AN: This chapter was a bit tricky with the GG back-story stating that Emily had never seen the potting shed (Emily in Wonderland) yet had visited the Lorelais at the inn (Rory's Birthday Parties) but had never met Mia (The Ins and Outs of Inns). I hope that I covered all these bases in preparing to set up a first meeting between mother and daughter since the elder Lorelai left her family home. Enjoy!

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Once Lorelai had made it clear that she was done talking to them and headed toward the main building, Lee and Amanda glanced at one another in concern before plodding along a ways behind her.

"I don't like this. I don't believe she'll actually contact her parents," Amanda told her partner worriedly.

"I guess that means we're staying after all. So much for getting you home to your kids tonight," Lee grumbled, wondering just how he was going to make it through the night sharing a room with her after the fight they'd had especially when the day had started out so promising.

"Look, I never said I was in a hurry to get home, especially since I went to a lot of trouble to make sure they'd be looked after while I was away. You're the one who assumed that."

"I just figured since you kept bringing up the boys, that's what was more important to you."

She let out a sigh of frustration and explained, "Listen, my boys are important to me and if something major came up with them to the point that it came down to a choice between them and this job, I'd choose them any day of the week, but that doesn't mean that I want to sacrifice living for myself once in awhile when I know they're perfectly fine, especially now that their father's around more."

"Finally," he huffed.

"Yes, finally," she conceded with a sigh. "You weren't wrong in the things you said about him earlier. He hasn't been there for them the way a father should be. It really is about time that he stepped up and did more for them like I've done their whole lives, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm still their mother and they do still need things from me. Granted, they don't need me as much as they used to now that they're getting older, Phillip, in particular since he's a teenager now, so I am ready to start relaxing a bit when it comes to them, but if you're not on board…"

He reached for her hand and replied sincerely, "I am on board."

"Good." She gave him a slight smile, but then frowned as she thought of her harsh words to him. "I…um…I'm sorry that I said what I did in our room…you know about you sleeping around. I didn't really mean that. I know it isn't true."

"It's not far from true," he admitted, "I do have a…well…" He ran a hand through his hair and blew out a long breath. "Aw, hell, Amanda, you already know that I have a-a colorful past. I couldn't deny that if I tried, but it was never about just…you know…"

"I know and I'm really, really sorry that I said what I did."

"The thing is, that's all it is…the past." He stopped walking and took her hand in his. "I'm over living that way and I want…I want so much with you, but I-" He broke off as he saw the anticipation in her eyes, not sure how to say what was really on his mind. Was he ready to lay his feelings on the line this soon?

"I know, but the fact that we had a fight about it…" She hung her head in disappointment, but then shook her head, looked back up at him and plunged on, "Well, I think that means that we're not really ready to take that next step in our relationship…not that I don't still want to, but I think…I think it would just complicate things too much at this point."

He squeezed her hand and urged her toward the inn with him. "Amazingly, we actually agree on something for once when it comes to our relationship," he confessed as they re-entered the inn's main building.

"Yeah?" she replied curiously, thinking he'd argue with her about it.

"Yeah," he nodded. "So, I guess we'll have to get you another room." He gestured toward the front desk with his free hand.

"No, we don't. I never said we couldn't still share a room," she pointed out. "I mean, we've done it before when we've been undercover."

"And nearly came to blows a time or two when there was only one bed," he reminded her as he reflected back on a particular weekend less than a year into their partnership when she'd smacked him with her purse. "You did notice that our room upstairs only had one bed, right?"

"Okay, yes, but we've come so far since then and we weren't…you know…seeing each other outside of work then either like we are now, but if you think you can't control yourself if you're sharing a bed with me, then-"

"Oh, I can control myself just fine." His face split into a wide grin as he slipped one arm around her. "The question is, can you?"

"It's like I told you when Penny was around; you're not that cute," she teased.

He couldn't help laughing, glad the tension was broken between them. "So, you did."

She gestured toward the dining room where Lorelai was now getting Rory set up in a high chair. "Come on, I'm starving. Let's go get something to eat."

"And maybe talk to a certain stubborn teen mom while we're at it?" he suggested.

"You read my mind." They walked into the dining room together and approached Lorelai's table. "Excuse me, Lorelai?"

The younger woman looked up at them and snapped, "What now? I already told you I'd call Herr Gilmore, didn't I?"

"Oh, yes," Amanda smiled. "Yes, you did. We were just wondering…you know, since you not only work here, but live here too…well, we were wondering if you could maybe give us a recommendation on what's good to eat here. You see, it's an awfully long drive here from D.C. and we ate a very early lunch between trying to get on the road and then stopping in Hartford on the way and-"

"Hartford?" Lorelai questioned. "Let me guess, to be given your marching orders by Hartford's own Emily Post. I bet she even told you just how to 'handle' me, what to say to me and how to say it. I can even imagine she urged you to drag me home kicking and screaming if you had to."

"Um…no," Lee replied as he sat across from her while Amanda took the seat beside her. "We didn't go to see your mother. In fact, she came to our office. That's how we got involved in this."

"And she didn't tell us what to say or do when she did. As a matter of fact, our boss wanted to be done with this investigation, but it's like I told you earlier, I'm a mom too. And as a mom, I couldn't let this go, not when I saw how upset your mother was and how much she was missing you."

Lorelai snorted in disgust. "Missing controlling my life, you mean, telling me what to wear, what to say, how to behave…"

"But don't all parents do that to a point?" Lee countered.

"Okay, sure, but most don't tell you whether or not you should breastfeed your child or don't even let you change your own baby's diaper or pick out her clothes or dress her or-"

"I'm sure she was just trying to help you learn how to be a good mom," Amanda attempted to soothe the young mother.

