Rory had just left Luke's house where Jess was waiting for Lynn. This time was no different than the other times she dropped Lynn off. A sinking feeling of dread settled in her stomach and it would be there till she picked her up at six PM Sunday as per the court order.

Rory was actually relieved that Jess wanted to meet her at his uncle's house. She knew he stayed there when he had custody of Lynn. Actually Rory suspected that Rachel spent the most time with her daughter. Lynn was becoming Rachel's daughter by proxy. Every time she handed Lynn to Rachel she could see the warmth in the older woman's eyes. A thought crossed Rory's mind. Jess most likely looked at his daughter as he viewed her. I have her and I have no idea what to do with her. She knew Jess liked to read to Lynn, but it was Rachel who interacted with her daughter the most.

It was an unspoken ritual, when Rory dropped her daughter off she would stop at Luke's for coffee and chat with her mother's former boyfriend. Rory briefly hesitated before she walked into Luke's. She didn't have much interaction with the townsfolk any longer, but she could feel their eyes on her when she walked in. The sensation was slightly disconcerting, but she ignored the various looks while her eyes searched for Luke.

Luke immediately spotted her when she walked in and gestured to an empty stool at the far side of the counter. Wordlessly he placed an oversized coffee cup in front of her and filled it with the steaming dark liquid she loved. Luke sat the pot aside and pulled up a chair opposite of her

The diner owner was sort of an enigma to her. In some ways he was more a father to her than her biological father. He was gruff and fairly unpleasant at times and in no way should he ever be in a business where he interacted with other people, but yet his diner was a success. Rory often wondered about the turmoil he experienced when he took in Jess and her against his girlfriend's wishes. As furious as Lorelai was, he must have known that helping them would be the end of that relationship. Even after her and Jess separated he still treated her like one of his family.

The odd thing was and maybe not so odd on second thought he never once mentioned her mother to her. Nothing, not even how is she doing. A year after mother threw a very public tirade in a very packed diner and walked out; Rachel came back into his life. Rachel was very leery of restarting her relationship with Luke and they circled each other for a while. Then one day she knocked on Luke's door and a very sleepy Rachel dressed in a robe answered.

"Rory"

The sound of his voice snapped her out of her musings, "Yes Luke."

"Just as he always did he started the conversation with "So how are you?"

Taking a sip of her coffee Rory replied." I'm fine how about you?" This was a ritual they always followed before they got down to real conversation.

"Good. Was Jess at the house when you dropped Lynn off?"

Rory sighed. "You mean when I handed her to Rachel? Look Luke I know who spends most of the time with my daughter and it's not my ex."

Luke shook his head. "Well you know Jess-"

"Come on Luke we both know who really wants to see Lynn. You know I can see her eyes light up when I bring Lynn over."

Refilling Rory's cup Luke replied. "Yeah Rachel really looks forward to Lynn's visits. She is like a different person."

Rory took a sip of coffee and paused for a moment. "Luke, do you think Rachel would be interested in shooting photos for a book we are going to publish?"

Surprised Luke looked up into Rory's eyes. "I'm sure she would." His voice tailed off but he held his gaze and then added. "But why?"

Rory was fully aware of the consequences of using Rachel. Her mother would be furious. "I really like how she incorporates the background in her photos. She'd be perfect for this book."

Luke reached under the counter and came up with a piece of scrap paper on which he scribbled a number. "This is her cell phone, or you could just call my house. You have that number."

Rory nodded in the affirmative. "Thanks and-"

Luke interrupted "You know Lindsay and a bunch of her friends have been coming in here."

At the mention of Lindsay's name, Rory remembered her dislike of the tall blonde. She had married her Dean. In her mind Lindsay was a vapid leggy popular girl who never gave her the time of day when she attended Stars Hollow High. Not that she had any interest in talking to her anyway.

Rory thought for a moment. Lane told me that she is on the committee of the high school reunion. Maybe they are meeting here. I know a bunch of the popular girls used to like to come here after school."

I remember, and the high school bunch still comes in. Good thing the diner is dead at that time of day or I would toss them all. Nothing worse than six girls all talking at once; good thing they spend money and what's with teenagers having all this money?" Before Rory could answer Luke rose and walked to the cash register where some patron was having a problem with her credit card.

During Luke's absence Rory's thoughts again turned to Lindsay Lister. During grade school Lindsay was a tall gangly girl who was even quieter than she was if that was possible. They spoke but not often and paid no attention to each other outside school. Then one day during their freshman year in high school Lindsay turned beautiful. Suddenly she was a tall leggy natural blonde who wore short skirts and had boys following her every move. She became a cheer leader and due to her height played on the school girls' basketball team and was very popular. Lindsay became the focus of everything she despised.

