"Can brains hurt?" Rory asked on Sunday morning as she walked into Luke's with her mother and aunt.

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Yes, it's hypochondria hour."

"Excuse me, I was talking to the medical professional in the family," Rory said primly, sitting down at a nearby table.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Lorelai apologized, holding her hands up in mock surrender. She turned to Juliet, holding a roll of silverware in her face like a microphone. "Dr. Gilmore, can brains hurt?"

Juliet shoved the silverware away with an amused smirk, turning to her niece with a concerned frown. "Yeah, they can hurt. Have you been getting headaches or something?"

Rory shook her head. "No, but last night when I was reading my biology chapters I distinctly heard a ping in the vicinity of my brain."

Lorelai cocked her head. "Your brain pinged?"

Rory nodded. "Yeah. It just went like 'dink'."

"Well then, honey, your brain dinked. It didn't ping," Lorelai assured her with a barely concealed smirk.

"Well, I don't think a dinking brain is any less worrisome than a pinging brain," Rory countered, twisting her fingers nervously.

"Well, you got me there," Lorelai acquiesced with a one-shouldered shrug.

Rory turned to Juliet, her brow creased in worry. "Do you think it's a brain tumor?"

Juliet shook her head. "No, dinking is not a symptom associated with brain tumors."

Lorelai pointed a triumphant finger in her daughter's face. "Ha! Told you so!"

"But–"

"If it would make you feel better," Juliet said, cutting her niece off. "I can do a quick neurological exam when we get back to your house."

Rory's eyebrows lifted. "Would you?"

"Yes," Juliet promised, nodding. "But I really wouldn't worry about it."

"Fine," Rory begrudgingly agreed.

"Thank God," Lorelai muttered, her eyes lighting up as Luke walked up to their table. "Hey, can you take a little constructive criticism?"

"No," Luke said shortly.

"Okay," Lorelai dragged out the word. "This place could use a makeover. Like a coat of paint."

Luke sighed, rolling his eyes. "Painting's a pain. I'd have to close the place for a day — which I can't afford — or paint it in the middle of the night — which I don't want to do, because I hate painting."

"Okay, how about this? I'll help you!" Lorelai suggested, lifting her eyebrows enticingly. "I love to paint."

Luke raised an eyebrow. "You love it?"

Lorelai nodded, smiling brightly. "I wanna marry it!"

Luke made a face. "You have strange passions."

"She likes washing dishes too," Rory told him. "She's multifaceted abnormal."

"Ah, come on," Lorelai wheedled, slapping him playfully. "We'll drink a couple beers, we'll sing painting songs, and Juliet will help us, won't you, Jules?"

Juliet shot her sister an incredulous look. "How did I get roped into this?"

"Yeah, she probably has plans or something," Luke protested, barely masking his disappointment that it wouldn't just be him and Lorelai painting the diner.

"Then we'll do it on a night she doesn't have plans, duh. Come on, please?" Lorelai asked with a pout, batting her eyes.

Luke blew out a long-suffering sigh. "Well, I guess maybe. . . if I had help."

Lorelai's face lit up. "Really?"

"Yes," Luke said, rolling his eyes as he walked away. "But no painting songs!"

Lorelai smiled at his retreating back, then turned back to her sister and daughter, who wore matching smirks. "What?"

"Are you sure you want me there?" Juliet asked, her brow furrowed.

"Yeah, it might kill the mood," Rory agreed with a nod, looking like she was barely holding back laughter.

Lorelai narrowed her eyes, holding up the menu to cover the color rising in her cheeks. "Oh, shut up."

"Hey, you!" Lorelai greeted as she got out of the Jeep on Tuesday afternoon, slinging an arm around Juliet's shoulders as they walked into their usual coffee house. "How was your day?"

Juliet wrapped an arm around her sister's waist, leaning her head briefly against her shoulder. "Hard. I can't really give details, because–"

Lorelai nodded in understanding. "HIPAA."

"HIPAA," Juliet confirmed, pulling the door open for them both. "What about you? How was class?"

