Title: Understanding Snippy

Author: Bent137

Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with Gilmore Girls or Joan of Arcadia

Summary: When God asks Joan to go to Yale, she meets Rory Gilmore. When being God's vessel becomes too much for Joan on top of going to school at the prestigious Ivy League college she confides in Rory, and gets an unexpected response.

Rating: PG-13

Chapter Four: Pros and Cons

Rory stopped at the edge of the visitors parking lot and turned to the tour group. "That concludes our tour. Hopefully you became more familiar with Yale's campus and it's history, and it helped you in decide if Yale is the right choice for you. Have a wonderful evening. If you have any questions, I'll be sticking around here for about ten minutes."

All of the families but the Girardi's and one other family head into the parking lot. The other family, with a son, walk up to Rory and begin conversing with her as the Girardi's hang back.

Helen turned to Joan and asks, "So, what do you think?"

Joan responded, "I'm impressed, but I don't know yet. I'd like to talk to Rory a little more, and think about it some."

"Sounds reasonable," Will told his daughter.

Joan approached Rory as the other family walked away.

"Um, hi," Joan said to Rory.

"Hi," Rory said back, she furrowed her brow, "Joan, right?"

"Yeah, that's me. Joan."

"Did you have some questions?"

"I guess," Joan said. "I really don't know what to ask I guess I'd just like to know more about real life here. I never even thought of going to Yale, someone else kind of, dared me into applying."

"Well, they obviously thought highly of you."

"Yeah, I never expected to get in but I did, and now that it's a real possibility I think I should know more before I make a decision."

"That's a good idea. I think you would like it here. All my life I wanted to go to Harvard, but my grandparents pushed me into applying to more than just Harvard. I got accepted to both Harvard and Yale, but after visiting both campus' I chose Yale. I still love Harvard, it's a great school, but Yale felt more like home. Maybe it's because my grandfather is an alumni, but it felt right."

"It just felt right?"

"Sure, I didn't realize it at first of course, but it did. I ended up making a pro-con list and realized the only thing Harvard had going for it that Yale didn't was that it was Harvard, and I'd wanted it for as long as I could remember. My mom even has an anecdote about using a Harvard sweatshirt as a diaper once. Yale was for me though, and I love the people here, most of them are really nice, and the professors are pretty easy to get along with. You see horror stories in movies but they're not all that mean. Infact, most aren't. And I had a friend who ended up coming here too."

"Oh."

"Listen," Rory said, "I suggest you sleep on it tonight, try and think about it tomorrow, then sleep on it again, then make a decision. In your heart you will know by then. If you want to talk more between then and now here's my screen name." Rory ripped a piece of paper out of her notebook and wrote on it then handed it to Joan. "AOL," she clarified with a smile.

"Thanks," Joan put the paper in her pocket. "You've really been helpful."

"No problem, have a nice night."

Joan and Rory smiled at each other before Joan joined her parents and they went in different directions.

Rory shut the door behind her and tossed her bag on her bed. "I am so tired," she groaned aloud.

"Long day?" Paris asked.

"You could say that."

"Did you get a chance to read my article?"

"Actually, yes, I did," Rory lay down on her bed next to her bag.

"And?" Paris got off of her bed and walked over, shoving Rory's legs aside and sitting down.

"It was really good Paris."

"Really? Just good? Not great?"

"It wasn't just good it was really good. Actually really really good, and I don't think that such a depressing topic can be great."

"Everything can be great."

Rory looked at her roommate, "Paris, it was on the new date rape drug, it's effects, and recent victims here at Yale."

"Okay," Paris shrugged and tilted her head, "So, not the best topic, but the writing, was it great?"

"Yes, the writing was great. A perfect amount of anger mixed with facts to arm students with so it doesn't happen to them."

"Great, thanks Gilmore."

"No problem Paris."

Paris got up and wandered across the room picking up a book off a bookshelf. "So, how was lunch with Chris? How is Chris?"

"Chris is good, lunch was good, he was a little late though. That's when I read your article."

"Are you guys still going to the movies this weekend?"

"As far as I know why?"

"I was just, wondering, I mean maybe, no never mind."

Rory sat up, "What? You can't just not tell me!"

"Well, there's this guy in my Foreign Policies class, I was going to ask him out."

"And you want to double date?"