Rory let her thoughts wander back to when she realized that the blonde airhead she considered Lindsay to be was dating Dean. It was at the hockey game she decided to attend when her boyfriend Jess didn't bother calling her. She remembered the shock of watching the tall blonde kiss her Dean. She had no right to do that. Dean belonged to her. No matter that she had a boyfriend in Jess. She was furious with Dean for having a girlfriend. She was even more infuriated when they got married. On one level common sense prevailed. Dean had broken up with her. She was dating Jess, but she still was furious. Then one day her Jess disappeared and every time she came home to Stars Hollow the sight of Lindsay and Dean aggravated her. Rory took another sip of her coffee; she couldn't believe they were still together.

Luke returned and slid onto the stool opposite her and mumbled "I hate credit cards. So what are you going to do with your two days of freedom?"

"Well my husb- Tristan and I are going to do some shopping and just relax.

Luke shook his head. "You know Rory it is hard for me to realize that you're married again. I guess on some level I had hoped you and Jess would work it out."

"Luke I tried. I know you must have heard some of the arguments we had; it couldn't have been nice to listen to."

"I know Rory, but some people grow out of arguing and learn to live together. I know you tried."

"Luke the arguments were just getting worse and I was afraid of where they may have led."

Puzzled Luke replied. "What do you mean by that?"

Rory remained silent and sipped on her coffee.

Luke lowered his voice and leaned forward. "Did you think he was going to hit you?"

Rory shrugged her shoulders and replied. "Well he did shove me a few times and I wasn't going to find out."

XXXXX

With Tristan tagging along Rory strolled through the aisles of Doose's market. Her mother wanted her to pick up an assorted variety of junk food they were going to consume while watching The Bride of Frankenstein. Rory turned to speak to her husband and noticed him looking at a tall long legged blonde girl in shorts Rory didn't mind if Tristan looked at a good looking girl, she considered it normal and harmless.

The girl was Lindsay, Dean's wife. She hadn't spoken to either of them since she an off with Jess. Rory figured she may have seen them three or four times in the last ten years, but always at a distance. Rory nudged Tristan in the ribs. "I know her, do you want an introduction?"

Tristan blushed a bit and replied with a laugh. "You busted me again. Who is she?"

"Remember Dean?"

"Yes I do."

"That's Lindsay, his wife. Do you mind finding me some coffee; I believe there is a pot at the front of the store."

Tristan nodded and went in search of the all-important coffee. Rory watched her husband walk away and tuned and continued shopping.

The last thing that was on Rory Dugray's mind as she walked the aisles of Doocey's market was Lindsay Forrester. In fact she hadn't thought about her for years. She had seen her from afar a few times, but never gave it a second thought. All she was thinking about was finding munchies for the movie they were going to watch later on. Her thoughts were suddenly jarred to reality when she slammed into something solid and almost fell to the floor. Rory regained her composure and looked up. She had collided with Lindsay. "Hi Lindsay, long time no see."

Lindsay was silent for a moment before she replied. "So after all these years you have gone from talking about how I was not good enough for Dean behind my back to, talking to me directly."

"Lindsay that was a long time-"

"Do you think I have forgotten all that you have said? Here you are Stars Hollow's Golden Girl basically telling all who would listen that I was too stupid for my husband and I was holding him back."

"Lindsay-"

"Mrs. Forrester to you, I'll have you know I worked my tail off to help put my husband through college. Would you have done that? "I worked as a waitress besides going to school full time. Dean worked construction besides going to college full time. Would you have done that? We lived on basically nothing. A movie a month was a luxury. I can tell you every type of hamburger helper there is. When I was accepted to Law school my husband supported me and worked two jobs so we could afford the tuition. You know what I like Miss. Yale graduate? I am better educated and I make about three to four times your salary as a book editor. So kiss my ass. And-

When Tristan approached Lindsay fell silent. Then spoke again. "You're not worth the breath it takes to talk to you." Lindsay tuned on her heel and strode away.

Rory was stunned by the intensity of Lindsay's attack on her. She was visibly shaken and jumped when Tristan put his hand on her shoulder. In his free hand he was holding the container of coffee she had requested. "What was that all about?"

Rory turned to Tristan with moist eyes. "I'm not sure."

"Rory why would Dean's wife attack you; unless he filled her head with lies about you."

"Tristan, let's forget about it. It's not worth talking about. Come on let's finish shopping."

"Look Rory, when someone screams at my wife in the middle of a grocery store, it is worth talking about. You can't expect me to ignore it."

Rory broke free from his hand and started walking, then turned. "It's really not worth talking about. something that happened in the past."

There was no way Tristan was going to let the incident go. He never liked Dean and he wouldn't be surprised if Dean poisoned his wife's mind toward Rory.

After the outburst Lindsay walked to the front of the store set her basket down and walked out. She was shaken by the ferocity of her tirade. Lindsay hadn't realized the amount of hate she had stored up for Rory Gilmore or whatever her last name was these days. A cold drink in a dark place suited her mood. Lindsay walked over to the town tavern, entered and paused as she let her eyes adjust to the dim lights.

