AN: Sorry this took so long. I had it finished about a week ago, but I didn't think I did. Then I went on holidays and didn't have internet. But I'm home now, back at work, and back with a stupid headache. Anyway, sorry for the wait, please, enjoy.

Lorelai shut the door behind the last customer and dropped into the closest seat. After ten hours on her feet, schlepping coffees, milkshakes, pancakes, and burgers all over the joint, she was exhausted.

The coffee shop she was working in was no Café Lalo, it wasn't nearly as successful as Starbucks, either. The place was barely a blip on the map, but it was there and they had their loyal clientele, and she was earning money. Not a whole lot, but moolah was moolah.

For the first time in her life, Lorelai was living alone. After sixteen years with her kid, she was all by herself. The first week was a challenge, the second felt a little like a weird dream. But in her fourth week of solitude, Lorelai was getting the hang of things. Rory was safe; not entirely happy yet, but safe nonetheless, and that was the important part.

Sookie called each week with an update and Lorelai was pleased to learn that her daughter was back in school. Even though Rory still wasn't speaking much or sharing too many details of her life, Jess, Luke's nephew, confirmed that Rory was present and accounted for in each of their English classes, and a friend of his added that they also shared a few classes and Rory was usually in those, if not every one. English was her favorite subject, on account of the books, but the others she really only went to when she felt like it.

"Hey, Lorelai, why don't you head home for the night?" Lorelai's supervisor, Steve suggested. "I can lock up for the night, finish things."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, you've been here forever. Go, get some rest, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Ok, thanks." Lorelai moved towards the back room to collect her stuff and then let herself out the staff entrance. The day after putting Rory on the bus, she had gone out on a job hunt. By the end of the week she was working at Jitters – the name sucked, but the people were pretty cool, and the coffee was close to excellent. She had been accepting every single shift offered to her since then. Jobs didn't usually stick for long with her, she got bored, or something at home would cause an upset at work, in any case, she hadn't had any job for a long period of time. But she wasn't going to let that happen this time.

'If I'm going to make things better for Rory, this is what I have to do,' she repeated every time she started getting frustrated or cranky from lack of sleep. Steve must have seen one of those moods coming, because he let her off early, even though there was crockery to wash up, tables to wipe down and a register to count. 'I'll just sleep tonight and do better tomorrow,' she told herself, walking in the crisp night air.

When she got into the apartment, and checked the messages (you have no new messages, the machine told her in that annoying robotic voice.) she didn't put the phone down right away. Sitting on the couch, Lorelai held the handset, her fingers itching to punch in the numbers for someone she hadn't seen in… too long. It was late, but she was pretty sure that this person really wouldn't be all that upset with her if she did call. Or maybe they would, now.

"Not tonight," she told herself, forcing her hand to release the phone. Even if he wasn't annoyed by the lateness of the call, she wasn't entirely sure she knew what she would say, if he answered. "Not now." She stood up and walked away from the piece of technology that seemed to get people into a lot of trouble. But she wasn't going to let that happen to her this time. "Just go to sleep." Lorelai commanded, walking into her bedroom and collapsing onto the lumpy mattress.

She hadn't believed that it was possible, but, Rory found that Lane was right. After Jess transferred to his new school, Stars Hollow High did actually get worse.

He'd only been gone two days as school had just come back, but those two days had really sucked.

At least she'd managed to get rid of Dean after their first encounter, and that seemed to scare off most of the other kids. When they were in the right moods, she and Lane managed to get along pretty well, but compared to Jess, it seemed that everyone else at the school was incredibly dull. That was one thing she and Lane agreed on.

During the school break, Rory had spent each day working in the diner. She had nothing better to do and figured that the more she worked the more money she would earn and the easier it would be for her to go and be on her own the second she turned eighteen. If she was forced to stay that long.

Her mom had called, mentioned something about a new job, but Rory wasn't interested and blocked most of it out. She sounded good though. Even when she wasn't listening to the words, Rory heard the tone in Lorelai's voice, and she sounded as if things were going pretty well.

That kind of pissed Rory off; she was stuck in this science experiment, and her mother was off living her life happily. Somewhere in her mind, Rory knew it was a good thing that her mom was doing well, but she wouldn't let herself admit it, not yet anyway.

Sookie picked up the phone and along with her cup of tea, carried it over to the couch where her address book sat open, she found the number she needed and began to dial.

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's Sookie." When they were younger, Lorelai had always answered the phone with a witty comment, these days it was usually just 'hello'.

"So, tell me, was everyone on their best behavior this week?"

"Actually, they were. We've checked in with Rory's teachers, she's shown up to almost all her classes; she's not really participating much, but…"

"Give her time. That kid loved school once, they'll get to her soon. How's she going with Luke?"