Lorelai blew out a dramatic sigh as she plopped her purse down on a table. "You know, when I decided to do this whole business school thing, I didn't realize how many charts would be involved. I mean, it's awful. I can't close my eyes anymore without seeing line graphs."

Juliet wrinkled her nose in sympathy. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah, whatever, I signed up for it, didn't I?" Lorelai grumbled, rolling her eyes. She tilted her head, staring at her sister with a frown. "Are you really not allowed to talk about it?"

Juliet sighed, shrugging. "One of my patients died, and I had to tell their family."

Lorelai stuck her bottom lip out as she rubbed Juliet's back. "Aw, Jules."

"I signed up for it, didn't I?" Juliet said, echoing her sister's words with a wry smile. She exhaled, forcing a smile. "Tell me something happy?"

Lorelai thought for a moment, drumming her fingers against the table. "Oh! Babette and Morey got a new kitten."

Juliet's eyes lit up. "Really? Have you seen it yet?"

Lorelai shook her head with a pout. "No, but Rory jumped at the chance to watch Little Apricot tomorrow night, so she and her mommy will have to spend the night apart."

Juliet laid a hand on her sister's forearm with a reassuring smile. "It'll be good for you guys. It'll keep you from getting codependent."

Lorelai snorted. "I think that ship has sailed."

"Well, if you want, you and I could do something tomorrow night. Since we're encouraging codependence," Juliet suggested, shrugging. "You could come to Hartford after work, or I could go to Stars Hollow if that's easier."

"You're sweet, but I'll be fine," Lorelai said with a wave of her hand. She raised her eyebrows with a smirk. "I'm helping Luke pick out paint samples."

"Helping?" Juliet repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"Forcing," Lorelai amended, rolling her eyes. "The town's got a pool going over how long it'll take him to finally strangle me with that baseball cap. Rory says two hours, but I think I can wear him down in one."

"I have faith in you," Juliet deadpanned.

"At least one of you does," Lorelai quipped. Her eyes lit up in sudden remembrance, and she tapped the table. "Oh, hey, I was gonna tell you– I can't meet up on Thursday. This couple is thinking about using the inn for their wedding, so I have to head over there right after class to give them a tour."

"Oh, that's okay," Juliet said, her smile dimming only slightly. "I mean, that's great that they're looking at the inn. You're really good at planning weddings and stuff."

"Yeah, it should be fun. And from what I could tell on the phone, we don't have a bridezilla on our hands, which is always a win," Lorelai said with a wry smile. "I'll miss you though."

Juliet smiled. "I'll miss you, too. But I'll see you Friday, right? You guys are still coming to dinner?"

Lorelai made a face. "On penalty of death."

"So, no big deal," Juliet said with a shrug. She glanced back at the counter with a frown. "Did we forget to order?"

Lorelai snorted, standing up. "Yep. Let's go do that."

At some point on Wednesday evening, the discussion on paint colors and stenciling had shifted to something far more intimate, and Lorelai listened intently as Luke shared more about his father than he'd ever done with her before.

"I just always wanted to work here," he was saying. "Just where Dad did."

Lorelai shook her head with a sigh. "God, that's nice. To be so – I don't know – connected to your dad. That's – I would have loved that."

"Well, you've got that with Rory," Luke pointed out.

Lorelai nodded with a small smile. "Yeah. . . I guess so."

"And, uh, hey, if it makes you feel better," he began hesitantly. "I'm nowhere near as close to my sister as you are with yours."

Lorelai tilted her head, playing with the label on her beer bottle. "You don't talk about your sister much. Her name's Liz, right? What's she like?"

"How the hell would I know? I barely talk to her, " Luke snorted, shaking his head with a bitter smile. "I don't even think I have her phone number anymore."

"I'm sorry," she said softly, suddenly feeling guilty for all the times she'd flaunted how close she was to her little sister in front of him. "That's – God. I can't even imagine."

