"Are these new chairs, Grandma?" Rory asked her grandmother as she picked at her salad.

Emily lit up at the question. "Why, yes Rory, they are."

"They are?" Lorelai asked, glancing behind her to inspect her chair. "They look exactly like the old ones. Are you sure they're new?"

"Of course I'm sure," Emily said with forced patience. "I bought them."

"I don't see any difference." Lorelai turned to her sister in confusion. "Can you tell a difference?"

"Um, not really," Juliet admitted sheepishly.

"Well, the arch in the back is higher, and they have a completely different leg." When Emily continued to be met with blank stares from her daughters, she rolled her eyes. "Do you two realize how rare these chairs are?"

The sisters exchanged a look, bracing themselves for a lecture.

"I've searched for three years for them. I've combed every fine antique store on the East Coast and this is all I could find." Emily made a face. "I blame Peg Mosley. I made the mistake of telling her all my favorite special spots and that woman moved in and completely wiped them out. You can't find a decent Biedermayer hutch in all of Connecticut. I'm desperate for new sources."

"What about Kim's Antiques?" Rory suggested, glancing over at her grandmother.

"Didn't that burn down?" Lorelai asked, narrowing her eyes at her daughter, making Juliet snort into her salad.

Rory shot her mother a confused look, then turned back to Emily. "My best friend Lane, her parents have this great antique store in Stars Hollow. Maybe you should come to Stars Hollow and I'll take you there. Like tomorrow. You can come see the town."

"Well, won't you have to study?" Emily asked.

"I can put off studying for one day," Rory reassured her grandmother with a shrug.

"I'm working," Lorelai blurted.

"Me, too," Juliet said.

"No one is asking either of you to do anything. This is between Rory and me," Emily said tightly, turning to her granddaughter with a smile. "I accept your offer, Rory. I would love to spend tomorrow with you."

"Great." Rory smiled, going back to her salad.

"Think they'll miss us?" Lorelai asked her sister under her breath.

Juliet huffed out a laugh. "Not at all."

Back when Rachel had been nothing more than the faceless owner of a cute blue sweatshirt, Lorelai had thought about her as little as possible. She'd told herself Sookie had been exaggerating about her Elle MacPherson-type prettiness whenever she happened to pop up in her head, then promptly shoved the image to a deep, dark corner of her brain.

But then she'd met her, and had to swallow the fact that she was every bit as gorgeous as Sookie had described her. And then, as she spent more time with her, she learned that their tastes aligned on more things than just sweatshirts and men, and that she was smart and funny and kind. If they'd met under any other circumstances, Rachel was exactly the type of person who Lorelai could see herself going to a movie or concert with.

Hell, if anyone's ever made me question which team I play for. . . she thought to herself with a snort as she watched the woman in question take photo after photo of the dilapidated Dragonfly Inn on Saturday afternoon.

"So, uh, how'd you meet?" Lorelai asked, taking a step closer to her. "You and Luke?"

Rachel lowered her camera. "Oh, well, his sister Liz and I were really good friends growing up."

"Ah, the universal allure of the best friend's older brother," Lorelai quipped with a chuckle.

"Not really at first." Rachel shook her head. "I mean, it wasn't until we were in high school that I thought of him as anything other than Lizzie's brother. But she got a boyfriend, and started spending all her time with him instead of me, and Luke was happy to have someone to commiserate with."

"He doesn't talk about his sister much," Lorelai said, curious to learn more about the mysterious Liz Danes from someone who didn't seem to resent her as much as Luke did.

"No, he really doesn't like to," Rachel said with a sad smile. "It, uh . . ." she ducked her head, busying herself with putting the lens cap back on her camera. "It messed him up pretty good when she left. It probably didn't help that I left for CalArts not long after that, but we were teenagers, it's not like I was gonna marry him. We would've regretted it in two years."

"Oh yeah, I get that," Lorelai said with a sardonic laugh.

"But now . . ." Rachel trailed off with a sigh. "I don't know. We're adults. I got to travel the world for years. Maybe it's time."

"Time for what?" Lorelai asked, a pit of dread forming in her stomach.

"Time for us to get serious. Time for me to settle down, I guess, is the creepy old-fashioned term for it." Rachel smiled nervously at Lorelai, blowing out a breath. "Pretty damn scary, huh?"

Lorelai returned her smile with a too-bright one of her own. "Pretty damn scary."

Sunday afternoon, Juliet pushed open the door to the diner and held it open for her niece. "And you're sure she doesn't want a party?"

"I'm sure," Rory answered for the umpteenth time with a slight eye roll. "She told me she just wants a quiet dinner at home with the three of us. Sookie was going to come, but I guess she and Jackson are helping his cousin move or something, so she's making Mom a special lunch at the Inn instead."

