The Gilmore Girls were around the dinner table on Friday night dinner, waiting for Richard to rejoin them, so they could have dessert. "Tomorrow our lawyer, Joseph Stanford, is coming by," Emily told the table.

"Crazy Sissy's dad," Lorelai remembers who that was.

"That's terrible. You were good friends." She couldn't believe how rude her daughter was.

"Mom, she spoke to her stuffed animals, and they answered." She defends herself, Sissy earns that nickname.

"Couldn't she have been a kid with a good imagination?" Anna sips her tea. Emily points at her granddaughter agreeing with her point.

"Even in her teens, she carried a teddy bear around Chilton, talking to it, asking it questions," Lorelai spoke like she was telling a spooky story around a campfire.

"Let's start a new topic," Rory said when she saw how red her grandma's face was.

"You're impossible." Emily snaps.

"She said a new topic." Lorelai reminds her.

"Everything's a joke. Everyone's a punch line." Emily shook her head.

"Okay, I'm sorry." She apologizes.

"My daughter, Henny Youngman," She scoffs and takes a drink from her teacup.

"Sorry about that, a little trouble in our China office. What did I miss?" Richard came in and sat down at the head of the table.

"I was being impossible. Then I turned into a Jewish comedian." Lorelai explains.

He nodded like it was a normal thing and took his glasses off. "Continue."

"Thank you. Where was I?" Emily couldn't remember what she was saying.

"Something about a lawyer," Anna couldn't place a name.

"Joseph Stanford is coming tomorrow." Rory reminds them.

"Yes. So, Rory, Anna, your grandfather and I thought it might be nice after dinner to go around the house and pick out what you'd like us to leave you in our will." She smiles at her grandchildren.

"Take a look at that desk in my office. It's a really fine Georgian piece." Richard told Rory.

"Or the vanity I have in the bedroom, you would love it, Anna." Emily reaches over to pat her hand.

"Why don't I ever bring a tape recorder to these dinners?" Lorelai mutters to herself, knowing that no one would believe this.

"Anything you want to leave us is fine." Rory looked at her grandparents.

"These are nice candlesticks." Anna leans closer to get a better look at them.

"Nonsense, you should have what you like. Just look around. When you see something you like, stick a post-it on it." Emily instructed them.

"Okay, you two have officially hit a new level of weird that even I marvel at," Lorelai speaks up, not being able to hold her tongue any longer.

"You can pick out things, too," Emily told her daughter.

"Now it's way less creepy," She perks up.

"Did you hear that, Richard? Apparently, we're creepy." Emily looked over at her husband.

"Yes, well, you live and learn." He shrugs giving his daughter an amused look.

"Oh, cool," Rory said when the maid came in and put a fancy bowl in front of her.

"Pudding," Anna claps her hands and looks down in glee at her bowl.

"What's this?" Lorelai stares down at her bowl in amazement.

"It's dessert." Emily picks up her spoon.

"It's pudding." She tilts her head, still not sure what was going on.

"If you knew what it was, why did you ask?" She put a spoonful in her mouth.

"You don't like pudding." Lorelai points out.

"Yes, but you like pudding. The girls like pudding." She pointed over at Anna. She was shoving one big bite into her mouth after another.

"I love pudding. I worship it. I have a bowl upon the mantel with the Virgin Mary, a glass of wine, and a dollar bill next to it." She went on making her mom roll her eyes.

"I've never had pudding from a crystal bowl before." Rory was amazed at how a dessert from a box could look so fancy.

"You like the bowl?" Emily asks. Rory nods. "Put a post-it on it when you're done."


"Does anyone want this?" Anna pushes the beverage cart around. She looks over to see her mom and sister standing in front of a big ugly amphora vase.

"You can take that if you take the vase." Her mother told her.

"Deal," She nods her head. She figured she could repaint it or something.

"This is the strangest evening I've ever spent here," Rory said.

"Really, I think it's the most fun I've had. If you look past the whole, they have to die for us to get these things, thing." Anna felt like she needed to explain her first sentence when she saw the looks she was getting.

"So, how are we doing?" Emily came in to check on them.

"Great, just getting ready for the big day," Lorelai told her.

"Very nice," She nods.

"It's getting late, Mom. Unless you've got some funeral plots for us to decorate, we should be going." Lorelai needs to get out of the house that was beginning to look like a tomb to her.

