Lorelai, Rory, Anna, and Lane are walking through the center of town. "Are you serious?" Lane stared at Lorelai in disbelief.

"I am serious." She put her mitten-covered hands in her coat pockets.

"We can rehearse in your garage?" She couldn't wait to tell the guys.

"In exchange for the promise that you never pose naked on the cover of Rolling Stone no matter how much trouble your career is in." She gave her one condition.

"I promise. I love you. Do you guys know how amazing your mother is?" She looks at her friends.

"No. Tell them, would ya? They forgot this morning." She pouts.

"Because hot water is enjoyed by all, not just by you." Rory glares.

"I wasn't in the shower that long." She told Lane.

Anna let out a bitter laugh. "The bathroom looked like a steam room when you came out."

"Man, it's winter carnival time again already." Rory noticed the banner on the school building.

"Taylor is finally letting me have a booth this year." Anna stared up at it

"I don't understand why you want to run a booth." Rory thought it was fun to be at the fair, not work it.

"I want to be part of the winter magic." She hummed as she daydreamed about bringing joy to the town folks.

"Are you two going?" Lorelai asks Lane and Rory.

"I have to. We are raising money for the marching band this year, mandatory booth manning is involved." Lane told them.

"Man, Lane… marching band, rock band." She did a fake gasp.

"Music is my life," Lane stated proudly.

"Hi, Mrs. Kim!" Anna waves.

She whipped around in fear to see no one. "So not funny." She glares at her giggling friend.

"Raising money for the marching band to do what?" Rory asks.

"Please let it be new uniforms." Lorelai looks up at the sky to talk directly to the gods.

"It's for letters so we can finally have letter carriers. For some reason, the powers that be think that the reason we never win at competitions is because no one knows who we are. The fact that we suck has never occurred to them." She hated that she had to raise money for such a stupid thing. "What's wrong with our uniforms?" She turned to Lorelai when she realized what she implied.

"Nothing." She said quickly.

"We look stupid, right?" She pushed her to admit it.

"No." She shook her head while Anna was nodding.

"The plumes are too big, and it looks like big red fountains of blood spurting out of our heads." She used her hands to show how it looked like her head was exploding.

"I love the uniforms." She lied.

"It's bad enough I have to be in the marching band at all without being mocked for what is mandatory for us to wear." She joined to help improve her drumming skills.

"No, no, no, I didn't mean, I. . .remind her that she gets to rehearse in our garage 'cause I think I'm losing points here." She turns to her daughters.

"Your uniforms are great, and people knowing who you are can only help. Now let's just enjoy the snow, okay?" Rory lied before changing the subject.

"Okay." Lane nods.

"Especially since some of us have been freezing since our showers this morning." Rory hugs herself to get warm.

"I wasn't in there that long." Lorelai huffs. Anna let out a sarcastic laugh.

"I'm sorry, can we get back to the band uniforms, 'cause on a scale of one to ten, how much do I not wanna let Dave see me like that?" Lane was hoping to get a moment with him at the fair, but now she wasn't sure.

"Ten." The Gilmores scored.

"Okay, thanks." She would tell him to come later after her scheduled booth manning.


Anna was with Henry and Thomas at a thrift store. "So what are we looking for?" Henry looks at all the random things.

"I'm not sure exactly. I got a budget of 250 for the prizes." She went down the alley that had toys.

"That's a lot for a small town." He thought of all the booths there.

"Yeah, according to Taylor you put the money in the prize. That way people will keep spending money at your booth." She looks at a box and gasps. "It's beanie babies."

"And their Christmas theme." Thomas thought it was too perfect.

"There's another one over here, not Christmas themed though," Henry told them.

"Grab both of them," Anna screamed with joy. The boys each grab a big box and they go to the register to find out there were one hundred in each box. The worker who overheard tried to sell it for 250, but she ended up paying 175 for them with Thomas negotiating. Or what he called negotiating, he kept saying it was for charity. Henry was convinced she lowered the price to get them out of there.