Juliet nodded, absorbing that. "So, we need to get a cake too, then?"

Rory shook her head as she made sure the shopping bags full of streamers, balloons, and birthday presents were properly hidden under their table. "I think Sookie's still making one, she's just sending it home with Mom."

"Okay." Juliet nodded again, worrying her bottom lip. This small, intimate dinner that Lorelai had requested sounded exactly like something Juliet would want for her own birthday– and the complete opposite of the packed, lively gatherings that her older sister usually preferred. She searched her niece's face as they sat down, wondering if there was a way to ask her if Lorelai was doing okay without crossing a line. She decided against it, instead looking around the crowded diner for any sign of her older sister. "Uh, should we order for your mom?"

"She should be here already. She paged me a few minutes ago saying she was." Rory frowned, glancing around too. She turned to the dance teacher at the table next to them. "Miss Patty, where's my mom?"

"Oh, she followed Luke into the storage room a while ago," Patty said with a bawdy wink. "Who knows what those two are up to in there?"

Rory turned bright red, glancing over at her aunt with a disgusted laugh.

"How about I go find her?" Juliet suggested uncomfortably, squeezing her niece's shoulder as she stood up. She turned to Patty, pointing vaguely in the direction of the counter. "Is the storage room back there?"

Patty raised her eyebrows suggestively as she nodded in confirmation, and Juliet suppressed a shudder at the implication of what her sister might or might not be doing in the back room. She was pretty sure nothing was happening back there, because Luke was in a relationship, and Juliet knew Lorelai well enough to know she would never cross that line, no matter how much she might want to, but the image still wasn't something Juliet wanted to have in her head.

As she got closer to the storage room, the sound of raised, angry voices became more audible.

"You know what?" Luke was saying angrily. "We're done talking about this. This isn't any of your business."

"It is absolutely my business!" Lorelai insisted.

"How?"

"Because!"

"Why? Why is it your business?"

Juliet pushed open the door to the storage room with a hesitant knock. "Hey, Lor? Miss Patty said you were back here, and–" she cut herself off, her eyes narrowing slightly at the sight of Luke standing way too close to Lorelai for a guy who had a girlfriend. They immediately jumped away from one another as though they'd been burned. Lorelai lowered her head guiltily, while Luke focused on unloading the box in front of him. Juliet's eyes darted between her sister and the diner owner for a moment, before she blinked, turning pointedly to Lorelai. "Um, Rory's looking for you. She's at the table by the window."

"Oh. Okay." Lorelai nodded jerkily, tucking her hair behind her ears. She picked up her coffee cup, giving Luke an awkward wave as she turned to leave. "Uh, thanks for letting me borrow your thingy," she said, cringing at her involuntary innuendo, then avoided her sister's eyes as she hurried out of the storage room before she could shove her foot any further into her mouth.

Juliet stepped aside to allow her access to the door, crossing her arms over her chest as she stared at Luke in utter disgust. "What was that?"

"What was what?" he asked blankly, unloading jars of gravy as though he hadn't done—or been about to do—anything wrong.

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes at his attempt to play dumb. "Whatever I just walked in on."

Luke shrugged innocently, keeping his eyes trained on his task. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Juliet stepped further into the room, keeping her arms crossed so she wouldn't be tempted to punch him. "Don't you have a girlfriend?"

He stopped unloading to glare at her defensively. "What, is butting into other people's business a Gilmore family trait, or is it just you and Lorelai?"

"As the sister of one of the women you're stringing along, this is my business," she countered, her eyes flashing.

Luke bristled at that. "I'm not stringing anybody along."

"Oh, so you broke up with Rachel?" Juliet asked, arching an eyebrow.

He hesitated for a moment, working his jaw. ". . . No."

"Okay, so what if she'd been the one to walk in on you guys just now?" she asked, pointing to the door. "Because if I saw my boyfriend like that with another girl . . ."

Luke's shoulders dropped, the defensive set of his face melting into a guilty expression as he lowered his head.

"What are you doing?" Juliet asked in a whisper.

"I don't know," he admitted, his voice rusty with emotion. "I'm just so–" he shook his head with a grimace. "I just can't get out of my head."

She softened slightly, uncrossing her arms."I know how that is." She stepped hesitantly toward him. "Um, would it help to talk about it? With someone a little more neutral?"

Luke was silent for a long moment, playing with the lid on one of the jars. Finally, he blew out a breath. "I don't know what to do."

Juliet heaved a sigh, pressing her lips together. "Okay. Well, um, does Rachel know what happened? Between you and Lor?"

The tips of his ears turned slightly red, and he shook his head slowly.