"Yeah, well." Luke shrugged uncomfortably, lowering his eyes to the ground. "Actually, she and I used to be really close. We used to play together a lot, too, when we were little. I mean, I wasn't always nice to her. She bugged me, you know? Always tagging along when I hung out with my friends, making me play Barbies with her. But she adored me, for some reason."

"What changed?"

Luke swallowed thickly. "My mom died. And my dad was – he was in bad shape. So I helped him out a lot more with the store, or if he needed someone to talk to, and I guess she didn't like that. Said I started acting too much like another dad."

"Did you ever feel like that? Like you were almost her dad, but not really?"

"Sometimes, yeah. A lot, actually. What about you, you ever feel like that with Juliet?"

Lorelai nodded emphatically. "Oh, yeah. When we were kids, especially. But when I got pregnant . . . I don't know. It was like we switched places or something. I mean, she completely stepped up. Suddenly she's the one taking care of me, doing everything Christopher should've been doing. You know, holding my hair back when I had morning sickness, making sure I didn't drink too much coffee, holding my hand in the delivery room, stuff like that. I kept justifying it, telling myself that it was temporary, me relying on her that much. I figured we'd switch back after Rory was born. But I don't think we ever did."

"But you do take care of her," Luke argued, frowning. He gestured vaguely in the air in front of him. "Like, when she was having those problems with what's-his-face –"

"Call him Romeo, she hates it," Lorelai suggested with a grin.

"I'll pass, thanks," Luke said, rolling his eyes. "No, but you stepped in and fixed it, and now they're. . ."

Lorelai's smile widened. "Not dead in our family crypt?"

Luke's brow furrowed. "Do you guys actually have a family crypt?"

"What do you take us for, peasants?" Lorelai quipped, smirking. "Of course, we have a family crypt."

"Weird," Luke muttered, coming over to sit on the stool beside her. He blew out a long breath. "You know, Liz has a kid too. A son. He's about Rory's age."

Lorelai turned to him disbelievingly. "How did I not know this? Have I ever met him? Like in here?"

"No," Luke scoffed. "I don't think they've been to town since my sister took off with him and ran as far away as she could."

Lorelai shifted uncomfortably in her seat as she took in the lingering hurt and anger in his eyes. "You resent her for it."

"Of course I do. She left me to deal with everything – my dad being sick, the store going under – I had to deal with it on my own. I mean, who does that?" he asked incredulously. When she raised her eyebrows at him with a self-deprecating smile, he shook his head rapidly. "That was different. You did what you had to do for Rory's sake. I doubt Liz was thinking of anyone other than herself when she left. I'm surprised she even remembered to take her kid with her."

Lorelai chuckled half-heartedly, shaking her head with a wry smile. "Little sisters, huh?"

"Little sisters," Luke said softly, meeting her eyes.

Their eye contact lingered too long, as it often did, but in the darkened light of the empty diner, with no townies or kids or sisters there to witness it, it felt infinitely more heady and dangerous. When she noticed his gaze drop to her lips, she knew she had to get out of there, to fly out of the sun before the wax on her wings melted.

"I should go," she murmured, standing up to make her escape.

He blinked, as though coming out of a trance. "Oh. Okay."

"Yeah. I should, um – I should go. See you later," Lorelai said awkwardly, grabbing her coat and rushing from the building before he could respond.

She didn't slow her pace until she reached her house, pressing her lips together in a mix of terror and giddiness as she thought about what had very nearly happened. The spell was broken by the horrifying realization that Rory's baby chick – whose bright idea had that assignment been, anyway? – was nowhere to be found. After desperately searching for Stella for a few minutes to no avail, Lorelai grabbed for the phone, punching in the first half of Juliet's number before she stopped short, biting her lip.

Lorelai knew her sister would come running the second she called, there was no question about that. But she shouldn't have to, she thought, recalling everything she'd asked of Juliet for the past seventeen years, from waiting outside her bathroom door while she peed on a stick, to lying to their parents so she could get herself and her daughter out from under their thumb. Suddenly, a drive from Hartford to look for a lost chick seemed like too much to ask of her on top of everything else. Decisively, she pressed the 'end' button on the phone, and dialed a number that was just as familiar to her.