The Gilmore teens meet their mother at the diner. "So, I went shopping for my father's birthday present today, which was great for about fifteen minutes, until it all came back to me…" Lorelai told them about her day.

"What?" Anna asks.

"The fact that I suck at buying my father presents." She was hopeful when she walked into the store to lose all of it when she looked at the shelves and didn't see anything that reminded her of her dad.

"He'll like whatever you get him," Rory told her.

"If I slip him a quaalude, he'll like whatever I get him." She huffs.

"They can't be that bad." Anna leans back in her chair.

"My intentions are always good, and I never put a price limit on it. I even went so far as to follow older men around the store who kind of looked like my dad to see what they were buying, which didn't help me with ideas, but I did get asked to the antique car show." She laughs at that awkward moment.

"Just show me what you got." Rory wants to see the gifts.

"Option number one.." She put a shopping bag on her lap to pull out a box. "A state of the art, high tech, titanium bathroom scale."

"What's wrong with you?" Anna narrowed her eyes on the gift.

"What? He has weight." She defends.

"A scale is not a gift. Move on to the next one." She waves her hand to declare it done.

She put it back in the bag to put it on the floor before grabbing the next bag. "Okay, option number two is a fabulous mechanical coin sorter. You put the coins in, it sorts 'em. What?" She asked when she saw their faces.

"Well, it's a little generic." Rory shrugs.

"Generic in a good way, or. . ." She trailed.

"What's the third option?" Anna asks.

"See, I should have pulled the coin sorter out last, 'cause. . ." She thought it was her best option.

"Mom." Rory's tone told her to get on with it.

"Okay." She put the box down to pull out a small box and put it on the table.

"A tie." Anna looks at it.

"Yes, it's silk." She pats it.

"It's nice." She nods.

"It is?" Lorelai thought it was a little basic since the man had hundreds. This one would get lost in the bunch and it would be the cheapest.

Luke came over to the table with a coffee pot. "What's that?"

"It's a tie for my father's birthday." She showed it to him proudly.

"What, no Aramis this year?" He put three mugs down on the table.

"No, he likes ties." She defends her choice.

"He is wearing one almost every time I see him." Anna thought about it.

"You know, if you get the big bottle, it usually comes with a tote bag and a soap on a rope." He pours the coffee.

"Go away." She glares. He moved on to the next table. "My gifts suck." She stares down at it sadly.

"It's the thought that counts," Rory repeats herself.

"What'd you guys get him?" She asks.

"Grandma gave me all his old yale shirts so I could make a quilt out of it." She had learned some basic sewing skills from her mother.

"Personal and practical." Lorelai looks at Rory. "You?"

"Chuck Berry Live at the Fillmore on vinyl." She told her.

"Oh my God, that's perfect. He loves Chuck Berry. How did you come up with that?" She was going to be outshined by everyone.

"I called him and asked him what he wanted." Rory smiled, knowing that would upset her.

"That's cheating." She shouted.

"Tough." She stuck her tongue out.

"Well, now what am I gonna do? I can't give him a tie when you give him the world's most perfect present we already know he likes." She throws the tie back in the bag.

"You want me to go find something for you?" Rory offers.

"You would do that?" She asks.

"He gave me a couple of other suggestions. I can go see if I can find one of them." She explains that it would be no problem.

"Ugh, my God, I love you. You are my angel." She hands her a credit card.

"What's that one?" Anna nods to a bag on the floor.

"Oh, yeah, it lights up and sings." She picks it up.

"Enough said." Rory kissed her mother's head before walking out.

Jess came over to the table. "I got all the pickle jars and the art supplies upstairs."

"Oh, thank you." She got up to hug him.

"I didn't realize you were helping with the booth." Lorelai couldn't picture him being helpful.

"Just wash a couple of pickle jars and take a shopping trip." Anna never understood why he had to downplay everything he did.

She saw Luke come over with burgers. "I'll be taking mine upstairs." She grabbed the plate and went up to the apartment with Jess. She saw that the snowman bodies were done. The jars were painted white, with black buttons glued on. The scarf was tied around the opening. "You did them already?" She put the plate on the counter.

