A/N- Here is tonight's chapter! Sorry it's a bit shorter, tomorrow should be better but no promises. Hope you enjoy regardless. Hoping to hear thoughts on this whole interesting storyline detour, so please keep reading and reviewing. I do not own Gilmore Girls or any of its characters or concepts, nor do I have an apartment yet, so pray that I can at least get one of the two!


Chapter 65

"Mom!"

Rory ran to her mother's arms, hugging her, first thing the next morning. She'd driven over to the Inn when Luke had shown up at the diner around 8 AM, explaining that Lorelai refused to go home and maybe Rory could talk some sense into her. He and Jess would man the diner.

"Loinfruit!" Lorelai tried to smile, but she still looked crestfallen. Her hair was a disaster and she was still in the clothing she must have been wearing when she got the news, a sweatsuit and Uggs with her glasses. She held Rory tightly for a few moments before pulling back and meeting her daughter's eyes.

"We had a robbery."

"I know."

"Luke…"

"I know."

"I can't…"

"I know," Rory answered finally, "So let's go in."

Lorelai nodded sadly, gesturing to the entrance. Rory noticed that no employees seemed to be present outside and that there were no cars parked in the lot other than her mother's, Sookie's, Michel's, and maybe two others. As she walked inside, she could immediately see why her mother was as much of a mess as she seemed.

The entire front lobby was a disaster. The books from the shelves were strewn about, and two of the more valuable paintings were gone. The front desk was covered in a flurry of papers. Rory peered toward the barely open office door.

"That's the worst," Lorelai sighed, "Whoever it was took all our account information, credit card numbers, identifying information…it's pretty bad, kid."

"Do you have any idea who did it?"

"No," Lorelai shook her head, "It just makes absolutely no sense. This is Star's Hollow. There hasn't been a crime around here since your boyfriend was walking the streets. And even then he wasn't cool enough to commit real crimes. Just fakes ones."

"How'd you know that was him?" Rory asked curiously, ignoring the side comment.

"Please, everyone knew it was him," Lorelai replied, "I knew once I heard about Babette's gnome."

"Not that I'm not interested in hearing about the gnome," Rory rolled her eyes, "But can I see the office?"

"Your funeral," Lorelai shrugged, pushing the door open. Rory gasped.

Every cabinet and drawer was opened and jammed, random pieces of paper strewn around the floor. The computer was disconnected and some drawers were even just lying on the floor, the contents spilling out the top. The lock on the top of the door was completely intact.

"Key's missing from where it was hidden at the front desk," Lorelai explained, "Wasn't impossible to find, so I guess they got lucky."

"I guess," Rory responded, taking in the sight, "I cannot believe this."

"Just when everything seemed to be going right," Lorelai said quietly, "Getting better. Things were good. You're better. Well, happier. To me that's better. And things with Luke…"

"Yeah, how are things with Luke?"

"He's been amazing since we found the place like this. Actually, he's been amazing since he started seeing Jess more," Lorelai admitted, "Things have been really great with him."

"But still no…"

"Nope."

"That sucks."

"Yeah. I don't really know," Lorelai said noncommittally, "But if this is how he is, just as my boyfriend or whatever I guess he is, I don't really care about titles. He's Luke. He's always been this guy for me. Always will be. Though I still can't believe he made you guys come out here."

"Mom," Rory glared, "He couldn't have stopped us if we tried. Especially me. Plus Jess is going to help bash the perp's head in."

"Did you just say perp?" Lorelai turned to Rory, unable to stop herself from giggling. Rory tried to look at her seriously, but ended up in a fit of giggling as well.

"Yeah, I guess I did," Rory answered, still smiling, "But really mom, we want to be here. We need to be. We're here for you. We'll help in any way we can."

"How long are you staying?" Lorelai asked.

"A week, at least," Rory answered, "Matt and Chris are taking care of Truncheon and it's all been handled. Why?"

"Think you could stand one night without your hunky piece of man flesh?"

"Not if you ever say that again," Rory answered seriously, "But if you promise not to I'll be at home tonight."

"And this is why you're my favored child," Lorelai smirked, linking her arm through Rory's, "Let's head to the kitchen to see Sookie."

"I'm your only child," Rory corrected, "But yeah, the only way that this could get worse would be if she set the Dragonfly on fire."

"We have a pretty good policy for that here."

"Good decision."

"We thought so."