"Luke? Can you come over here and help me with something?"

Thursday night, Juliet read from her beat-up copy of Modern Man in Search of a Soul, her legs draped over Max's lap as he graded a stack of papers, the comfortable silence between them punctuated only by the sound of a pen scratching against paper or the occasional page turn.

"I'm sorry," Max apologized for what felt like the hundredth time, glancing up from some ninth-grader's analysis of the play she'd been named after to smile sheepishly at her. "I really am almost done."

"Take your time, don't worry about me," Juliet reassured him, shaking her head. She tapped the cover of her book lightly. "I have Carl Jung."

Max smiled, rubbing her knee affectionately. "Well, who am I to compete with Carl Jung?"

"Not Sigmund Freud, that's for sure," Juliet said with a smirk, going back to her book.

"Thank God for that. You don't look anything like my mother," Max deadpanned, laughing when her head jerked up in horror. "Too far?"

"Uh, yeah. Good God," Juliet said with a shudder.

"Sorry," he apologized, not looking very sorry at all. She rolled her eyes, fighting a smile as she glanced back down at her book. They were silent again, and he continued to rub her leg absently, occasionally pausing to write something on the paper in his hand. After a few minutes, Max looked up again, raising his eyebrows meaningfully. "So, next Thursday."

She made a face, closing her eyes in consternation. "I don't want to talk about it yet."

"You know, it's not going to go away if you ignore it," he reminded her.

Juliet sighed, wrinkling her nose. "I know."

Max smiled patiently. "I know you don't want a big party or anything like that, but do you want to go out? Stay in? Or do you have plans with your sister?"

"I think I'm going to Lorelai's house for dinner – or, well, I'll meet her and Rory there and we'll go to dinner," Juliet corrected with a small smile.

"So, being challenged in the culinary arts is a family trait, then?" he asked with a knowing smirk.

Juliet gave him the finger, making him laugh. She took a shaky breath, biting her lip and twisting her fingers together nervously. "Um, do you wanna. . . come with me? Maybe? I mean, I'll probably have to check with Lorelai first, but –"

Max nodded, cutting her off. "Yes."

"Yes?"

"Yes."

"Okay," Juliet breathed, her shoulders loosening. She leaned forward, kissing his cheek quickly, then tapped the paper he held. "Back to the other Juliet."

"Back to the other Juliet," he agreed with an affectionate smile.

Silence reigned for another few minutes until it was broken by the sound of Juliet's cell phone ringing. She reached for it, smiling when she saw Lorelai's number on the caller ID. "It's Lorelai. Is it okay if I . . .?"

Max jerked his chin toward the bedroom with a smile. "Go. I have my second favorite Juliet to keep me company."

Juliet rolled her eyes and stood up, flipping her phone open as she walked behind the couch. "Hey," she said into the speaker, closing the bedroom door behind her. "How are you? I missed seeing you today."

"Ugh, I missed you too," Lorelai grumbled. "Not that spending the afternoon with the most disgustingly PDA-heavy couple on the planet didn't make up for it."

"Oh, I'm sure," Juliet said with a smirk. "How'd it go? Are they gonna use the inn for their wedding?"

Lorelai let out a short laugh. "Oh yeah, 'Snookums' and 'Honeycakes' loved the grounds, and both of them have family flying in for the wedding, so we'll get a lot of rooms booked that weekend too."

Juliet smiled. "That's great, Lor."

Lorelai chuckled awkwardly, then took a breath, causing a crackle of static over the phone. "Hey, um, can I ask you something?"

"Always."

"So, when, Romeo first, uh . . . climbed in your garden –" Lorelai began hesitantly.

"Jesus Christ," Juliet muttered, closing her eyes in embarrassment. "Don't phrase it like that."

"Well, how should I phrase it?" Lorelai asked, sounding vaguely amused.