"I finished my book last night." He shrugs.

"You even picked up the order of bean bags." She saw the box she needed to pick up.

"I have a car, it is easier for me to pick up the order." He was blushing for getting so much recognition.

"One day I hope I can help you do something that means a lot to you like you do for me." She kissed him.

"Kissing you means a lot to me, so you're already on the right track." He said between kisses.

"Does that track lead to your bed?" He felt her smile against his lips.

He grabs the back of her thighs to pick her up. She continued to make out with him as she was being carried to the bedroom. He used his foot to slam the door shut. He sat her on top of the desk. They shred the clothes off each other. Jess pulls her off the desk to position her on all four across the width of the bed by the foot of it. She grabbed a pillow to put under her pelvic, knowing from experience her arms would give out. He put a condom on before lining up and pushed in to instantly groan at the tight heat that surrounded him. She relished the full feeling that brought her to great heights. She let out a whine when he grabbed her by the hair to yank her head up as he pounded into her. She looks at her blissed-out face on the full mirror that was hanging on his closet door. She moans as she realizes why he put her in that exact spot. "It is a beautiful sight, isn't it? Now you know why I get you to make that face every chance I get." He let go of her hair to wrap his arm around her waist to rub her clit. As she cum, her arms gave out. She gripped the sheet as a throat moan left her. He growls out dirty thoughts making her a whimpering mess from the physical and mental overstimulation.

He was able to get her to her peak one more time before he filled up the condom. He tied it up to throw it away. He lies down and she crawls over to cuddle with him. "You're so much better at dirty talk than me." She whines. She felt dumb when her mind went blank every time he was inside her.

"It's fine, you do the talking outside the bedroom. I'll do the talking in it." He closes his eyes, ready for a nap.


Lorelai, Rory, Anna, Emily, and Richard are sitting in the living room for Richard's birthday dinner. "This man is a genius. Listen to him play." He looked at the back of the cover as the music was playing on the record player. He was covered in the yale shirt quilt.

"I'm glad you like it, Grandpa." Rory was enjoying seeing him act like a kid on Christmas morning.

"Oh, I must say, I am a very spoiled man. Chuck Berry, a quilt of memories, and the complete history of the Peloponnesian War." He picked up the books.

"Well, sure, 'cause a partial history would skip all the dirty stuff." Lorelai smiles.

He let out a laugh at her joke. "I especially like the way you wrapped the books in a bow tie. It's very, very clever."

"I thought it would be appropriate." She nods.

"And, of course, you're not forgetting your favorite gift." Emily reminds him.

"Oh, yes, my beautiful humidor from my beautiful wife." He turns to her.

"Thank you." She smiled.

"No, thank you. It's been a wonderful birthday." He kissed her. The doorbell rings and the maid runs across the room to get it.

"Would you like some more champagne?" She asks.

"Oh, why not?" He laughs.

Emily got up to get it but froze along with everyone else in the room when a familiar voice could be heard grumbling. "One of the porch lights is burned out. Perhaps the simple act of glancing outside a window once in a while might have alerted someone to the situation."

"Gran?" Lorelai tilts her head.

"Trix, is that you? Well, I'll be. What a surprise." Richard got up to greet his mother.

"Mom, did you know Grandma was coming?" Lorelai asks her mother who looked like she just found out the champagne was poisoned.

"Oh my God." She gasps.

"Okay, no seems like a safe answer." She stares at her horrified mother.

"Emily, come here! Come say hello to this delightful creature that just walked in." Richard called from the hallway. How he didn't know that his wife couldn't stand his mother was beyond them.

"Oh my God." She went with the empty glass and tissue paper in her hands.

"Come on, let's see if she tries to make a break for it." Lorelai got her daughters to follow Emily out to greet the surprise guest.

"Emily, did you know about this?" He hands the maid his mother's coat.

"Why, no, I didn't." Emily put on a fake smile.

"Well, I'm floored." Richard was having the best birthday ever.

"Good." She was joyful to see her son before turning to the rest of her family. "Hello, Lorelai."

