"Thanks for letting me stay here, Patty." Sookie said as she sat down her bags.

"No problem, sweetheart." Miss Patty sympathized. "I knew that Lorelai being back would cause problems for you and Luke but I was hoping for such a better outcome."

Sookie slumped into a chair "Oh, Patty, what was I thinking? I never should have became involved with Luke. This is all my fault." She buried her face in her hands. "Lorelai was my best friend and I betrayed her… even worse, when she finally comes back, I attack her without even being provoked."

Miss patty patted Sookie on the back. "There, there, now… don't blame yourself for this. Luke cares very much about you."

"But not as much." Sookie added. "I was a nice fill in, but I could never take the place of Lorelai."

Miss Patty slowly shook her head. "No one could take the place of Lorelai."

"She's incredible…" Sookie tacked on. "She's beautiful, smart, witty, funny… and the list could go on and on…" Sookie paused for a moment. "Oh, God… Am I jealous of Lorelai?" she asked.

"No, Sookie… Lorelai is your friend." Patty smiled. "Give the situation time… it'll work out. But, honey, I think you should be prepared for Lorelai and Luke to get back together."

"I am prepared." Sookie replied. "Who am I to stand in the way of true love?"

"You're true love is still out there." Miss Patty said as she sat down beside Sookie. "I know it may seem like a fairytale now, but there's a man out there who's just waiting to find you. And when you two find each other, watch out… the fireworks will be dazzling."

"Thanks, Patty." Sookie let a smile cross her face.

(The Inn)

"A whole week without our stuff?"

"And that's super fast special delivery." Lorelai added.

Rory sighed. "What am I going to do about school? I don't have any new clothes or supplies."

"Well, we can go the mall this weekend."

"There's a mall here?" Rory asked becoming intrigued.

"Oh, no not here." Lorelai corrected. "Hartford… about thirty minutes from here."

"Thirty minutes just to get to the mall?" Rory smiled. "That's so quaint."

"Not many teenagers would agree with you on that. I'm not even sure I agree with you on that."

Mia entered the lobby of the inn and spotted Rory. "Oh, you're here!" she replied excitedly.

"Hey, Mia." Rory greeted cheerfully.

"I'll be right back, you stay here." Mia instructed.

Rory looked back at Lorelai. "What's this about?"

"I don't know, she wouldn't tell me." Lorelai squinted her eyes narrowly. "She's good at keeping her surprises."

"Surprises?" Rory asked.

Mia returned to the lobby. "Rory, before I give you this gift, I want to tell you a story."

"Okay." Rory replied not sure where this was heading.

"When I was a little girl, I lived on a farm in Ohio. We worked very hard from daylight to dark just to make ends meet. When my father became ill, it was up to the children to take over and make sure the farm stayed up to par. Well, my two sisters were married within no time and both moved far away, and my three older brothers each took off own their own to start completely different lives. I was left alone on the farm with my mother and ill father. It seemed so difficult." Mia paused. "I couldn't believe my siblings could just abandon our farm and our parents so easily, but they did. I suppose they all had their reasons, however."

"Oh, Mia… I'm sorry." Rory honestly felt sympathy and remorse for the elder woman.

"Anyway, my father passed away and soon after my mother followed. I had always heard that a spouse tends to follow the death of their lover, especially if they were truly and deeply in love. That was always a comfort to me, to believe that my parents loved each other so." Mia reached into her pocket. "I too ended up leaving the farm after that. I decided to sell the farm and I moved her to Connecticut to start my brand new life, but even after all of these years I never forgot where I came from. You're a special girl, Rory. I could tell it from the moment you walked into my inn with your mother. I know that you were born in Hartford and stayed here for a short while after, then you moved to London. From what I understand it was your idea to come back to Stars Hollow… to come back to your roots. That's why I'm giving you this, cause I know that it will mean more to you than it would to anyone else. You'll treasure this gift very much. You'll find that it's very much a part of your roots." Mia removed her hand from her pocket and handed Rory a small box.

"Oh, Mia…" Rory was nearly speechless after hearing the endearing story.

"Go on… open it." Mia smiled.

Lorelai, who had been just as captivated as Rory during the story, watched eagerly as Rory opened the small box.

"Mia, it's beautiful." Rory said as her eyes sparkled. "I can't take this…"

"Of course you can." Mia replied. She took the box from Rory and removed the necklace. "This was a necklace my best friend gave me on my 16th birthday."

Lorelai felt obliged to interject. "Mia, that means too much to you. You shouldn't give it away."

Mia looked at Lorelai and smiled. "Rory understands, Lorelai. She'll take good care of my necklace, I'm sure. Turn around, I'll latch it for you." Mia instructed to Rory.

Rory slowly turned around and lifted the back of her hair up. The silver necklace with the radiant blue stone matched Rory's eyes perfectly.

"I knew it would look marvelous on you." Mia complimented.

"Thank you so much…" Rory said as she gazed down at the necklace.

"You're welcome, Rory." Mia smiled. "Well, I have some work to catch up on. I'll see you girls later."

Rory looked over at Lorelai. "What does she mean that it's a part of my roots? Why would she give me this?"

"I don't know, sweetheart." Lorelai honestly replied. "I guess you made quite the impression on her."

Lorelai picked up the empty box that was sitting on the table. She noticed there was an engraving inside of it.

"To my best friend, Mia . May God bless you throughout the days of your life. Love always Joan."