"Any special requests for dinner next week," Emily looks over at Rory since it would be her birthday.

"Mom, I want to talk to you for a minute. Rory, Anna, why don't you go say goodbye to Grandpa?" She nods her head to the side for them to get out.

"Very smooth," Rory said. They walk to Richard's study.

"Hey, Grandpa, we came to say bye, so bye Grandpa." Anna waves to him.

"Did you guys look around and get everything you wanted? I'm sure there'll be another chance but you never know." He stood up to give them both a hug.

"Yeah, we went through the place with a fine-tooth comb," Rory hugs him.


"So, how would you like two parties this year?" Lorelai turns to the passenger seat.

"You couldn't get her to cave." Rory sighs.

"No. But she did agree to make the string quartet learn Like a Virgin." Lorelai told her.

"Well, you tried." Rory sighs again. Anna was in the backseat trying to figure out what day her birthday fell on.

"Sweetie, I promise, Saturday night we'll do it up right at home, a Stars Hollow extravaganza." Her mother promised.

"So, is this party Grandma's having? Is it going to be a big deal?" Rory wonders if it would be just them or a bunch of their grandparent's friends too.

"Not really. The government will close that day. Flags will fly at half-mast. Barbra Streisand will give her final concert again." Lorelai started up the jeep.

"Mom!" She whines.

"The Pope has previous plans, but he's trying to get out of them. However, Elvis and Jim Morrison are coming and they're bringing chips." She giggles as she pulls out of the driveway.

"You ask a simple question" She shook her head.


Anna was at her locker when Tristan leaned against the locker next to hers. "So, how are you planning on introducing me?"

"What?" She looks up at him with squinted eyes.

"On Friday, will you say this is Tristan, my classmate, friend, or maybe boyfriend?" He shrugs like he didn't care, but his heart was pounding in his chest.

"Is this some weird way to ask me what are we?" She closes her locker to lean against it.

"Your sister's party," He held up a card. Anna grabs it from him and opens it up to read: On the morning of October eighth at 4:03 in the morning, Emily and Richard Gilmore were blessed with a perfect baby granddaughter, Lorelai Gilmore. Please join us this Friday to celebrate the joyous occasion. Seven o'clock. Black tie optional.

"Who else got these?" She looks up at him.

"I don't know. Everyone in our class, I think." He has seen a lot of people walking around with them in their hands and heard them talking about it.

"I have to find Rory." She tries to walk past him, but he grabs her hand.

"You haven't answered my question." He hadn't thought about it until he got the invitation last night and his father commented on him meeting his girlfriend's grandparents. He realized that they never talk about titles. They acted like a couple, but that didn't mean they were one. He felt like he needed to find out before that night because he wasn't sure how he would react in the moment.

"I don't stick my hands down a guy's pants unless he's my boyfriend." She told him.

"Oh, so we have been official for a while now." He smiles, happy that was cleared up.

"Now let go I have to find Rory." She points to the hand he was still holding.

"Oh sorry," He drops her hand.

She ran to the courtyard where Rory liked to read. She realized what a bad decision that was because now she was out of breath. "What's wrong?" Rory asked, knowing it had to be serious for her sister to exercise. Anna held out the invitation to her. She grabs it and gasps when she reads it. "Where did you get this?"

"From Tristan, he said everyone in our grade has one. I'm so sorry, Rory." She apologized when she got her breath back.

"I have to go." Rory walks away, clutching the invitation to her chest. Anna follows behind her, wanting to be there if she had a meltdown.

"That's her." Louise nods to Rory to a bunch of her friends, surprisingly Madeline and Paris weren't with her.

"My parents are making me go," Some girl that Anna never noticed before whines.

"Another obligation party," Louise looks over at Rory to make sure she heard.

"My life stinks." The unknown girl sighs.

Rory began to speed walk and Anna let her get away before she turned to the group of catty girls. "Let me un-stink it for you. You're un-invented. In fact, if I see any of you there I'll call the cops." Anna smirks at their shock faces before getting to class.


Anna follows her gloomy sister into Luke's. "Wow, nice face you got on there," Lorelai commented when they came into her view. Rory plops herself down on a table and her sister and mother follow suit.

"Coffee," Rory crocked.

"Bad day," Lorelai asks.

"I've now used the word "suck" so much that it's lost all meaning to me." She told her.

