I grin at her new friends. "Welcome to the real world." I deadpan. "Have a seat."

Carefully, they move to take seats with Paris and Lane. I see Rory whisper something to Lane, and watch her eyes go wide. "Seriously?" Lane asks incredulously.

Logan nods. "We wouldn't lie about this."

"And this is because of pie."

I stare at her. "What's because of pie Lane?"

Rory sighs. "Logan and I had a bet. Whoever could get either his mom or Grandma to eat something while we were in the diner would get to plan our first date, which is essentially, tomorrow before dinner because we've been succinctly informed that I'd better have the ring on by the time the announcements hit the paper Monday morning."

"What ring? What announcement?" Logan's foreign friend asks sharply.

I see them both deflate slightly. "I suppose since everyone is here, we might as well tell you. Ace and I are getting married on May 21st." Logan announces.

I sit down quickly, feeling Luke's hand squeeze my side tightly. "What?"

"Unless someone can come up with a really good way to convince them not to push this." Rory offers.

I meet her eyes, and bite my lip. "You're not done school." I whisper.

She nods. "We've been told a 'perfectly competent wedding planner' will handle the details. Tavern on the Green for the reception, the Grand Ballroom at the Plaza for the ceremony." She whispers.

I close my eyes. "I'm not ready for this babe." I tell her carefully.

She stands, and I move out of the room with her quietly. We sit on her bed, and she leans into me. "I don't know what to do Mom." She whispers. "We stalled them for a few hours, turned down Grandma and his mom. But once his father calls…" she trails off.

I nod. "I never told you this, but they tried to –

"I know. Logan told me." She cuts in.

"It's why I first slept with Chris."

She nods. "I figured as much. It's why I didn't ask details."

I pull back carefully. "Did you really say that my mother ate at Luke's?" she asks carefully.

She nods. "I'd sort of like to actually tell him what she said about it."

"So, you're getting married." I say as calmly as I can.

"I'm getting engaged. We'll see about the marriage thing." She admits.

I look into her eyes. "Would he make you happy?"

She shrugs. "I honestly don't know mom. I don't know him well enough."

I breathe deeply. "Then we're going to have to change that."

She smiles. "Okay, but how?"

I look at her. "I propose an amendment to the Willy Wonka Code of 1995."

I see her sit up straight. "What do you propose?"

"When a Gilmore Girl is being forced into an arranged engagement, the Willy Wonka night of indulgence shall be observed through extensive discussion with the proposed fiancé, his friends, and the Gilmore Girl's friends, mother, and mother's boyfriend."

She nods. "I, Lorelai Leigh Gilmore, an inducted Gilmore Girl, do hereby accept the amendment." She grins. "Thanks mom."

I pull her more tightly against me. "I promised I'd try."

We walk back into the living room to find them all sitting quietly around the coffee table. "We amended the Willy Wonka Code of 1995." I tell them all carefully.

"You mean I can make myself a cup of tea?" Luke grumbles.

I sit down next to him on the chair. "No, Grumpy McGrumpy, we've decided that when a Gilmore Girl is being forced into an arranged marriage, the night of indulgence shall include not film viewing, but rather extensive discussion."

They all stare at me. "I'm sorry." The foreign one offers. "What, precisely, is the Willy Wonka Code of 1995?"

"The only acceptable way in which to view Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in the presence of a Gilmore Girl." Lane and Paris drone.

"Precisely." I say happily, noting that Rory has once again curled into Logan's side. "Now, in order to have the discussion, I will require names of all of you."

The foreign one stands. "I, dear ladies and gentlemen, am Thaddeus Finley the Fourth. Born in Sydney, I was raised there until the tender age of thirteen, whereby I was summarily shipped off to Andover, as the general rule for teenagers in Australian high society is 'exist but are never seen'."

I smile. "I'm going to like you." I tell him.

He takes my hand and kisses it lightly. "Call me Finn love, and if you ever tire of your gruff gentleman caller here, give me a ring."

The other guy stands. "I'm Colin." He sits back down.

I narrow my eyes at him. "Let me guess. You're the one who bails the other two out."

He nods. "That about covers it."

The blonde smiles. "I'm Stephanie. Generally, I laugh at them. Sometimes I join in, but mostly, I laugh."

I tilt my head. "You look disturbingly familiar."

"Stephanie is the Malone's daughter." Rory offers.

I perk up. "Really? How are they?"

Her eyes go wide. "Good. How do you know them?"

Logan laughs. "You know that firelight festival your parents make you go to every year?"

She nods. "In the town full of crazy people?"

He points at me. "This would be the coffee addict who argues with the diner owner every couple hours. She's currently sitting on the diner owner's lap." He gestures at Lane. "This would be the Christian Korean Antique Shop Owner's daughter."

She winces. "Oops. I tend to –

"Don't worry about it." I cut her off. "We really are crazy."

She suddenly looks at Lane. "You moved out recently, right?"

Lane nods. "I live with my band mates."

She nods. "My parents love you. They say that you have the cutest smile when you serve them."

I look between the two curiously. "What's up?" I ask quickly.

Stephanie shrugs. "I'm not sure, but I think my parents are still looking for someone to look after the house. I'd have to confirm, but if they were, would you mind if I recommended you?" she asks Lane.

I notice Rory glance at Logan quickly, and he shakes his head, whispering something in her ear. She seems surprised, but nods.

"To be a housekeeper?" Lane asks warily.

Stephanie laughs. "No." she pauses. "Wow, um…more of a manager, I guess? Like, if a pipe bursts, or something needs to be done, you make sure the right person comes in to do it. They have a cleaning service go in twice a month, but the service tends not to mention it when little things go wrong, and then when we're here in the summer, most of the time gets eaten up calling plumbers and electricians for things that wouldn't have been so bad if someone had called them in right away."

Lane nods. "That would be fantastic." She whispers.

"You'd have to stay there. I mean, there's a room there you could have, and you wouldn't be kicked out when we were around, but you'd definitely have to stay there."

I suddenly feel a weight lifted off my shoulders. They're good kids. I think calmly as Lane agrees to Stephanie's terms. They're good kids, and they're going to take care of my kid.