ranch and found out you serve food or they want a cheeseburger and you try to give them a hammer?"

Rory giggled as Luke stared at Lorelai in disbelief. He had never heard someone talk so much and so fast in his entire life. It was annoying and entertaining all at the same time.

Lorelai continued. "You should stick with one sign, man. Otherwise you're going to be getting people wanting to call you Luke and others wanting to call you William. And that would just start the cycle all over again."

"What cycle?" Luke asked, dryly.

"You know," Lorelai said, using her hands for emphasis. "The cycle. The cycle of hardware and food and names and crazy diner people and the other things."

Rory laughed even louder at her mother's jumbled up sentence while a look of annoyance crossed Luke's face. "Will you just order please?"

Lorelai sighed, looking back down at her menu. She stared at it for a few seconds before popping her head up, focusing her blue eyes on his. "Buuuut...what if I wanted a monkey ranch?"

"And what are you going to do with a monkey ranch?" Luke inquired, shaking his head at this woman's insanity.

Lorelai shrugged her shoulders, smiling mischievously. "I don't know. Buy other monkey ranches and make a big monkey ranch family."

Luke shifted his feet at this comment, shaking his head again and again. Deadpanning, he said, "Well, I'm Luke, and this is the diner. So you're monkey ranch family is going to have to wait."

"But, what if you were William?" Lorelai asked, her eyes wide, staring at Luke like a little kid at story hour.

"I just told you I was Luke."

"Yeah, but you could be lying."

"Why would I lie?"

"Because that's what diner people do, they lie. And then they try to act like their Luke and William and now I have no idea what name to call you!" Lorelai finished the last of her statement out of breath, slamming her head into her hands as if exasperated.

"But, I just told you I'm Luke."

Peering up at Luke, Lorelai quipped, "Yeah, but what if you were William."

Luke sighed loudly, giving up on making any headway with this insane women. Turning to Rory, he said, "Any chance she'll stop soon?"

Rory shook her head no through her giggles. "Not a chance."

Luke rolled his eyes. "Ah, jeez."

"But," Rory said. "If you give her coffee, she'll shut up."

Luke's eyes widened at the thought of giving this already hyperactive woman coffee. Nearly shrieking, he said, "She can't have coffee, she'll go bezerk!"

Rory responded, "Actually, no, it's what keeps her sane."

"I find that hard to imagine. Look, can I just get your order?"

"Two cheeseburgers and fries," Rory said quickly, folding her menu and placing it in the middle of the table.

"And coffee!" Lorelai exclaimed, bouncing her head back up.

"Okay, one coffee," Luke said, writing the order down.

"No, two," Rory said. Lorelai stared at Luke as if he had lost his mind.

"Two?" Luke questioned, looking back and forth between the girls, confused. Then, it dawned on him. His eyes almost bulging out of his skull, he pointed at Rory and nearly yelled, "She can't have coffee!"

Lorelai asked, calmly, "And why not?"

Luke gave Lorelai a glare that clearly labeled her crazy. "Because she's like 8 years old!"

"Eleven," Rory stated.

"Still! That's no age to be drinking coffee!" Luke was now throwing his arms around widely.

"Relax, Luke William," Lorelai said, thoroughly enjoying the exasperated look covering Luke's face. "She's been drinking it since she was four."

"FOUR!" Luke bellowed, his pen flying out of his hand. A customer ducked as it came flying towards him. Muttering something under his breath, Luke said, his voice low, "I'll get your orders."

"Thank you!" Lorelai cackled, grinning stupidly. Turning to her daughter, who also had a look of sheer amusement on her face, Lorelai said, "I think I'm gonna like coming here."

Trix eyed Carrie, wondering how much longer she was going to have to wait before Carrie put two and two together. Trix tapped her foot impatiently, her features growing more and more agitated. She was on the verge of telling her herself when Carrie let out a long and drawn out "Ohhhh."

Trix asked, curtly, "Yes, Ms. Buchanan?"

"So, Luke?" Carrie said, airily. "That's, like—"

Trix couldn't take it any longer. Cutting Carrie off, she said, "Yes, that's the Luke. Lorelai's fiance."

Lorelai, age 31

Lorelai sat at her kitchen table, her legs propped up on one of the chairs. She was singing along to the rather loud 80s mix CD blaring in the background, adding in dramatic movements when needed. She was thumbing threw a Cosmo magazine, her eyes taking in the latest fashion and sending questioning glares at some of the outfits they declared "fashionable." She squealed as the CD changed to "Tainted Love." Jumping up, she began dancing around, moving over to the coffee maker and refilling her cup. She danced her way back over to the table and sat her mug down just as the chorus began playing.