"Hello Gran, good to see you." She smiled at her mother's karma.

"You're well?" She asks.

"I'm well." She nods.

"You're working?" She questions.

"I'm working." She nods.

"You're single?" She did her normal route of questions.

"I'm single." She smiles.

"By choice, or do you scare the men with your independence?" She looks at everyone else in the room to see if they got her joke.

"I scare them with my Minnie Pearl impression." She recognized the playful energy.

"The lady with the hat." She nods, getting the references. "Rory, Anna, as soon as I get settled, I want to hear all about your plans for after high school."

"Okay, Gran." They nod.

"Well, Emily, I don't know if you realize it or not, but it's not proper to receive guests in the foyer. It puts one in the awkward position of having to invite oneself in." She hands her gloves to her.

"Uh, yes, uh, please, I'm sorry. Please, come in." She waves for her to head to the living room.

"This way." Richard leads her there.

"Because it's a woman's job to be the host. Grandpa could have invited her in." Anna whispers to Rory. Gran was a complicated woman, she thought women should work but also be the perfect homemaker.

"Play nice." Rory pulled her to the living room. She helped Trix sit in the chair while Anna sat on the couch.

Lorelai and Emily came into the room. "Oh, Emily, you're still here." She sighs when she comes into the room.

"Yes, of course, I'm still here. Can I get you some champagne?" She offers.

"Well, if you wish me to be violently ill tomorrow, absolutely." She scoffs.

"Do not answer that," Lorelai whispers to Emily.

"I've got you covered Trix." He hands her a drink before sitting down on the love seat next to Emily. "Now, tell me what on earth you're doing here. You didn't travel from England just for my birthday."

"Oh, I think your birthday is a good enough reason to travel from England. However, it did also happen to coincide with some business I needed to attend to." She admits.

"What kind of business?" Rory asks.

"Well, for the past year, I've been renting my home in Hartford to a group of musicians. They've recently moved out, so I had to come to check on the house and secure a new tenant." She explains.

"What kind of musicians?" Lorelai asks.

"A rock and roll group of some sort. I believe they call themselves Korn." She said, peaking the Stars Hollow residents' interest.

"You rented your house to Korn?" Anna smiled. Trix was an enjoyable woman when she wasn't attacking Emily. She leads a wonderful and interesting life.

"That's so cool!" Rory was excited to tell Lane.

"They were fine tenants. Took wonderful care of the place. They planted some lovely tulips in the front yard." She told them.

"Tulips, I know what to bring to get me backstage." Anna nods at the info.

"So, Mom, if you're going to be here for a while, I can plan some things for you to do, some outings you might enjoy," Emily interjected herself.

"Like what?" Trix's smile of amusement vanished.

"Like the arboretum." She suggests since she seems to like the tulips.

"I have no desire to spend the entire day with plants, Emily. I'm not a bee. Besides, I already know what I would like to do. I would like to see where Lorelai works." She turns to her granddaughter.

"The inn?" Lorelia asks.

"I thought we could all have dinner there." She explains the plans.

"Oh, well, sure. That would be great." She nods.

"Wonderful. Tomorrow night, then." She told them.

"Oh. . ." Anna let out a sigh of disappointment. How was she supposed to tell Taylor she couldn't do it after years of begging?

"What?" Trix asks.

"Tomorrow is the winter carnival. I've finally got a booth after years of trying. Apparently, a ten-year-old is not allowed to be in charge of the money." Anna huffs. "But we can skip it." Her Great Grandma didn't come around often.

"Absolutely not. Anna, Rory, you're young people who work hard. It's equally important to have fun. You go to the carnival." She told them.

"Thank you." They smiled.

"Lorelai, you've had enough fun in your life." She told her granddaughter.

"And then some." She wiggles her eyebrows.

"Dinner will be for the grown-ups. Now, how is the birthday going?" She asked Richard.

"Wonderfully. They're spoiling me rotten. Emily got me the most beautiful humidor. It's from 1917, and was owned by a lieutenant in World War I." Richard told her. Emily smiled in pride that he was bragging to his mother about her.