The bartender met her at the bar. "What are you having?"

"Cold beer I don't care what brand." Lindsay reached into her purse for her cellphone and called Dean. After a couple of rings her husband answered. "What's up?"

"I stopped at the tavern for a beer; I'd like you to join me."

"Is everything okay?"

"Yes, no, I need to talk to you."

"I'll be right there bye."

Lindsay turned and picked up her beer and sensed someone staring at her. Several stools down Jess was turned toward her with a smile on his face. Lindsay wished her shorts were about six inches longer and turned away from him.

A few minute later Dean walked in and Lindsay instinctively gestured to the stool on her left; which put Dean between her and Jess. "What is going on Linds?" As soon as Dean spoke the words he noticed Jess. "Is he bothering you?"

Quickly Lindsay replied. "No." Lindsay took a deep breath and continued. "I ran into Rory Gilmore at Doose's and I told her off." Lindsay paused again then spoke. "Quite loudly."

Before Dean could answer the bartender sat a cold Labatts down. "I remember you like this brand."

Surprised, Dean looked up. "Yes Labatts is fine. Thank you." Ignoring the beer he turned back to Lindsay. "Why did you do that? Why didn't you just ignore her?"

"Well for one thing we collided."

"Then what?"

"Rory said hi Lindsay and I went off on her." Lindsay fell silent.

Dean noticed he had a bottle of beer In front of him and took a deep drink. "Lindsay, I don't understand why you just didn't say excuse me and walk away."

Lindsay soft brown eyes hardened. Do you remember the things she said about me? How she told everyone in town I wasn't good enough for you and all I would do is hold you back. Sometimes I wonder if that wasn't the cause for a large amount of the problems we were having. I think it was ironic she runs off with that idiot." Lindsay gestured down the bar at Jess. "And then we stopped having problems and we worked things out. It was like a five hundred pound weight was off our backs."

Dean nodded yes. "You're right Lindsay, I guess I may have done the same thing in your shoes, but I figured after ten years you were over it."

"I'll never be over it Dean. She did everything in her power to humiliate me, and now I've done more with my life than she has. I'm proud of what I have accomplished. I went from a naïve eighteen year old girl who didn't even know how to boil water to a Lawyer who is a member of the bar in Connecticut, New York and Massachusetts." Lindsay took a deep breath. "And I couldn't have done it without you.' Lindsay then leaned over and kissed her husband.

Jess had just placed his order for a club sandwich and a beer when Lindsay walked in. Jess shook his head and thought that shorts were designed just for woman like Lindsay. His ex-wife was an attractive woman, but she never had legs like that. If Lindsay was his wife she'd never be allowed out of the house in those shorts.

Lindsay caught him staring at her so he turned away to await his sandwich. He couldn't really drink today as he had Lynn till Sunday. Rachel was playing some sort of game with his daughter. Lynn seemed to like the game and Rachel looked like she was having fun also. He asked Rachel if she minded watching Lynn while he went out for a sandwich. She waved toward the door which he took as a yes. Jess was pretty much sick of the food at Luke's. When he ate out he preferred anywhere but there and the tavern always had good food, plus he could have a beer with his meal. No shots for him today and just one beer. He didn't need to hear all the grief that would rain upon his head if he got loaded.

Jess realized he didn't have a clue in the world what to do with a five year old girl. He never really took her anywhere unless either Rachel or Luke was with him but she did like it when he read her bedtime stories. Jess loved her but felt very inadequate around his daughter. In his mind he tried to think of ways he could relate to Lynn, but nothing came to mind. She couldn't talk about books, the one subject he always felt confident conversing in. And playing with dolls was never going to happen in his lifetime.

His sandwich arrived at the same time Dean walked in; those two are glued at the hip he thought. Their conversation this time was a bit loud and animated. He could hear everything that was said, seemed like Lindsay and his ex-wife had gotten into it. He wondered what that was all about.

With the junk food safely stowed in their car Rory and Tristan were free to browse antique stores as they had planned. Tristan decided to let the matter go for the time being. Pushing it would only start a fight and he didn't want that. They had just left Seafarers antique shop, Rory's arm was linked with his; suddenly she came to a halt. "I don't believe this."

Startled at the sudden stop Tristan replied "Believe what?"

"This" And Rory pointed to a car parked across the street. "Jess is in that bar."

For Rory a day that had started with such promise was rapidly going to hell, first Lindsay, now this. "Come on Tristan. I have a few words I want to say to Jess right about now." Rory looked both ways and rapidly crossed the street.

"Oh crap." Tristan thought to himself and followed his angry wife. They walked into the dark bar together. The drastic change from bright sunlight to the seedy dimness of the interior was startling. After a moment Rory spoke "I see him."

"Rory don't cause a scene. Tristan placed a restraining hand on his wife's shoulder. As his eyes came focused he spotted Dean and Lindsay sitting at the bar to the right of Jess seemingly in a deep conversation.

To Be Continued….