Once I ran to you (I ran)

Now I'll run from you

This tainted love you've given

I give you all a boy could give you

Take my tears and that's not nearly all

Oh...tainted love

Tainted love

She sang along loudly and very off key to the lyrics, making interpretive movements for the lyrics. She was belting out a rather high note when the music stopped.

"Hey!" She whined, throwing her arms down. Turning around, she found Rory standing there, her finger on the pause button. Her book bag was still perched on her bag and she had something clutched in her right hand. "What you do that for?"

"Because no one in their right mind can think with Soft Cell blaring in the background." Rory said logically, setting her book bag on the floor but not letting go of the paper she was holding on to.

Lorelai frowned. "But, I like Soft Cell!"

Rory raised an eyebrow at her mother. "You like one song by Soft Cell, which we were just listening to."

"Yes, well," Lorelai said, attempting to defend herself. It was then that she noticed her daughter looked nervous. Anxious, even. "Honey, what's wrong? You look nervous."

Rory sighed, moving closer to the table. "Mom, I have something I want to run by you."

"Okay," Lorelai said, taking a seat at the table. Looking up at Rory expectedly, she took a deep breath and laid the pamphlet she had been holding on the table in front of her mother.

Lorelai picked it up and immediately made a face. "Bleh. Chilton."

Rory's face fell. She hadn't expected this reaction from her mother. She was hoping more for a jumping up and down kind of joy. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Lorelai made another strange noise before flipping through the pamphlet. "Private school. Uniforms. Hard classes! A regular day in hell, my friend."

"What?" Rory said, terror insinuated in her voice. Lorelai noticed the tone and glanced up. Seeing her daughter's horrified face, she spoke.

"Oh, no, honey, I didn't mean it like that. It's just—when I was your age, my parents tried to force me into every private school before finally landing on The University School of Hartford. Chilton was one they considered."

Rory's horrified expression however did not go away after this explanation. "So, you don't think I should go there?"

Lorelai immediately began babbling. "No, it's not like that. Chilton was a good school. Is a good school, a great school. I just was more concerned at the time with following The Bangles around the world. And then—" suddenly, Lorelai stopped, moving her eyes to Rory's. A smile creeping up on her face, she said, "Wait. Are you thinking of applying for Chilton?"

Rory shook her head slowly, anxious for her mother's reaction. "Yes."

Lorelai squealed, jumping up and wrapping Rory in a hug. "Oh, honey, this is great!"

Rory smiled, returning her mother's hug. She was now bouncing up and down immediately. "So, you think it's a good idea?"

Lorelai pulled back to look her daughter in the eye. Sincerely, she said, "Yes. A wonderful idea. Then you can go to school with those snotty socialites and go to Harvard and overseas to the trenches and be on CNN and C-Span and shower me with all your money—"

"Mom, mom, you're rambling."

"Right." Lorelai said, giggling. Poking her daughter's stomach, she exclaimed, "Honey, this is fantastic!"

Rory let a huge grin cover her face. Hugging her mom one more time, she grabbed her book bag and ran into her room. "I'm gonna fill out my application!"

Lorelai beamed as she watched Rory carefully pull the application out of her book bag. She couldn't believe it. This was absolutely amazing. Chilton? You had to work hard to get into a school like that, but Lorelai knew Rory could do it. Hell, Lorelai would do anything to get Rory into that school. Because she deserved it. If any kid deserved to wear plaid everyday, Rory did. She certainly did. And Lorelai liked to think she could credit herself a bit with Rory's intelligence and upbringing. What a truly amazing kid she had.

Trix turned to face Carrie again as the screen went blank and evaporated into thin air, immediately being replaced by the wall. Carrie's mouth was still gaped open, in awe of this beautiful woman she had just been introduced to. And, at the same time, confused at how her life could have spiraled down so drastically.

Trix moved her chair back to her desk, clasping her hands and setting them on the chestnut desk. "Over the remaining years, Lorelai's life began to fall into place. It was like watching pieces of a puzzle come together. Rory graduated from Chilton as valedictorian and went on to Yale. Lorelai suffered through the loss of the Independence Inn, but pulled through shining, opening the Dragonfly Inn about a year and a half later. The Dragonfly Inn truly screamed Lorelai Gilmore; she had put her heart and soul into the Inn, and it showed. Then, of course, Luke entered her life. Her love life. The two began dating and the next minute, were engaged. She had never loved anyone as much as she loved Luke, and that scared her. That is why you are here today."

Carrie shook her head slowly, soaking it all in. Trix prayed to God that she actually was understanding the words coming out of her mouth as she shook her head.

"And, as you can see by these moments in her life, she truly had a wonderful life."

TBC