"I don't know, just not like that!" Juliet whispered, making a face.

Lorelai giggled at her sister's obvious discomfort. "Okay, whatever. You know what I'm talking about, right?"

"Yes, I was able to pick up on your subtle innuendo," Juliet deadpanned, her cheeks burning.

Lorelai blew out an exasperated breath. "Anyway, before it happened, did you have, like, a code, or signal, or something to get him to come over? Like saying there was an animal loose in your apartment?"

"What? No," Juliet said, shaking her head with a puzzled frown. "Do people do that?"

"I guess so!" Lorelai exclaimed with a disbelieving laugh. "Apparently it's some universal secret code that I only found out about after accidentally booty-calling one of my best friends."

Juliet's brow creased in confusion. "How did you – what?"

Lorelai blew out a breath. "So – okay. Yesterday, Rory brought home this adorable baby chick she's studying in her Biology class, and she left it at the house last night so it wouldn't end up as a snack for Babette and Morey's new kitten."

"Smart."

"Well, she's not Harvard-bound for nothing," Lorelai quipped. "So, Rory's at Babette's, and I'm picking paint samples, so Stella was home alone for most of last night –"

Juliet's lips quirked in amusement. "Stella?"

"The chick. Her name's Stella," Lorelai explained.

Juliet nodded. "Right, okay. Continue."

Lorelai took a deep breath. "So, I get home from Luke's, and Stella's gone. Not in her cage, not on the table, not anywhere in the kitchen – which, how did she even get on the floor from the table? That's a big jump for a little bird, even from the chair to the floor! And I'm frantically searching the house for her, and she's making no noise, so finally I call Luke and ask him to come over and help me look."

The amused smile slipped from Juliet's face. You called Luke and not me?

Lorelai continued, unable to see the stricken look on her sister's face from over the phone. "So, Luke gets there, and we're looking for Stella, and she finally makes a noise, and then he goes, 'You really do have a baby chick loose in the house'. And so I asked Sookie today what he could've meant by that, and she told me about the code, and how I accidentally came on to Luke without knowing about it."

"You called Luke?" Juliet asked blankly, unable to focus on any detail of the story but that one.

"Yes," Lorelai huffed, annoyed. "Why is everyone so hung up on that? I just called a friend when I needed help, that doesn't mean I have a thing for him!"

"But you do have a thing for him," Juliet countered, fighting to keep her voice steady even as a tingling numbness began to creep into her fingers. You called Luke and not me. Why didn't you call me?

"I do not – shut up," Lorelai protested, and Juliet managed a strangled laugh.

God, why was this bothering her so much? It made sense. It made so much more sense for Lorelai to call her friend who lived five minutes away instead of her sister who lived half an hour away when she needed help. It was stupid to feel offended, or like Luke was stealing from her or something. But knowing that wasn't enough to relieve the choking sensation beginning to take residence in her throat. Juliet sank down on the bed, her stomach twisting in on itself. She called Luke and not me. She called Luke and not me.

"Ugh, it's just so embarrassing, you know? If I was gonna make a move on Luke, I would hope I'd come up with something more clever than, 'Oh, dear! There's a chick loose in my house! I need a big, strong man to help me find it!'" Lorelai cried, adopting a breathy Southern accent.

Juliet chuckled weakly. "I'm sure you would."

"Are you okay?" Lorelai asked suddenly. "You sound weird."

"I'm fine," Juliet assured her, clearing her throat and blinking rapidly. She called Luke and not me. "Um, I think my cell phone's about to die. Can I call you back later?"

"Sure," Lorelai said, her voice growing concerned. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Juliet nodded, forgetting Lorelai couldn't see her over the phone. "Yeah, I'm fine, just tired. Long day."

"Aw, I bet," Lorelai said sympathetically. "I love you. Try to go to bed early tonight, okay?"

"I will. Love you too," Juliet said, hanging up quickly. She squeezed her eyes shut, pressing her index finger into her collarbone as she felt her breathing begin to speed up.

