Disclaimer: This is an original story based upon the characters of Gilmore Girls. No profit will be made from this story and no copyright infringement is intended.

Author's Note: Thanks for all the feedback! I appreciate it! I figured I would update tonight to help me feel less sad about my Gilmore-less Tuesday. I hope you enjoy the next installment

A spa--her mother had had some nutty ideas in her time, but this one just about took the cake. She had to bite her cheek from laughing out loud at the image of Michel preparing a mud bath, or Patty and Babette getting a massage. Lorelai promised her mother that she would think about it, gave it about a half a second thought and then was glad that Rory came to bring the attention off of her mother. Now they could leave as soon as they were done and get back to planning their roller coaster tour.

A job--a job that was in Iowa, a job that required travel, a job that required her to leave in three days. Lorelai had a trick that she had learned when she was seven and had broke the Chinese geisha figurine with the green dress. When her mother had found out, she had been terrified but had found out that if she breathed slowly through her nose, she could appear to be absolutely calm. She had flatly denied breaking the heirloom and was, after grueling questioning, acquitted. She used that same defense now, and making sure her face had a smile on it. She knew her girl, how capable she was, but she also knew that she had raised a homebody at heart and that if she herself showed any apprehension, it would make things worse for Rory. Her parents had picked up on this as well, and were offering encouragement. Suddenly though, her mother spoke up,

"So, this is it. This is the last time we'll see you for awhile." A sad silence settled over them, until Lorelai smiled sadly, "After dinner drinks for sure," she said.

It was one of the best dinners they had had. No arguing, no complaining, just a family spending time together. They talked about Rory's job, and Richard and Emily planned to meet up with her for a day when she was in Chicago. No one looked at their watch, no one said they had other plans--no one wanted to end the last Friday night dinner for a very long time. Lorelai watched her parents as they talked, her father was more quiet than usual, and her mother was babbling about anything and everything. She felt sorry for them. As the night went on, her father's eyes became more and more sad and suddenly she realized they were all sitting there, trying to pull off a Band-Aid one centimeter by another painful centimeter. It just needed to be yanked off.

"Well guys," she said, "I guess we better get going. We need to hit Target on the way home."

Emily stood up, "Well then," she said brightly, "I guess we'll see you when we see you. You take care of yourself and don't sit by any shady looking men, or women for that matter, and don't forget to put your jacket when you are on the bus and remember, don't stare at them, and be friends with everyone and listen and do what you're told..."

Lorelai put her hand on Rory's shoulder, "Mom, she's not going to prison or kindergarten."

Her mother shot her a look, "I know that, I just want her to be safe." She stepped closer to Rory, and hugged her, "You remember, we're always here for you," she said.

Lorelai suddenly felt a shot of jealousy surge through her and she cursed herself for it. It was ridiculous. She started breathing through her nose again, trying to cover the emotion as quickly as it had come.

"I know," Rory said smiling. She kissed her grandmother on her cheek and then turned to her grandfather, "Grandpa," she said and then bit her lower lip. He said nothing, just brought her to him, cupping his hand on the back of her head. "Knock them dead," he whispered. Rory nodded, her eyes shining and turned away towards the car.

"Goodbye Lorelai" Emily said, "Remember, think about what I said."

"I will Mom," Lorelai said and Emily turned and walked away.

Lorelai stood at the door for a moment, with her father who was still looking sadly at his granddaughter.

"She'll be okay," she said, placing a hand on his arm.

"Of course she will," he said.

"Will you?" Lorelai said after a minute. She couldn't remember seeing her father so sad.

Richard turned and looked at her, putting an arm around her and tenderly kissing the top of her head, "Goodnight Sweetheart," he said.

"Goodnight Dad," she said, not even realizing that she was smiling.

She dreamed of her father. She dreamed of how large his hands were and how small and safe her hand felt when she placed her it in his. She dreamed of a wedding...she didn't know whose and didn't care, but she dreamed of him coming across the room towards her and asking her to dance. She was four...no five. He lifted her up and placed her feet on top of his. Her took her small hands in his big ones and then they started dancing together. She looked into his eyes, and he smiled down at her. She let go of his hands and hugged his legs and laughed as she heard him laugh. She loved him, Oh how she loved this big strong daddy of hers. Then suddenly the music stopped, and her father reached down and wrenched her arms off of him. She stumbled back and began to cry. Her father looked at her, shook his head in disgust and walked away. "Daddy! Daddy wait!" she cried.