"You know, your father had a humidor that was owned by Victor Hugo." Trix seems to always be a step ahead of her.

"Really?" Richard's eyes went wide.

"I still have it if you'd like it." She offers.

"Well, I'd love it." He smiled, dropping his wife's hand.

"Fine. I'll take care of it as soon as I get back to London. Now, if you will excuse me, I would like to freshen up." She used her cane to stand up.

"I'll make sure the guest room is ready." Emily put her wine glass down.

"Oh, I can do that, Emily." Richard hurried to make sure everything was ready for her.

"Thank you, Richard. Emily, I expect to return in twenty minutes. That should give you enough time to pull my gifts out of storage and place them around the room as if they stand there all year." She follows her son out after throwing the last jab.

"You want some help with those gifts?" Lorelai asks.

"Yes, please." She felt small at that moment.


Anna was manning the toss game booth. She screamed in joy when a child got a bean bag in the snowman jar. "Congratulations." She hands him the polar bear beanie baby.

The family walks away to the next booth. She hugs herself to rub her arms as she shivers. "Oh god, woman, put on your coat. You're going to go into hypothermia." Jess groaned from his seat next to the prize table. He kept glancing at her from over his book because he thought her outfit was ridiculous, in general, and for the weather.

She was wearing her red spaghetti strap dress that had a thick black belt and white fur trimming with black tights. She had on gingerbread house heels, ornament earrings, and a Christmas charm bracelet. "The dress is part of the magical winter allure." She even took a few pictures with kids who thought she was Mrs. Claus.

He grabs her black trench coat and forces her arms into it. "There, if you keep it open you can still see the silly dress. And if you stumble one more time I'll force you into some sneakers." He tsk at her feet.

"You such a pouty sweetheart." She pinches his cheek.

"Alright, I'm out." He walks away.

"Bring me some hot chocolate." She yelled at his back. She got a few more customers then she saw a child she knew. "Hey, Clara." She smiles at Dean's sister. "Are you by yourself?"

"No, she just runs faster than me." Rory was out of breath as she caught up.

"Clara, how many times do I have to tell you to not run off?" Dean scolds.

"Sorry, I saw Anna and got excited." She gave that sweet smile that always made Dean give in.

"You want to play?" Anna asked.

"Sure," She nods for Dean to give her a dollar. It took ten tries before she got to pick a penguin beanie baby.

Jess walks over with two cups of hot chocolate and a bag of food. "Hello," Clara greets.

"Jess, this is Clara. Dean's sister. Clara, this is Jess. Anna's boyfriend." Rory introduces them.

He nods his head in her direction making the preteen blush. "What'd you bring me?" Anna grabs the bag.

"Deep fried mac and cheese balls." He saw it and knew she would want it. The way her eyes lit up he knew he was right. She ate with gusto.

"Do you use gel in your hair?" Clara asked Jess.

It took him a second to realize she was talking to him. "Some."

"How did you meet Anna?" She wasn't deterred by his one-word answer.

"She broke into my apartment." He smirks.

"I was not. Luke knew I was going up." She argued.

"Well, you didn't knock, I could have been naked." He laughed at her angry face with her puff-out cheeks full of mac and cheese.

"Okay, let's go." Dean guided his sister, who wasn't ready to go, away.

"I think someone has a crush." Anna sings after she finishes eating.

"I know, did you see how annoyed Dean was?" He chuckled. "He is so pathetic using his sister to get Rory to go out with him."

"She said she had a good time hanging out as friends. She's naive." She admits.

"Well, at one point you thought I was trying to be your friend." He sips the hot chocolate.

"Not after we broke up." She reasoned that it wasn't the same.

"Still you thought I was going to these town events without the thought of getting some." He grabs a beanie bag to toss it. He made it in. "I would like a seal."

"I'm going to need a dollar." She put her hand out.

"I made this whole game." He throws his hands in the air.

"Fine, here is your payment." She hands him a seal.

He put it in his pocket. Anna had to hold in her giggles at the plush's head sticking out. "Shut up." He muttered, going back to his seat to continue reading.