Oh, God, was she really freaking out this badly over something so stupid? Here she was, a week out from her thirtieth birthday, an inch away from a panic attack because her older sister had called someone who wasn't her for help.

Talk about melodramatic, Juliet, my God. It's a good thing you were named after a Shakespeare heroine, otherwise this would be even more ridiculous. No wonder Lorelai called Luke instead of you, she needed someone there with at least a modicum of level-headedness. Stupid Juliet, you're so stupid–

"Juliet? I just finished if you want to watch a movie or –" Max was cut off as Juliet crossed the room and all but threw herself into his arms, clinging to his neck as though if she let go, she'd open her eyes and be all alone in her childhood bedroom again.

"You can't leave me, okay? Please don't ever leave me," Juliet begged, burying her face in his shoulder and tightening her hold on his neck. Then, realizing the insanity of what she'd just asked of him, she pulled back, covering her mouth with her fingers. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry. That's insane, I'm insane."

"You're not insane," Max promised, resting his hand on her cheek and wiping the tears from her face. "What is this, baby? Where's this coming from?"

Juliet let out a slightly hysterical chuckle, lowering her eyes in embarrassment. "You're gonna think I'm an idiot."

Max shook his head. "I will not think you're an idiot."

Juliet let out a disbelieving snort at that, but gestured vaguely in the direction of her cell phone. "Um, that was Lorelai."

"Is she okay? Is Rory okay?" he asked, his brow creased with worry as he searched her face.

"Oh, yeah, they're fine," she said with a sniffle. She laughed again. "God, it's so stupid."

Max brushed her hair away from where it stuck to her salty cheek. "Not if it's upsetting you this much."

Juliet exhaled shakily, her fingers tightly gripping the soft wool of his sweater as she tucked herself back into the safety of his arms. "Um, yesterday Rory brought home this bird for school, and somehow it got loose in Lorelai's house, and she called Luke to help her look for it instead of me." She lifted her head from his shoulder, looking up at him plaintively. "And I know I'm being ridiculous. I mean, she and I don't even live in the same town, she might've already found the chick by the time I drove over there. But I just– she never calls her boyfriends for help with stuff like this. She's always called me. And the fact that she and Luke aren't even dating yet and she's already going to him instead of me– it feels like I'm being replaced or something."

"You aren't being replaced," Max said gently, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. "She loves you so much, Juliet."

"Yeah, enough to run away and leave me alone with our parents," Juliet scoffed, lowering her eyes. She shook her head, hating how petty and resentful she sounded. "No. That's not fair. She needed to do that. We both knew she needed to get out of there for Rory's sake. But–"

"But what?"

"Our parents were so angry, Max. At her for leaving. At me for helping her get out. But she was gone. So they could only get mad at me," Juliet whispered, tightening her grip on his sweater. She pressed her lips together and shook her head, her face crumpling again. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"Because this is what it's like to be with me. I mean, I'm a mess. I'm just this constant ball of anxiety, and I–" she cut herself off, biting her lip as she glanced back up at him. "I know I asked you not to leave me, but I'd understand if after this–"

Max's head jerked back. "Oh, my God, do you think I'm going to break up with you because of this?"

Juliet laughed shortly, avoiding his eyes with a small shrug. "I don't really get why you were interested in the first place, to be honest."

"Look at me," he said, gently taking her chin in his hand so she was forced to make eye contact with him. "I love you, alright? I love you."

She searched his face, torn between delight and confusion. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," he whispered insistently, bringing his other hand up to frame her face and kissing her gently. "You're sweet, and you're warm, and I just – you're the sun. Juliet is the sun."

"I love you, too," Juliet said softly, leaning into his touch. "I think you have bad taste, but I love you."

Max gave her a look, but said nothing, taking her hand and leading her over to the bed. He pulled her into his lap, keeping an arm securely around her waist as she wrapped hers around his neck. "Tell me what happened. After Lorelai left."