"Maybe this will cheer you up." Her mom opens a dress bag up to show a frilly dress.

"What is that?" Anna grabs the bag to open it up more.

"These are our party dresses." She told them.

"So it's a Halloween party?" Rory asks.

"Don't knock it. Remember that year you had a Halloween theme party, it was amazing. Miss Patty came as Jessica Rabbit." Anna giggles.

"Listen, you. So I'm shopping today with your grandmother and it's a whole three hours of, "Who are you buying that for, Mom?" "Have you met Rory?" And then finally I talked and she listened. She wound up getting you something I think you're going to like." She wears a big smile.

"Really," They were surprised that she had a good time. It was more surprising then Rory having a good time golfing with grandpa.

"Yes, really, and she insisted on buying us these dresses. But I think I can do something to make them better." She pats the dress bags.

"I've never seen you so cheery after spending time with Grandma." Rory smiles at her mother's afternoon despite her day.

"It's been a long time since we got together and didn't end up fighting. It was refreshing. It wasn't exactly fun but I didn't get that shooting pain in my eye like I usually do." She points to her left eye.

"That's great," Anna smiles. She felt bad for Rory. She knew the girl was too sweet to ruin the harmony that was going on between their mom and grandma.

"So I hear you're having a party Saturday." Luke gave them three coffees.

"Mom's famous for her blowouts." Rory smiles at her mother.

"The best one was her eighth birthday," Lorelai told him.

"Yeah, that was good." Rory nods.

"The cops shut us down." She smiles with pride.

"They shut down an 8-year-old's birthday party?" He asks in disbelief.

"And arrested the clown," Anna smiles, it was a fun memory.

"I don't want to hear any more of this." He put his hands up and walked away.

"So now tell me, why Miss Lemonhead today?" Lorelai asks. Anna waited on her sister's answer, even though she knew she wouldn't be able to pull the trigger.

"Nothing, I'm fine. I just got an A-minus on a French test that I should have gotten an A on." She shook her head. Anna scoffs, she couldn't come up with a better lie than that.

"Honey, an A-minus is awesome." Lorelai pats her daughter's hand. She believes the lie so easily that Anna wonders who the stupid one was.

"Yeah, it's fine." Rory shrugs.

"Let me see. Maybe we should embrace the whole tulle thing. Go total modern Cinderella. What do you think? It's your birthday." Lorelai plays with the dress.

"If anyone can pull off that look it would be you." Anna could picture Rory in a Cinderella gown.

"Yeah, lucky me," Rory put on a big fake smile.


Rory, Lane, and Anna walk into Luke's the morning of Rory's birthday. "You shouldn't have to go to school today." Lane said. Normally, the Gilmore girls would play hooky from work and school on one's birthday. They would spend all day doing whatever the birthday girl wanted.

"I have to. I have a Latin test." Rory sat down at the counter. This year was different, they were going to Chilton. A school, where you miss one day and it feels like you missed a week.

"Jeez. Every day you have a test. Do you have time to learn anything to be tested on?" Lane sat down next to Rory. Anna sat on the other side of her sister.

"Wrong table," Luke came over to tell them.

"Since, when is there a right table?" Rory looks at him confused. He didn't even seat people.

"Since the coffee cake I baked for you, and the stupid balloons I blew up are at that table, over there." He points at the table behind them.

"You blew up balloons for me?" She smiles.

"Yeah," He nods.

"Luke, you old softy," She teases.

"I count to three, it's gone." He held up three fingers.

"Thank you." She sang. They got up to go over to the table.

"Are you okay?" Lane asks.

"Yeah, I just, I'm getting old, Lane." She drops her bag next to her chair.

"You seem a little quiet this morning." She gave her a sympathetic face.

"I'm just dreading this whole night. It's bad enough that I have to see these stupid kids from Chilton every day, but tonight, on my birthday? I've never even talked to most of them. I've only been going to this school for a couple of months. God, they're going to think I am the biggest freak that needs my grandma to get people to come to my party." Rory cut the coffee cake and put a piece on her plate.

"What did Lorelai say when you told her?" Lane put a slice on her plate.

"She didn't." Anna sips her coffee.

"Why not," Lane looks at Rory in surprise. Her mom might be the only one to get her grandma to back down.

"Because of the pudding," Rory put some cake into her mouth.

"Right, I forgot about the pudding." Anna sighs. Lane looked at them confused as to why pudding would be a reason.