"Well yeah, I mean after Jamie and then Asher and now, I think I'm ready, but I don't know, I'm nervous." Paris wrung her hands together and sat at the end of her bed.

"Anyone would be nervous when their last serious relationship ended with a heart attack," Rory stood up, walked over and sat next to Paris. "It's perfectly normal Paris, and I'm really proud of you for taking your time to work through it and if you think you're ready but you're scared then Chris and I would love to double with you." Rory stopped and looked at Paris, "Wait, you're not asking out the professor are you?"

"God no, I could never do that to myself again. He's actually a teachers aid, he's 23."

"Well that's nice, what's his name?"

"His name is Todd. Such a jock name I know, but he's not really, I mean yes he does play sports but it's not all he thinks about, he's quite smart." Paris smiled and Rory smiled with her.

"That's good, it's good to have a variety of interests."

"Yes, I suppose it is."

"I'll ask Chris about the movies this weekend and let you know okay?"

"Sure, that'd be great."

After dinner, the night after her trip to Yale, Joan went to her room, shut the door behind her, and sat at her desk. She sighed, thinking about all Rory had said to her. She pulled out a piece of paper and a pen and drew a line down the middle of the paper. On one side, in large letters she wrote "Pro's" on the other side she wrote "Con's." She tapped the pen against her chin as she thought. Finally under pro's she wrote "Ivy League," "Possible Friend in Rory," "Not too far from New York City." She moved her pen to the Con's side "Far from family," and "May be far from Adam and Grace," joined that side. She sighed and added "Far from family" on the pros side as well. She stopped and thought some more, but nothing was coming to her, she needed noise, it was far too quiet in her room. She grabbed her remote and flicked on the TV to a Friends rerun. That was much better.

She went back to staring at her list. What was good about Yale? Aside from it being impressive. 'Well, the students all seemed friendly and rather normal,' she thought to herself. "Students seem nice" went in pros. 'What about the teachers?' a tiny voice in her head asked. The tiny voice sounded remarkably like god when she was a little girl. During the tour Rory had introduced them to a couple of professors they'd seen wandering the campus. They'd seemed nice too. As did the one that was teaching a lecture they sat in on for a few moments. The lecture hall was smaller than she expected too, more personal, and it was fun and interesting. "Nice professors" and "Lectures seem more personal" went under pros as well.

On paper the pros were definitely outweighing the cons, but in Joan's mind and heart the cons were the ones winning, she'd really miss her family and friends and Adam. "Don't let that sway you, Joan," a voice said from behind her.

She turned and spied the TV, now on a commercial. The man in the commercial smiles a fake smile at her. "Remember, I do things for a reason."

"Yes, well if I'm not mistaken there's still that whole free will thing," Joan retorted.

"Yes, and sometimes I wonder if I should have done that, but I have faith in you Joan. You'll make the right choice eventually. You just need to do your research first."

"What does that mean?"

"Don't make a hasty decision, Joan. Ask around."

"Ask who?"

"Your parents, Adam, Rory, anyone Joan, everyone has opinions, I made sure of that. Time's up." The man waves just before the commercial switches to an ad for McDonald's.

"Ask around," Joan muses. "He knows something I don't. Well yeah of course he does, he's god."

"Honey?" Helen Girardi questioned from the door.

"Mom!"

"Were you talking to yourself."

"Kind of, it's nothing."

"Oh okay," Helen started to walk away.

"Ask around," Joan whispered to herself. "Hey mom?"

Helen turns around, "Yeah honey?"

"What did you think of Yale?"

"I think it was nice," Helen said, entering her daughters room and sitting on the bed. "Very pretty."

"Yeah it was," Joan agreed. "Could you imagine me studying there?"

"Sure I could, it's a great school, and the students all seemed really nice and normal."

"Yeah I thought so too. It's just," Joan trailed off.

"Just what?"

"It's so far from you and Dad and Luke and Kevin and everyone."

"Well honey, you have to make a decision that's right for you. You'll still see us on vacations and holidays. Besides, isn't Adam looking at college in New York? That's not too far apart."

"Yeah I thought of that."

"I think it'd do you good, personally, but it's your decision. Just, take some time to think about it," Helen suggested standing up. "Goodnight Joan."

"Night mom." Helen exited the room, closing the door behind her. Joan sunk her head in her hands.