Juliet hesitated, swallowing thickly as she played with the hair at the nape of his neck.

"You don't need to," he assured her, running a lock of her hair between his fingers. "I want to help, but if it's difficult for you–"

Juliet shook her head. "No, I want to. I just– no one knows."

Max's brow furrowed. "Not even Lorelai?"

Juliet shook her head again with a tiny shrug. "It'd just make her feel guilty."

After a moment, she took a deep breath, avoiding his eyes as she unraveled the one part of herself that she wouldn't even let her sister see, detailing every awful thing that happened during those four lonely years, and every awful way she'd attempted to cope with the utter desolation she'd felt. When she was done, she buried her face against his neck, and he held her tightly, rubbing her shaking shoulders until her sobs subsided.

Lorelai and Rory climbed the steps to the Gilmore mansion, matching frowns appearing on their faces when they saw Juliet waiting outside the door, looking bored. "Hey, Jules. Did your watch break or something? I figured you'd beat us here."

Juliet shrugged, gesturing at the front door in confusion. "I've been ringing the bell for like five minutes and no one's answered."

"Do you think it's broken?" Rory asked with a frown.

Lorelai smirked. "Do you think Mom finally murdered the maid?"

"Maybe the maid broke the doorbell, and that's why Mom murdered her," Juliet suggested, raising her eyebrows.

"Ooh, motive! That Psychology degree's coming out to play!" Lorelai said excitedly, wrapping an arm around her sister and giving her a one-armed hug, her brow furrowing in confusion when Juliet held on a little longer and tighter than she normally did. "How are you? Did you get some sleep last night?"

Juliet nodded, her smile softening. "I did, yeah."

"Good, you look good," Lorelai said with a smile, squeezing her again. "Oh, hey, about Thursday –"

"Oh, God," Juliet groaned.

Lorelai ignored her. "Are you okay meeting us at the diner instead of going to the house? I think I can use my magic powers on Luke and get him to make you a cake or something. Ooh! Birthday pie! You could have birthday pie!"

"Birthday pie!" Rory repeated, jumping up and down beside her mother.

Juliet nodded, unblinking. "Oh. Um, sure."

Lorelai frowned at the strained-looking smile on her sister's face. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure," Juliet said with another nod, her smile melting into a more genuine one. "Birthday pie sounds good."

"Birthday pie!" the Lorelais cried, grabbing each other's hands and squeezing excitedly.

"And, um, speaking of Thursday," Juliet began, meeting her sister's eyes anxiously. "Is it okay if Max comes with me? It's fine if you just want it to be the three of us."

"Of course he can, it's your birthday!" Rory exclaimed before her mother could respond. She grabbed Lorelai's arm, looking up at her. "Right, Mom?"

Lorelai glanced from the open excitement on her daughter's face to the cautious hope on her sister's, and nodded, forcing a smile. "Right, of course. You're the birthday girl."

Rory smirked. "Maybe we should have crisp apple strudel instead of birthday pie for Uncle Max."

Juliet's eyes widened in horror, and she pointed between them threateningly. "If either of you calls him that –"

"We won't," Lorelai promised quickly, just as the maid finally opened the door and ushered the three of them inside. She watched the spring in her daughter's step worriedly, and took a deep breath, reminding herself that the 'Uncle Max' thing was nothing more than a harmless joke – a joke she'd started – and that Juliet was cautious and rational, and wouldn't bring a guy around her sister and niece unless she was really serious about him. So then why did her sister's relationship suddenly seem like a much larger threat to her daughter's wellbeing simply because it was leaving Hartford city limits?

"Hey!" Lorelai called after Juliet and Rory the next morning, hurrying to meet them on the sidewalk. "Jules, you good to paint after dinner on Friday?"

"You really want me there?" Juliet asked for the millionth time, raising her eyebrows.

"Yes, I want you there!" Lorelai threw her hands up, exasperated. It's your turn to be a human buffer. "I mean, it'll get done faster with three of us instead of two, right?"