"Grandma served us pudding the other night. Then she went shopping with my mom, and they didn't fight. I mean, they never get along. And now, suddenly, they're getting along. I knew that if I told Mom about the invite, she'd wig out and call Grandma and that would be the end of the pudding." Rory explains to Lane.

"You know, you can buy pudding." She told her friend.

"That and this peace isn't going to last forever. It's going to be over the second we step into that house tonight. Mom is going to know you didn't want that big party. Grandma is going to hate what mom did to our dresses. Especially mine, I'm going to look sexy with my high silt." Anna shimmed.

"I want to keep it going for as long as possible," Rory sighs, thinking about how painful tonight is going to be.

"Suit yourself." Anna shrugs.

The bell above the door rang, and Dean walked into the diner. Anna wiggles her eyebrow at Rory. In return, Rory put her hand up to block Anna's face from her view as Dean and her shared meaningful glances. "Coffee to go, please," He went up to the counter.

"Here you go." Luke hands him coffee. When the bell rang again, Rory drops her hand.

"I couldn't see anything. Lane, what happened?" Anna turns to her friend.

"A lot of eye contact," Lane wiggled her eyebrows.

"Oh," Anna wiggles hers too. Rory laughs, shaking her head.


Rory and Anna were in their school uniforms and Lorelai who was already in her party dress stood on the doorstep of Emily and Richard Gilmore's house. They stared at the door, mentally preparing for tonight. "Okay, I'll ring it." Lorelai pushes the button.

Instead of seeing Emily's face, it was some man in a tuxedo. "Welcome to Lorelai Gilmore's party." He bows.

"Thank you." They nod to him and walk-in. There were people everywhere putting up decorations and getting things ready.

"Jeez, Mom, leave some servants for the rest of the neighborhood," Lorelai said to her mother when they turned the corner to go into the living room.

"There she is, the birthday girl." Emily stood up from fixing something on the table and smiled at Rory.

"Hi, Grandma," Rory greets her, even though she wanted to scream.

"Wow, you really went all out." Lorelai looks around.

"I wanted everything to be perfect. What do you think?" Emily asks.

"Edith Wharton would have been proud and busy taking notes." She gave the highest compliment she could think of. "Here, babes, go change." She gave her daughters their dresses. They took it and headed up the stairs.

"Hurry!" Emily yells at their backs.

They entered one of the guest bedrooms and got ready. Their hair was already curled and their makeup was done, so they just had to slip into their dresses. Rory had a green satin tank top dress that ended a few inches above her knees. She put a green sheer shrug over it. For accessories, she had a silver hair clip and bracelet. She had on a pair of simple black heels.

Anna put on a long red satin tank top dress with a v neckline and a high slit on her right side that ended high thigh. She put on the pearls bracelet, earrings, and necklace set that her grandparents got her last Christmas. She had on a pair of black strappy heels. She looked in the mirror to make sure her makeup was still good. When she was satisfied that her smoky eyes and red lips were perfect, she turned back to her sister. "I still think you should have gone for the long nails." She looked down at her red coffin shaped nails.

"I don't like fake nails." Rory admired her manicured green nails.

"Do you want to stay up here until they come looking for us?" She sat down on the bed and pats the spot next to her.

"That's probably the best offer I'm going to get all night." Rory took a seat next to her sister.


"You don't have to sit by me, you know. You can find Tristan." Rory looked over at her sister, who was sitting on the couch next to her as the party went on around them.

"I told him to find me." Anna leaned back in her seat to show that she wasn't going anywhere. Lorelai took a seat next to them and handed a glass to each of them. "What is it?" Anna leans in to smell the sugar drink.

"Shirley Temple." She told them.

"What are you drinking?" Rory nods to her glass that was the same color as theirs.

"A Shirley Temple Black," She put her glass under their nose. Anna and Rory lean back from the strong rum smell. "I got your Good Ship Lollipop right here, mister." Lorelai waves the drink around. "So, do you want anything to eat?" She asks.

"Everything smells funny," Rory explains.

"Yeah, I'm normally an adventurous eater but when it doesn't smell right I don't bite." Anna nods.

Emily came over and pulled her two granddaughters off the couch. "There you are. Come, there are some people I want you to meet." Their grandma took them around the room introducing them to everyone.

They thought they could make their great escape when they saw their grandfather. "Hey, Grandpa," They walk over to them.