"Daddy!" she cried out and sat up in bed. It took her a moment to orient herself to her surroundings. She was in her room and a late night rerun of Golden Girls was on. For a moment, she laid down, glad that it was just a dream and then suddenly her hand drifted to her abdomen and she remembered...someone was growing inside of her. Suddenly she was very scared of the dark and reached for her teddy bear that was on her shelf. She hugged it tightly to her--pregnant, It was the word Mrs. Haney her and Chris's health teacher spelled out when she talked about the consequences of what happens when little boys and girls don't wait until they are married to have s-e-x. She was going to have a baby. Another human being was growing inside of her...it was like something from the Twilight Zone. What would she do? What could she do? Could she deny Christopher his life by being saddled to her father's insurance business and a wife and a child at sixteen. Sixteen--she was sixteen and was going to be a mom. It killed her to leave school, the drama club was doing Grease for the school musical and Mrs. Canning had told her she wanted her to try out for Sandy. She was going to talk Christopher into trying out for Danny. Next year the Junior class were having their prom on the Sadie Q, a fancy yacht. She already had her dress picked out. Now there would be no junior prom, there would be no more college, no more school at all...maybe she should talk to Mrs. Canning about playing Rizzo--she'd be a shoo-in.

She got out of her bed and wrapped her robe around her. She was about to go down the hall to back stairs that led to the kitchen when she noticed that the downstairs living room light was on. She turned and walked towards it, stopping at the stairs to eavesdrop. She had had just about enough of her parents planning her life. She heard nothing, and so she walked slowly down the stairs. Her father was sitting in the living room alone. He was staring at the fire and he looked small...she had never imagined her father could look small. In one hand he clutched a glass of scotch. Her father always drank scotch when he was mad. There was something in his other hand, and she shifted her glance to see what it was...it was a picture of her.

"Dad..." she said quietly, approaching him.

He turned towards her, startled and the way he looked at her devastated her all over again,

"You should be in bed," he said, "You have a busy day ahead of you...finals this week."

"I'm ready for them," she said quietly and he shut his eyes briefly in pain and then turned to her.

"Have you told your teachers you won't be coming back for next term?" he asked.

She nodded, "Dad...can we...can we talk?"

He put his glasses on and picked up a book, "I'm reading Lorelai,"

"Dad...I'm..."

He showed her the picture he was holding, the portrait she had taken when she was nine. "I remember the day the photographer took this. He asked you what you were studying in school and you brought him into this lively discussion about World War 2 and you knew all the battles and you just sat there, talking to him about all you were learning and you...you were on fire. I never saw such a girl...I never saw such a girl who loved to learn more."

"Oh Dad, for God's sake," Lorelai whispered.

Richard turned and looked at her. "I don't..."his voice became husky, "I don't even know who you are anymore,"

Lorelai said nothing, just turned and walked upstairs. She laid back down on her bed, and smoothing her hand over her abdomen again, began planning her escape.

"We need to talk," Rory said taking a handful of cheetos, pushing pause and turning towards her mother.

"Let me guess, you are quitting Yale...oh wait," her mother said, grabbing her own handful and turning towards her daughter.

"Ha, Ha, Ha...no actually I need to talk about Friday nights," Rory said popping a cheeto into her mouth.

"I'd much rather talk about oh...Sunday morning,"

"Mom,"

"Alright, Alright, what about it?"

"What exactly are you going to be doing on Friday nights from now on."

"Well Mother, I'm actually planning on taking Bug my boyfriend out every night. You are just going to love his tattoo and as soon as you see his motorbike, you are so going to let me ride on it."

"Mom!"

"Sorry, um yes, Friday nights. Well...honestly Hon, I haven't given it much thought."

"Are you going to keep going to Friday night dinner? I think it would really mean a lot to Grandpa and Grandma."

Lorelai rolled her eyes, "You know, the whole go-between thing that you have...you know, going between your parents and your grandparents, you so do not need to carry that around with you on the campaign. I mean, you are going to have enough luggage."

"And you do realize that I stopped buying the whole 'I hate my parent's routine' at like age six right?" Rory countered. "Mom, please...just think about it. I mean...think about how much it really would mean to Grandma."

"You're unbelievable," Lorelai said. "I mean, after everything, you still are so considerate of their feelings.

"Mom...a lot of what happened in the past was my fault. Seriously, I know it would mean a lot to her and to me too."

Lorelai reached out and patted her daughter's hand. "I will think about it."