"But she didn't, okay! I didn't learn a damn thing from not being allowed to be anywhere near my daughter most of the time. Why do you think I left? I had to learn how to be a mother and I couldn't do that with her mothering me!" When Rory started to fuss at her mother's raised voice, Lorelai took a deep breath to calm herself and reached for her daughter and held her close, crooning soft words to her to calm her down. Once the fussing subsided, in a cooler tone, she asked, "So, if you weren't in Hartford to see Her Royal Smugness, what were you there for?"

"We wanted to talk to Christopher," Amanda replied honestly. "We'd already figured out where you were and we thought that maybe…well, since he's the baby's father that he might want to see her."

"Fat chance!" Lorelai argued.

"But didn't he ask you to marry him?"

"No, that was totally my father's idea. You should have heard him once he knew I was pregnant, making plans for us, how we were going to get married and live at their house and Chris was going to go work for his company, blah, blah, blah. He never once considered asking either of us what we wanted, if we were ready to get married, if Chris wanted to go to work for him or if we wanted to live with them. I told him that I absolutely was not going to marry Christopher when it was clearly not what he wanted. Even after Rory was born, what he actually said was 'I guess we should get married' and even then, it was more like someone saying 'I guess since I had a heart attack, I should eat more healthy food,' like he was trying to fix a problem that had already happened. I didn't want that because it wouldn't have worked out. No one should get married if their heart isn't really in it."

"I can't say I disagree with you there," Amanda acknowledged. "If you had married before you were ready, chances are good that it wouldn't have lasted."

Lorelai looked at her curiously. "You sound like you know a little something about that."

"I do," the older woman admitted. "So, here's what I'm thinking. Why don't we all just have a nice dinner together and I'll tell you all about it, then after dinner, you can call your mom and arrange for her to come meet us here and if you need us to, Lee and I can stick around to…I don't know…be a buffer if you think you need it."

Lorelai's eyes lit up. "You'd do that for me?" She eyed Amanda skeptically and questioned, "But why? You don't know me or anything about me other than what Emily's told you and I'm sure that wasn't very flattering."

"Because I know what it's like to make a choice like that. I wasn't a teenager, but I was a pretty young mom and single too when I found out I was expecting my older boy. What do you say; do you think you can trust us enough to help you through this?"

She nodded. "Yeah." She tapped the menu. "The grilled pork chops. They're incredible. They're the Sistine Chapel of pork products."

"What?" Lee blinked in confusion.

Without hesitation, Amanda explained, "She's answering the question I asked earlier about what's good to eat here."

He shook his head. He should have guessed that Amanda would find a kindred spirit in this case she'd roped him into taking on against his will, but still he couldn't help smiling that they were at least close to resolving both the case and how to move forward with their personal relationship.

After they'd ordered their own dinner, Lee and Amanda turned their attention back to the young mother. "Just so we're clear," Lee began. "You are agreeing to talk to your mother face-to-face." The last thing they needed was to get on Dr. Smyth's bad side, especially since he'd seemed so annoyed by Amanda insisting on taking this case.

Lorelai nodded. "Yes, but if you're really serious about helping me, can I ask you just one favor?"

"Anything," Amanda answered immediately, while Lee shot her a perturbed look.

"I don't know about anything," he chimed in skeptically, wondering what the young girl was up to. His face softened though when he saw her expression change from one of challenging overconfidence to one of nervousness.

"Could…uh…could you guys be the ones to call her and set it up?" she stammered awkwardly. "I mean, with…with the way I left, I…" She let out a sigh. "I don't know if she'll even let me get a word in without hanging up on me…or yelling at me…or-"

"Oh, I'm sure that's not true," Amanda crooned in a consoling tone. "If you could see how upset she was when she talked about how much she missed you, I'm sure you'd understand just how much she wants to talk to you."

"Please," Lorelai pleaded. "I promise I'll let her come here and I'll talk to her, but I-I just need…I guess I need someone else to talk to her first…sort of pave the way for me. Can you do that?" She swallowed hard as she thought of how her mother would react to her working as a maid, then another horrible thought struck her, how might she treat Mia if she met her once she knew that the older woman had taken her in and not only given her that job, but a place to live as well? She'd probably lay all the blame on Mia for her not coming home. She couldn't let that happen. She'd have to make sure they set it up for a time when Mia would be gone for the day. "And one other thing, since I work tomorrow, can we…uh…can we set it up for dinnertime…you know, here in the dining room, like now? She'll be less likely to make a scene if we're in front of other people and I can't have her doing something that would get me fired while I'm working."

Amanda stared at Lorelai thoughtfully, sure that there was something worrying her that she wasn't saying, but since they'd finally gained her trust a bit and she recalled with vivid clarity the scene Emily had made at the office earlier in the day, she decided not to push it. "Of course we'll try, but that's only if we can get your mother to agree to it."

"Well, here's the thing," Lorelai's expression hardened again. "Tell her if it doesn't happen on my terms, it doesn't happen at all. I don't need her in my life. I've done just fine on my own for the past five months and as long as I keep working hard, I'll keep doing just fine."

Lee and Amanda glanced at each other for a moment, Lee with a questioning gaze and when Amanda returned a look of acquiescence, he nodded to Lorelai with a sigh and replied, "If that's the way it has to be, fine."

"Thank you," Lorelai replied gratefully before turning her gaze back to Amanda, "So, you said you were going to tell me your story, how you knew what kind of decision I had to make."

"So I did," Amanda responded and launched into a retelling of the story she'd told Lee earlier, hoping that it would help the younger woman to trust her a bit more.