"Rory, Anna. Gentlemen, these are my granddaughters, Rory and Anna." He introduced them to the group of men he was talking to.

"Happy Birthday, Rory. Hello Anna." One of the men nods to them. The rest follow his example.

"I think we should get Dennis on the phone right now." A man with stubbornness in his eyes turns to Richard.

"Fine, I've got a phone in my office." He led the men to his office, leaving Rory and Anna behind.

"Rory, there's a group of your school friends in the library. Let's go say hello to them." Emily grabs Rory by the shoulders to guide her. She was determined to make Rory play the perfect hostess. Anna follow behind, wanting to save Rory from embarrassment if she could

"I have to go to the bathroom." Rory tried to get away from her.

"Just say hello first. Come on, I'll hold those for you." She took the napkins from Rory's hand. She walks away after giving Rory a push into the room. Anna moves to stand by her.

"Who's that?" A guy looked over at them.

"I think the party is for one of them." His friend told him.

"Oh," He rolled his eyes.

"Come on." Anna grabbed her sister's arm to pull her over to them.

"What are you doing?" Rory whispers to her.

"You don't want them to think you're a freak that needs their grandma to force people to go to her party, right? Well, this is how we do it." Anna drags her over. "Hi, I'm Susanna Gilmore, this is Rory Gilmore. It's her party." She pointed to her sister. They mutter a happy birthday to her. "We just wanted to say sorry. No one wants to be at a party for someone they don't even know. When our grandma said she was having this party, we thought it was going to be family and a few of their friends. We didn't know she was going to invite our whole grade. You know how grandparents are, they just get carried away." She gave them her customer service smile that she perfected thanks to Taylor Doose coming to Luke's.

"Oh, it's not that we don't want to be here," The boy who rolled his eyes tried to backtrack. He felt like an ass now that he knew she wasn't some spoiled brat demanding to be the center of everyone's attention.

"Its fine, if the roles were reversed I probably feel the same way." She playful rolls her eyes.

"Besides, we would rather be somewhere else too, right Rory?" She turned to her.

"Hell sounds good right about now." She mutters.

"We have to continue our apology tour. Have a good night." Anna waves to them. They turn around to get the shock of a lifetime.

"Paris?" Rory couldn't believe her eyes.

She turned around and looked just as shocked to see them. "My parents made me come." She didn't want them to think she was so desperate for a night out that she would come to her enemy's party.

"Oh God," Rory gasps.

"Otherwise I wouldn't be here." She told them. Rory grabs Anna to walk away from her. "You believe me, don't you?" She yells at their backs.

Rory walked over to the front door as Tristan came in wearing a black pinstripe jacket with matching slacks and a purple dress shirt. "Oh, coming to greet me? And I thought I was going to have to hunt you down and scare some guys away." He grabs Anna's hand to twirl her around. "I still might have to do the latter. You look gorgeous." He eyes her high slit and cleavage. "So where's my birthday kiss?" He leaned his lips closer to her.

"It's not your birthday." She shook her head.

"So I'll give you a birthday kiss." Tristan gave Rory a wink.

"What is wrong with you?" She glares at him. She didn't know why her sister type had to be jerks that were only nice to her.

"Okay, I got to tell you something. I'm madly in love with you." He took a step closer to Rory.

"Well, good luck with that." She snaps at him.

"Be nice, she's already having a crappy night." Anna scolds her boyfriend.

"I know this is hard to hear, Bobcat. I can't help it. I can't eat, I can't sleep. I wake up in the middle of the night calling out her name. Rory! Rory!" He cups Anna's face as he moans her sister's name loudly.

"Would you shut up please?" Rory hiss at him. Anna slaps his hands off her face.

"Rory, Anna, who's your friend?" Their grandpa spotted them and made his way over.

Tristan looked down at Anna, waiting for his introduction. "This is my boyfriend, Tristan." She said making her grandfather's eyes harden a little.

"Tristan…." He trailed.

"Tristan Dugray, sir." He stuck his hand out to shake it.

"Dugray? Are you related to Janlen Dugray?" Richard shook the young man's hand.

"That's my grandfather, sir." He told him.

"I've done business with Janlen for years. He's a fine man." His eyes light up, knowing that he came from a good family.

"That he is." Tristan nods.

"You have very good taste, Anna. I approve." Richard beams at her.