The three days passed like minutes. Why did time always have to pass so fast when you were dreading something? During the day she was supermom, organizing everything, packing everything she would need and still having time to give advice, buoy Rory up, and watch a movie or two with her daughter, laughing and talking as if nothing were happening. Night though was a different story. She lay awake, thinking of her girl, remembering everything she could as if she was trying to commit everything to memory--her first step, the first time she recognized her mother out of a crowded room, the way she and Lane purposely would fall down in their matching pumpkin costumes she had made them and roll around laughing while they were trick or treating. She could close her eyes and see her so clearly at her first day in Miss Patty's ballet class, she could see her in the corduroy jumper she had made for her first day in Kindergarten, and the way her tongue stuck out through her missing front teeth. The day she found out she was going to Chilton...her acceptance to Harvard, Princeton and Yale, her graduation from high school, her first day at Yale, and their dream...her graduation from Yale. She got up and went slowly downstairs, stopping at her daughter's doorway. How many more times would she see Rory sleeping in that bed again? She started to cry as she moved towards her. She sat at the side of the bed and just watched her daughter sleeping. She loved her more than she had ever loved anything. She was so grateful that she had been allowed to be this girl's mother. She stood up and looked at her dresser, all packed except for pictures. There were a few of her and Lane, one of her and Paris. Most of them were of her and Lorelai. Suddenly, her eyes focused on a picture of Rory and her grandparents. As she saw her mother, something hit her like a ton of bricks, and it was almost like a voice resounded in her head. "She never got this chance."

She turned back to her daughter in the bed. Her mother never had been able to have this chance. She never got the chance to shop for things her daughter would need, or spend every single last precious moment she could with her. She had never been able to be a part of the fun, and had never had the chance to sit at the side of her daughter's bedside. She had never had the chance to say goodbye.

The party floored her--it floored both of them. What a family they had acquired when they came her, a scared little girl and her baby. This town had taken them in, adopted them, and now they were sending Rory off. How had Sookie pulled this off? She laughed as Kirk gave Rory the nightie sash--it was good to know in the biggest change of her life, that some things still remained the same. She looked up and saw her parents, "I see Mom and Dad," she said to Rory and went towards them. It striked her how well and perfect they looked together. Dad, so tall and protecting, Mom--with her ramrod straight posture and perfect elegance. She remembered how scared her mom had been when Dad had been sick, the breakdown she had in the gift store--one of the few times she had ever seen her mother vulnerable. Then her eyes focused on her father and he smiled and waved.

She dreamed of her father. She dreamed of a picnic in the park...just the three of them. She was four. Still small enough to be picked up. Daddy was the strongest man in the world. He picked her up and tossed her high up in the air, laughing his large deep laugh. "Again," she would cry. "Again! Again!" and Daddy would fly her. "Richard be careful," Mommy would say. But she knew Daddy would catch her. He would always catch her.

"Lorelai...Lorelai" her father's voice was not booming...it was small. "Lorelai,"

She shook her head as she awoke. She was in her father's hospital room, she had volunteered to stay with him while her mother went home and slept for a few hours. "I'm sorry Dad, I must have drifted off."

"Are you alright?" he asked, his words still coming slow in between deep breaths.

She leaned in closer to him, "Says the man with the tubes coming out of his nose."

"Where's your mother?" he asked.

"She went home for a few hours."

He smiled, "That's good."

She leaned forward closer to him, "Is there anything I can get you Dad? Anything at all?"

He turned and looked at her, and the softness in his features made her eyes sting. He lifted a hand and tenderly placed it on the side of her cheek. "No..." he said softly, "I've got everything I need...Sweetheart...everything I need." He smiled and then turned and drifted off to a peaceful sleep, leaving a bewildered daughter holding his hand.

"This party is a testament to you and the home you've made here," he said...and she found herself staring at him. He was under no anesthetics, no pain killers, this was broad daylight. "I regret..." he started and her mother stopped him. But Lorelai couldn't hear her mother.

"It takes..." Richard stopped and drew in a sharp breath. That did her in, tears started to flow. "It takes a remarkable person to inspire all of this," he finished.

"Thanks Dad," she said and for a moment the two of them just looked at each other.

He's proud of me. He's actually proud of me.

My Girl...look what my girl has made of herself.

"Alright! That's enough, it isn't though the two of you are saying goodbye!" her mother said. Richard smiled and winked at her.

Tennis courts--a huge bubble at the dragonfly--what was next--carnival rides? The word loan felt like a combination of a paper cut and fingernails on a chalkboard. What did this woman want from her? She had blocked her mother out until she heard the words, "We'd have to get together to hash out the details, but we wouldn't become nuisances."

Ah--so that was it.

"Mom, why don't we just get talk about it Friday night at dinner?"

She liked seeing the small flicker of delight that crept into her mother's features. She liked knowing that she put it there. She wanted to put it there again.

"It's an honor to be your grandmother Rory Gilmore," her mother told her daughter and the two hugged. Her mother started to cry and her father put his strong hands on her shoulders. Rory walked them to the car and before Lorelai turned to Sookie to thank her for the party, she watched them for a few minutes. Rory had her arm around her grandmother and vice versa. She was glad they had come, glad that she had told her mother she would still have Friday night dinner. But as she watched her mother and Rory together, the old nagging jealously resurfaced.

She wondered if it would ever really go away.