Rory smiled knowingly at her mother. "Are you sure you want it to get done fast?"

"Shut up," Lorelai huffed, narrowing her eyes. She opted to change the subject, threading her arms through both of theirs. "Come on. I need to stop at the market to get some fruit."

Juliet raised an eyebrow with a short laugh. "Fruit? Are you feeling okay?"

Lorelai shook her head. "No, I think I'm getting scurvy. Do people still get scurvy, or did that go away like the Plague?"

"No, people still get scurvy," Juliet said with a nod. "People still get the Plague, too."

Rory's eyes widened. "What?"

Lorelai gave her sister a look of 'now look what you've done', but was distracted by the sound of a motorcycle tearing through the town square. She smiled, nudging her sister and daughter excitedly. "Kill me and bury me with that bike."

"What is it?" Rory asked. "A Harley?"

Lorelai shook her head with a smile. "That is a 2000 Indian, 80 horsepower, 5-speed close ratio Andrews transmission, and I want to get one!"

Rory gave her mother a look. "No."

"Why not?" Lorelai asked with a pout.

"You'd die," Rory reminded her.

"I would not!" Lorelai exclaimed indignantly. "We have a doctor right here, remember?"

Juliet snorted, turning her sister away from the motorcycle.

"Hey," the stranger called to Lorelai as he stopped near them.

Lorelai barely spared the man a glance. "Hi."

"Nice shirt. Take it off."

Lorelai rolled her eyes, and turned around to give this asshole a piece of her mind before he took off his helmet, and her jaw went slack. "Christopher."

"Oh my God," Juliet whispered from beside her, her face suddenly devoid of color.

Rory, oblivious to the shocked expressions on her mother and aunt's faces, ran toward her father excitedly. "Dad!"

"Hey!" Christopher greeted with a bright smile, spinning Rory around in a tight hug, and Lorelai had a flash of memory of the countless times she'd watched him hug Juliet the very same way throughout their childhood.

"This is great!" Rory exclaimed as she pulled back. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, correct me if I'm wrong, but I heard someone's got a birthday coming up!" Christopher said, winking at Juliet as he squeezed Rory closer to him. "The big 3-0, no less!"

Juliet scoffed, exchanging a wide-eyed look with Lorelai. "You're here for my birthday?"

"Of course I am! I mean, come on, Jules, you're basically my little sister, I couldn't let you turn thirty without me!" Christopher's smile widened, his eyes seeking Lorelai's for approval. He turned to Rory, smiling down at her. "And of course, I'll take any chance I can get to see you, kiddo!"

Rory beamed up at her father. "So, if you're here for Auntie Jules's birthday, you'll be here all week?"

"All week," Christopher confirmed with another smile. He put a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "Hey, do you happen to know where somebody would find someplace to stay around here?"

"Stay with us!" Rory pleaded, turning to her mother. "Can't he, Mom?"

Lorelai exchanged another look with her sister, who shrugged noncommittally. She sighed. "Why don't you stay with us for a couple of days?"

"Thanks, Lor. You won't even know I'm there," Christopher promised. He turned to Juliet. "Jules, always good to see you."

Juliet nodded, forcing a smile. "Yeah, you too."

After a tiny scuffle over whether or not Rory could ride on the back of Christopher's bike, the Gilmore sisters were left on the sidewalk, staring at the trail of dust the motorcycle left behind.

"He's always had a knack for timing, hasn't he?" Juliet asked with a bitter smile.

"Yeah," Lorelai agreed, wrapping an arm around her sister. She shook her head, blowing out a breath. "Laurie fucking Laurence."

Fun fact, when I was deciding when Juliet's birthday would be, I picked March 1 solely because I wanted her to be a Pisces, and the timing worked for Lorelai to find out she was pregnant on Juliet's thirteenth birthday, so when I looked at the original air dates for s1, I was shocked when I saw that Christopher Returns aired on March 1, 2001, so Jules will unfortunately have to turn 30 with him there lol.

As always, thank you for reading, and let me know what you think!