"Well, as good as Luke is with Jess, Rory's a very different story. They're still a little… Not great, but I haven't seen quite as many withering glares lately, which I think means a tiny bit of progress has been made."

"Good. That's really good, I'm glad."

"What about you?" Sookie asked after a moment of silence. "How are things going at work?"

"Well, I haven't been fired yet, so I guess that means, not bad. What about the inn? Is it still standing?"

"I haven't managed to burn it down yet. The stove's caught fire a few times, but somehow my staff has managed to avert any disasters."

"That's good to hear. I don't know how well Mia would take having her inn burn to the ground by her favorite chef." They both laughed. "So, what about her hair?"

"Mia's? I don't know. She hasn't been in town-"

"No, no, sweetie." Lorelai laughed again. "Not Mia's hair, Rory's. After her little venture into the world of self-beautification, is it looking any better yet?"

"Oh, yeah, a little. I took her to a salon; they managed to neaten it up a bit."

"I still can't believe she just hacked it off. We always talked about how she was going to have her hair done before she did it; I guess I really did screw things up with her, because that is not the kid I remember." Sookie didn't respond and Lorelai chewed her lip, 'stop it with the self-deprecating crap, Gilmore.' "How are Jackson's crops going? Do you think he'll have a good harvest this year?"

"I think so, he seems very happy with the way that things are going."

"Great, that's…"

"Any questions about Taylor? Miss Patty? Maybe you're concerned about Mayor Porter?"

"What are you talking about?" Lorelai asked, slightly amused.

"I'm just saying; it's been years since we've seen each other, now we have these weekly calls and you ask so many questions about everyone in town; people you've seen even less of. Some you haven't even met, is there something specific you want to ask me?"

"Do you…" Lorelai scratched her head, trying to think of the right words. "Does he ever talk about me… us?"

"Not really,"

"Oh, ok. I, um, I should probably-"

"I mean, he doesn't talk about you, because I don't think he can." Sookie rushed to explain. She didn't want Lorelai to get the wrong idea. "Everything that happened, he took it really hard. But he still cares enough to-"

"I've gotta go Sook, I'm sorry, but I have to start early in the morning. I should really be getting to bed, so I'm nice and perky for the customers, you know?"

"Did I-"

"I'm fine, everything's fine, can you just… tell Rory I love her, and I'll call her in a couple of days?"

"Sure sweetie."

"Thanks, I'll talk to you later," Lorelai hung up before Sookie could reply. "You couldn't just stick to Rory, could you? Had to go and ask stupid questions," she berated herself. "What did you get us into?" she muttered, putting the phone down.

When Jess got off the bus and walked towards the front entrance of Chilton, he was busy preparing himself for another day of verbal sparring with the supposed ruler of the school. Paris Gellar seemed to think she had complete control of the school, or that she deserved it and would one day have it, Jess hadn't figured that out yet.

It wasn't all bad though.

The same day he met and was terrified by her, he'd also met his first ally in the halls. Tristan Dugrey had taken the new kid under his wing, instructing him on all the things he needed to know about the school, which included, not crossing Paris.

The blonde boy had wandered into class late, and as soon as they were released, he'd made a bee-line for Jess. After introducing himself Tristan proceeded to invite Jess to join him and his friends at lunch. The other people at the table didn't seem to find him all that interesting, but Tristan ignored them all and got to know his new acquaintance.

He'd found it a little strange at first, the only real friend he'd ever had was Lane, but now there was this new person taking an interest in him. Jess was still trying to work out if it was all apart of an elaborate plan to humiliate him, but Tristan seemed like a pretty nice guy, so he thought he was probably being genuine. From what he'd gathered in his whole two days at the school, pretty much everyone was a phony, or honestly spoiled and up themselves. It looked as if Tristan had been waiting a long time for someone real to come along.

"Hey, Jess, did you do that reading last night?" Tristan asked, coming over to walk beside him.

"Yeah, didn't you?"

"Nah, I had… Other things on my mind." He replied, watching a girl in a short skirt walk by as she smiled at him and waved. "Priorities, you know. So I was wondering…"

"How have you survived in this school for so long without me?" Jess asked, pulling his bag open and removing a notebook.

"I have endeavored to always date the smart girls." Tristan replied, flipping through his friends notes, skimming for the important bits.

"And how's that working out for you?"

"The really smart ones aren't stupid enough to fall for my… charm. So, not that great; I actually think that my name is the only thing that's kept me safe here. But now I've got you, so maybe things will start looking up."

"You're pretty, but not really my type. Sorry."

"You wound me Mariano, how will I go on without you?" Tristan cried out dramatically as Jess just shook his head and laughed. "But seriously, my dad has actually been home a lot more lately, and for some reason he really read my last report card. So it looks like I'm going to have to start studying for real. And I was thinking, maybe you and I could get together a couple days a week after school see if we can't catch me up."

