Phew. Sorry I've been so stingy with my updates this week! This chapter was slapping me in the face every time I looked at it. Luckily, we're seeing eye to eye now…and everything should be updated by the end of the week.

Thanks for the reviews on chapter four: DiehardJavaJunkie14, CherryWolf713, Miss-Jedi, ShaolinQueen, GrlWithoutAName, gilmorefanforever, Curley-Q, blonde.biatch, bartocorleone, and Lynn.

Disclaimer: I do not claim to own any of the following: Gilmore Girls, The T, Copley, The Boston Public Library, Oliver Twist, any bands mentioned, The Garage, Ben and Jerry's and Chunky Monkey, Newbury Comics, and the dialogue taken from "Rory's Birthday Parties."

Happy Birthday, Rory

"Next stop, Harvard Square." Rory looked around the subway car before going back to her book. She was starting to understand why Jess enjoyed the trains so much in New York. As long as there weren't menacing people riding with her, Rory enjoyed the trip underground Boston. "Harvard Square," the voice boomed over the loud speaker. The doors binged open and Rory collected her things to exit the train. Since Andrea had introduced her to the Boston subway, Rory had tried to travel during the week. As much as she loved Harvard's many libraries, there was nothing better than a train ride to Copley Square. The Boston Public Library was lined with books, and Rory felt at home inside.

Rory headed back to campus. Lorelai was supposed to show up much later in the evening, where she would stay the night and spend Rory's birthday with her. She unlocked her door and stepped inside.

"Surprise!" Lorelai jumped off Rory's bed and Rory dropped her things on the floor.

"Mom!" The two Gilmores collided into a heap on the floor. "I thought you weren't coming until later!"

Lorelai grinned. "I couldn't help myself."

"I'm so happy you're here! We need to do everything!"

Laughing, Lorelai lifted herself off the floor and extended her hand to Rory. "I can't wait, kid."

"I want to take you to Harvard Square and on the T and…" Rory trailed off on Lorelai's glance. "What?"

"You're excited," she said.

"I am!" Rory exclaimed. "I want to show you everything, take you to every store, and feed you every food!"

"Well, it's about lunch time for me. What do you say?" Lorelai asked as she looked at her watch.

"Mom, would you like nacho pizza?" Rory asked, hoping to achieve a response from her mother.

"Oh, daughter of mine. Nacho pizza it is!"

Rory and Lorelai wandered into Harvard Square and Rory directed the way to The Garage.

Lorelai bit into her nacho pizza and looked at Rory. "You're right. It really is the best pizza ever!"

Rory laughed and tore into her own slice. "Do you want to look around after this?"

"Sure," Lorelai said. "What else is here?"

"Newbury Comics, Ben and Jerry's, and some other small shops." Rory tried to think of all the places she had poked in over the past couple of weeks.

"Ben and Jerry's?" Lorelai asked "Are you sure it isn't my birthday?"

Laughing, Rory let her slice fall to her plate. "I'm glad you're here," she said.

"I am too." Lorelai paused. "Have you been doing okay?" she finally asked, concerned about her daughter.

"Oh, yeah. I'm fine, mom." Rory lifted the slice to her lips and took a bite. "My classes are great; the city is great; everything is just great."

"What about your friends?" Lorelai asked.

"Andrea. Andrea's really nice. She's from around town, so she always shows me the best places. I've found some new places to sit and read."

"Any new places to not seclude yourself in?" Lorelai dropped her pizza back on the plate. "What about boys?"

Rory groaned. "Mom. You're never like this. I don't need a boy right now. I'm me and I'm independent," she said proudly.

"What about Jess?"

Rory looked away. "What about Jess?"

"I don't know. Is he still on your mind?"

"Jess was never on my mind," Rory lied. "It was Jess. He's easy to forget."

Lorelai nodded, but saw the flash of pain in Rory's eyes. "Ice cream?" she asked, trying to make peace. They dumped their garbage and headed downstairs.

"Too many flavors," Lorelai complained.

"We should get them all," Rory joked.

"Can I live here?" Lorelai asked as she pointed to the glass case filled with ice cream tubs.

Finally, Lorelai settled on Chunky Monkey and Rory on plain vanilla. Rory licked a drip sliding down her cone. Because ice cream is always better in cones. She sighed, and pushed the thought out of her mind.

"Where to next?" Lorelai asked. "Oh, Newbury Comics, right?"

Rory smiled excitedly as she bit into her cone. "It's right upstairs."

Lorelai grabbed her purse and they traveled up the skinny escalator. "Look at it all," she gasped. Rows and Rows of CDs were lined up around the store. Lorelai set off to find old favorites while Rory perused the general sections. She passed a disorganized box of used CDs marked for two dollars apiece, and immediately turned back. Flipping through the cracked cases, she noticed a pattern: Distillers, Metallica, The Clash, Led Zeppelin, Metallica, Distillers, The Clash, Iron Maiden. Rory stacked the CDs back in the box and turned the corner, a Distillers CD held tightly in one hand. Like the copy of Oliver Twist, she stared at the cover and expected him to ooze from the casing.

"Happy Birthday, little girl," Lorelai whispered as she crawled into bed with Rory. Rory attempted to move over as much as possible. "Your college bed is small."

"I know."

"I can't believe how fast you're growing up," Lorelai continued as the pair snuggled up against each other.

"Really? Feels slow," Rory joked.

"Trust me. It's fast. You're in college. Harvard. What do you think of your life so far?"

"I think it's pretty good," Rory said slowly.

"Any complaints?"

Him. I want him to go away. "Well, Boston and Stars Hollow are pretty far away," she said finally.

"I'll work on that right away," Lorelai promised, smoothing back her daughter's hair. "So you know what I think?"

"What?"

"I think you're growing up to be a great kid, and that you're the best friend a girl could have."

Rory smiled. "Right back at you, mom."

"And it's so hard to believe that at exactly this time many moons ago, I was lying in exactly the same position..."

"Oh, boy. Here we go." Rory rolled her eyes and looked back at her mother.

"Only I had a huge, fat stomach and big fat ankles, and I was swearing like a sailor…"

"On leave," Rory reminded her.

"On leave! Right! And there I was…"

"In labor," Rory cut in again.

"And while some have called it the most meaningful experience of your life, to me it was something more akin to doing the splits on a crate of dynamite," Lorelai said with ease. "And I was screaming and swearing and, being surrounded as I was by a hundred prominent doctors, I just assumed there was an actual use for the cup of ice chips they gave me."

"There wasn't."

"But pelting the nurses sure was fun."

"I love you, mom," Rory whispered sleepily.

"I love you too, kid. Happy Birthday."