"Richard, I've got Dennis on the phone and he heard the same thing I heard." The stubborn man came over to tell their grandfather.

"Well, one wrong man can always find a friend." He pats the man's shoulder before walking away.

"He likes me." Tristan brags.

"He's drunk." Rory hisses.

"I can't believe it. That was way too easy, especially after your parents put me through seven courses of hell." Anna grumbles.

"Come on, Bobcat. Let's take a walk. Your sister can handle yourself." He wraps his arm around her shoulder. Rory was quick to take her cue and walk away from them.

"No way, come on let's find my grandma. She'll put you through the wringer." She pulls him into the dining room.

"At least let me eat first." He pouts.

"Fine, you'll know which of these smelly foods are good anyways." She guides him to the food.

"Hey, you think we can find an empty room after. You look incredible." He whispers in her ear and kisses her neck.

"Sure, I always wanted to make out with Barney." She pokes his purple shirt.


Tristan and Anna were fooling around in the guest room when Rory knocked on the door. "Everyone is leaving," She yells through the door.

Tristan pulled his head out from underneath her dress. He wipes his mouth with the back of his hand as he stands up. "It's not fair, I didn't get there. Next time, I go first." Anna whines as she pulls up her panties and gets off the bed.

"I'll give you an extra one next time." He kisses her letting her taste herself.

"Come on." Rory knocks on the door, wanting the night to end. Anna opens the door to see her red-faced sister. Rory grabs her arm and pulls her downstairs. Tristan kissed her on the cheek before slipping out with everyone else.

Lorelai walked over to them with their coats in her hand. "Ready?" She hands each of them their coats.

"I didn't get to apologize to grandma, yet." Rory sighs.

"Apologize?" Anna asks.

"I kind of explode on her about this being her party, not mine." She felt guilty for not being more appreciative of what her grandmother did for her.

"Whoa, and I thought you would be the one exploding tonight." Anna looks at her mother.

"Surprises," Lorelai shrugs. They walk over to Emily when she closes the door after the last guest left. "Great party, one of your best, I even liked those brown mushroom things." She told her mother.

"Grandma, can I talk to you for a sec?" Rory asks.

"Richard, the girls are leaving." Emily walked past them to get him.

"Rory, I hope you had a good time." Richard came over to tell her.

"Yeah, I did." She lied.

"I know your grandmother has already bought you a gift and signed my name to it. That was part of our agreement when we got married. However, I feel this occasion calls for something a little extra. Put that towards your trip to Fez." He pulls an envelope out of his jacket pocket and hands it to her.

"Oh, Grandpa," She beams up at him.

"You're a good girl, Rory. Happy birthday," He smiles back at her before walking back to his study.

"I don't deserve this." She felt even worse for snapping at her grandma.

"Fine, hand it over." Lorelai held out her hand.

"You should get going. You've got quite a drive ahead." Emily came back into the room to tell them.

"Grandma, we're having a party tomorrow at our house. It won't be anything like this but it will be fun. Maybe you and Grandpa could come." Rory invited her.

"That's very sweet, but I'm afraid we already have plans." She rejects her with a stone-cold face. It made Anna scared for the first time she would piss her grandmother off.

"Okay." Rory looked down at her feet.

"Have a safe trip. Lock the door behind you." It was so odd that her words didn't match her tone and face. She walks away from them again.

"Why don't you go help that guy out there put all the presents in the car?" Lorelai nods outside. They went to do as they were told.


"HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEAR RORY! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!" Everyone in Star Hallow that Rory cares about sang to her. She blew out the candles on a birthday cake that had her face on it as everyone clapped.

"All right, everybody, I need your attention. Attention, please. This is a very serious moment. Two priests, a rabbi, and a duck." Her mom stood up to get everyone to quiet down.

"Mom," Rory whines.

"All right, I'm kidding. I would like to propose a toast to one of the two things in my life that are always good, always sweet and without whom I would have no reason to get up in the morning, my pal Rory. Cheers. Here's to you, birthday girl. And in honor of this very special girl, I now invite you all to help me eat her face." She gave her traditional toast that she always gave at her daughter's birthday parties.

"And you may have the first cut," Sookie hands her a cake knife.

"There's something very strange about hacking into my own head." Rory cut into the cake.

"I call dibs on the forehead. It'll be like I'm eating your brains." Anna pointed at the piece she wanted.