"Catch you up? What about me? Two days ago, Charleston gave me some heinous speech about failure being a part of life, but not Chilton. If I don't get myself caught up, I won't be around long enough to even think about helping you."

"Ok, well what if we do it together? If we've both got the same objective in mind…"

"Not flunking out of school,"

"Exactly, if we each make that our goal, and we help each other study, then maybe, we'll be able to fake our way through for a while until, what, you think graduation's a bit of a stretch?"

"Well, probably not. You've been faking it this long, so, I guess that means anything's possible. But it's not going to take that long." Jess replied. "I just need a few weeks then I should be all set."

"That's what I like to hear." Tristan grinned, throwing an arm around Jess' shoulders as they made their way towards their lockers; they were in the same hall, just across from one another. "Now, about these study sessions, when do you think they'll be starting? Because, the old man is really bugging me, and I imagine if he sees me actually making an effort he might back off a little."

"How about you come to Stars Hollow this afternoon? I was supposed to work, but I'm sure my uncle wouldn't mind giving me a couple hours off."

"You've got yourself a deal. Oh, and by the way, as payment for you helping me out here, how bout I help you out with the ladies?" Tristan suggested, smirking. "Eh? They may not be the nicest girls in the world, but they certainly do have some redeeming qualities."

"How about you just don't get yourself kicked out? I've gotten by with one friend at school my whole life; that should be all I need to get through this place as well."

"Alright, alright. But the offer still stands, you change your mind, just let me know." Tristan replied, taking his books and walking down the hall towards his first class. Jess just shook his head as he followed suite. He'd definitely found himself an interesting companion.

"Ok, I'm sorry, but, does anyone that lives here actually own a calendar?" Tristan asked as he drove into Stars Hollow.

"Yeah, why?"

"It's March, and it looks as if your entire town is being guarded by gourds. They do realize that Halloween is long gone don't they?"

"Well, see, Taylor Doose plans everything we do here. But he went on vacation in September, and left Kirk in charge of the Halloween preparations. Big mistake. Kirk screwed up, and didn't order the pumpkins from the usual place so they got here late. When they arrived last week, Taylor announced that we were going to celebrate again, do it up right."

"That man sounds like he has way too much time on his hands."

"Yeah, I think he needs a girlfriend, but there are very few women in town who can tolerate him. Pull over here," Tristan followed Jess' instruction and they each got out of the car. "So, I'm thinking we should grab something to eat before we start, what d'you say?"

"Excellent idea, anything to delay the studying,"

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't this your idea?"

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I actually want to do it."

"Come on, my mom's inside; two minutes with her and you'll be begging to hit the books." Jess replied, reaching for the door handle.

"What are you doing here?" Luke asked, looking up from his order pad. "I thought you had to study."

"We do, but I thought we'd stop in, grab some burgers and say hi. I can come by after if you want."

"Nah, don't worry bout it."

"So, who's your friend?" Liz asked, watching the two boys, her elbow propped on the counter, her chin resting in her palm.

"Tristan, this is my mom, Liz, and my uncle Luke. Guys, Tristan DuGrey."

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Mariano, Mr….?"

"Luke."

"Mr. Luke?"

"Just Luke," Liz clarified. "And you can call me Liz."

"Oh, ok."

"So, just the burgers?" Luke asked, writing down the order.

"Could you throw in some fries and a couple of coffees?"

"Jess…"

"Mom!" Jess wined, turning a pleading eye to his mother.

"Luke, come on," Liz fixed her big brother with a look and he shook his head.

"Fine, enjoy your premature death; I give up."

"Yes!"

"Finally, I've gotta call Lane."

"Don't bother. I can see that you're a lost cause, but I will continue trying to save her." Jess rolled his eyes as Liz laughed and Tristan looked confused. "Take a seat, I'll let you know when the food's done. Rory, you can take a break."

"Jeez, it's about time! I'm pretty sure you're defying child labor laws here,"

"You give Michael Moore a call then, just make sure you're done in twenty minutes." Luke called out after her as she poured herself a coffee and walked out the door.

"Wow, you're cousin is really sweet," Tristan remarked, sarcastically as he and Jess found an empty table.

"My cous- Rory? No. She's not… At least I hope she isn't. I don't actually know who her parents are."

"Really? Coz it seems like she and Luke hate each other, which I've noticed is common in child/parent relationships. At least in most of the ones I've observed."

"No. She couldn't be. No one ever said…"

"Do you like her?" Tristan fixed Jess with a look. When the brunette didn't answer, Tristan leaned forward over the table. "You do don't you? Well, well, it looks as if you may be needing my assistance after all."

"Here you go," Luke dropped a bag of food, along with two coffees onto the table and turned away.

"Thanks," Jess, mumbled his eyes glued to the table, and then as he walked towards the door, his shoes.

"Come on, you can tell me. I promise I won't spill your secrets." Tristan pleaded as they made their way outside.

"I-" Jess stopped speaking and moving as soon as they reached the street; Rory stood leaning against the side of the building, a large coffee mug in one hand and a cigarette in the other.

"Hey, you made a friend!" she called out and they walked towards her. "Has he told you how much he's worth yet? I mean, he goes to that big fancy school, he's gotta be some kind of milionaire, right?"

"I stopped advertising that after an unfortunate kidnapping incident in kindergarten." Tristan answered. "Just telling people my name seems to have the desired effect nowadays, Tristan DuGrey," he added.

"Ah, DuGrey… Nope, doesn't ring any bells. Sorry."

"It would if you'd grown up in Hartford society. But that's ok, I can work around your ignorance, Rory…?"

"Gilmore."

"As in The Gilmore's? Richard, Emily and Lorelai?"

"My mom's name is Lorelai, but I don't know an Emily or Richard." Rory replied.

"They're you're grandparents. Very close with mine in fact. Have you really never met them?"

"I have no idea. They weren't around to save me from Lorelai, or this place, so they aren't too much use to me."

"Tristan, we should probably be going," Jess interrupted and the other two looked at him.

"Remember, we have-"

"To study, right. Wouldn't want to miss that. Well, Rory, it was nice meeting you; I'll pass on your regards next time I see the Gilmore's."

"Oh, would you?" she asked, fixing on a fake smile before pushing away from the wall and returning inside.

"She's not you're cousin." Tristan told Jess as they returned to the car.

"I've been talking to her for weeks, and you've had one conversation with her. How do you know that?"

"Her mother is Lorelai Gilmore," he replied, as if that explained everything.

"And?"

"And Lorelai grew up with my mother. They were about as far from bosom buddies as you could get, on account of Lorelai having this boyfriend that Mommy Dearest wanted for herself. I'll tell you now, his name was not Luke. So you're free and clear. All we've gotta do now is get you ready to actually talk to the girl properly."

"No, what we need to do," Jess replied, removing items from the bag and putting them on the coffee table. "Is read up on Proust. That would be our most pressing subject at the moment."

"Damn! You totally have a one track mind. And not in a good way,"

Luke exited the pharmacy and began the short walk back to the diner. Everything in this town was just a short walk away; that was oddly comforting. Rory had practically demanded she be let off 'slop duty' as she had a history report to write, so Luke had left Caesar in charge while he went out to run a quick errand.

Making his way inside he called out to his employee, before heading up the stairs and into the apartment, where Rory sat, her headphones in, as she poured over a notebook, a pack of cigarettes on the table. He walked over to where she sat on the couch and tapped her on the shoulder. She looked up, but made no effort to remove the headphones, and he stood impatiently, waiting for more of a response. When it didn't come, Luke reached out and pulled the cord to remove the ear pieces, and Rory glared at him.

"Hey!"

"I've told you before, that this is done." He began, picking up the pack. "So, to help you with that, we got the patch, the gum, hypnosis tapes, Chinese herbs, self-help books, and several pictures of diseased lungs to hang on the fridge." He explained, dumping the contents of a paper bag on the table in front of her. "Pretty, huh? I will not have smoking in my home, and I'm pretty sure that you're mom wouldn't be too thrilled about your little habit you've picked up, now would she?"

"She wouldn't care," Rory replied, sullenly, picking up her pen and paper again. Only then did Luke notice she hadn't been writing notes, but doodling all over the page.

"She is your mother, she loves you and any woman who loves her child does not relish the idea of that child killing themselves and the people around them in such a slow, painful fashion. So, we'll try this again. You will use these things, and you will quit smoking, do you understand me?"

Rory stared at the items spread out in front of her, the lungs looked really disgusting, and every single one of the books had a ridiculous sounding title, that made her want to barf. No matter the subject of a self-help book, Rory found they were all extremely easy to mock. But if this was what she had to do, in order to extend her vacation from Lorelai, then, so be it. "Fine, but I'm not taking any herbs. Who knows what that stuff really is, you could just be trying to drug me so you can have your way with me."

"I… You should- I'm done, you take this stuff, I'm going back to work, I don't want to listen to you anymore!" Luke announced, before storming out of the apartment. 'he is so easy,' she thought, with a grin. Getting Luke riled up was so entertaining, Rory didn't really care what she had to say, in order to achieve her goal.

Picking up a pack of nicotine gum, she read the packaging before unwrapping a piece and popping it in her mouth. "The things I do for you people…" she muttered.

AN: Ah, yeah, that was weird... Anyways, please review.