"That's creepy," Lane told her.

Someone rang the doorbell. "Jeez, who the hell's ringing the bell? It's a party. Get your ass in here." Lorelai yells. Richard and Emily walk into the house. "Or asses I guess."

"Grandma, Grandpa I can't believe you're here. I'm so glad you came." Rory got up to hug them. "Hey, no tie," She looked at her grandfather.

"I thought I'd mix it up a little." He hugs her back.

"Grandma, look." She held out her hand to show she was wearing the bracelet she got her.

"Why, it looks lovely." Emily gave her a real smile that made Rory feel relieved.

"I want you to meet everyone. Everyone, these are my grandparents." Rory introduced them to the crowd. Everyone waved at them.

"Come on, Lane. They heard a lot about you." Anna pulls her friend over to them. "Hey Grandma, Grandpa, this is Lane." She put her hand on her friend's shoulder.

"Hi," She shook both of their hands.

"We heard quite a bit about you." Richard smiles at her.

"All good things I hope." Lane looks over at Rory and Anna.

"Amazing things," Emily reassured her.

"I'm Patricia Lacosta. We just love your daughter and granddaughters." Ms. Patty came over to introduce herself.

"Thank you." Emily smiled.

"My God, you're a tall specimen of a man, must be all that good air in Hartford." She gave a flirty laugh as she looked Richard over. She walks away leaving a bashful Richard and a frowning Emily.

"Mom, Dad, can I get you a drink?" Lorelai asks.

"No, thank you." Emily shook her head.

"You're going to need one. I have wine glasses that say Holiday Inn on them." She insisted.

"Stoli on the rocks with a twist," Emily orders.

"Right," Lorelai nods and walks into the kitchen.

"You guys have to try the hors d'oeuvres." Anna guides them to the table that the food was laid out on.

"Oh, this is amazing. I'm going to find out who catered?" Emily walks into the kitchen after eating the food.

"Did you make anything?" Richard asks Anna.

"Anna helped make everything, grandpa. She was Sookie's sous chef." Rory put an arm around her sister.

"That is amazing. You'll be catering parties by yourself soon." Richard praises her before looking around the place. "I'm going to take a look at your fireplace." He walks away.

"They seem… nice, a little strange but nice." Lane watched as Richard poke around the fireplace.

"They are." Rory was happy that her two worlds were mixing.


"Morey, you remember the time that Rory decided that our old tree stump was a fairy ring?" Babette looked down at her husband, who was sitting on the floor in front of her. They were sitting around the living room, talking about their favorite Rory memories.

"I sure do." Morey nods, smiling up at Rory.

"How old was she then, sugar?" She looks over at Lorelai.

"I think she was about 10." She played with Rory's hair.

"All I know is that it matched the description." She defends herself.

"Oh, God, she was cute. She had Anna convinced too. They used to sit out there with a peanut-butter sandwich just waiting for the fairy to get hungry." Babette told the room.

"Remember when we left the sandwich out overnight. The next morning it was gone. We were so excited, only to find out years later that Morey took it." Anna smiles at the man.

"It was so sad seeing your disappointed faces. I had to keep the imagination alive." He laughs remembering them screaming for the whole neighborhood to hear that the fairies ate the sandwich.

"Okay. New story," Rory pats her neighbor's shoulder.

"I'm still crushed beyond belief that she quit her ballet lessons." Ms. Patty put a hand over her heart.

"Oh, not me, Miss Perfect Work Ethic would prance around this room 24 hours a day." Lorelai shook her head.

"And I still stunk." Rory pouts.

"I can vouch for that." Anna nods.

"That's not true." Ms. Patty denies it.

"She was pretty bad," Morey remembered how she would come over to show them the new dance she learned. She would trip over her own feet for half the dance.

"Don't you listen to them, you had a true gift." She reaches out to pat Rory's knee. "What? She did. She was talented." She defends herself when everyone gives her a look. Everyone giggles, knowing the woman was in deep denial.

"I'll be right back." Lorelai got up and walked up the stairs.

"You enjoy yourself, aren't you?" Rory looked down at her giggling younger sister. Anna nodded her head. "I can't wait for your birthday. I'll tell all types of embarrassing stories about you."

"Oh, come on. That's what big sisters are for. They take the brunt of the force. That way when it's the younger sister's turn, everyone is tired out." Anna leans over to give her sister a tight side hug.