"Okay," she said again, nodding. She tucked her hair behind her ears. "Well, if you decide you want to stay with her, I think you need to tell her."

"You mean if she decides to stay with me," he muttered under his breath with a bitter chuckle.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that she's got an interesting habit of getting bored and then leaving, usually without saying goodbye," he said, rolling his eyes. He gestured wildly at the ceiling. "For all I know, she could be packing right now."

She frowned. "It sounds like you don't really trust her."

Luke scoffed. "Well, after the third or so time she came back, swore she was ready to settle down, only to take off again, I stopped getting my hopes up."

"So, then, why are you with her?"

His head jerked up, his defensive posture returning. "Because I– well, what do you mean?"

Juliet gave a small shrug. "I mean, if you're just waiting for her to get bored and leave, why not just end it now?"

"Well, you're one to talk," Luke said, crossing his arms over his chest petulantly. "Weren't you doing the same thing with hair gel guy for a while?"

She blinked in surprise. "Lorelai told you about that?"

He nodded, as though that was a given. "Well, yeah."

Juliet wasn't sure how she felt about Lorelai blabbing about her relationship problems to Luke of all people, but she shoved that aside for now. "Um, okay. Well, that wasn't because of anything he did. I have, um–" She paused, taking a breath. "I have some pretty bad abandonment issues, and because of that I just kind of assume that people are gonna leave me all of a sudden, even if they've given me no reason to think that."

Luke barked out a harsh laugh. "Oh, Rachel's given me plenty of reason to think she's not sticking around."

"Then why are you with her?" she asked again. "I mean, is it really love if you don't trust each other?"

Luke seemed to consider that for a moment, working his jaw. Then he sighed, pressing his lips together in resignation. "I guess not."

"But, um, you can rebuild trust," Juliet told him gently. "It's hard, and it takes a while, but if you want to be with Rachel, then you need to be able to trust each other."

He was silent for another few moments before he wiped his nose almost imperceptibly. "I, uh– I don't think we can. I don't think I can. Not anymore."

She shrugged, giving him a sad smile. "Okay. Well, then, there's your answer."

"Yeah." Luke nodded, his eyes looking a little shiny. "I guess so."

"I'm sorry," Juliet whispered, her brow creased in sympathy.

"It's okay." He sniffed, blinking rapidly as he picked up a box cutter. "I have to finish unloading."

"Okay." She took that as her cue to leave and patted his forearm awkwardly. "Um, see you around."

"See you."

The night of her thirty-third birthday found Lorelai Gilmore sitting at her kitchen table beside her daughter, the two women snickering behind their hands as they watched Juliet struggle to make what, for people who hadn't grown up in a house with a maid and a cook, was a relatively simple dish.

Juliet shot a quelling look over her shoulder at her sister and niece. "If you're not gonna help, then be quiet."

"I'm sorry, you want me to help in the kitchen?" Lorelai asked incredulously, pointing a finger at her chest.

"Yeah, you're supposed to get stuff on your birthday," Rory added with a smirk at her mother. "Not lose fingers."

Juliet suppressed a laugh at that. "It's not like I'm any better."

"Not true! You know how to make spaghetti and meatballs now," Lorelai reminded her with exaggerated pride. "You're basically Julia Child."

Rory raised her eyebrows at her aunt with a teasing smile. "Juliet Child, you mean?"

"Oh, my God, how did I not think of that?" Lorelai asked, throwing her hands in the air. "I'm losing my rapier wit as I age."

"'Losing' implies you had it in the first place," Rory said as she stood up to help her aunt.

Lorelai's mouth dropped open in exaggerated offense. "Do you hear how my own flesh and blood speaks to me? On this, the anniversary of my birth?"

Juliet ducked her head with a laugh as she continued to clumsily chop an onion.

Rory came over to her, peering over her aunt's shoulder. "What should I do?"

Juliet bit her lip in thought for a moment. "Um, can you defrost the meatballs in the microwave?"

When Rory nodded, Lorelai held up a hand with a chortle. "Wait, you're telling me it took Max three months to teach you a recipe that uses frozen meatballs?"

"And spaghetti sauce from a jar!" Rory snickered, holding up a jar of Ragu for her mother to see.

"It's not like we've been making this every night for the last three months," Juliet argued, her cheeks pinking. "And I'm adding onions and garlic to the sauce."

"Wow, onions and garlic? Donna Reed's got nothing on you," Lorelai quipped, laughing when Juliet flipped her off in reply.

A few minutes later, after the packaged spaghetti noodles were placed in boiling water, and the meatballs and tomato sauce were in a saucepan that had taken them five minutes to locate, Juliet pulled out a bottle of red wine and began to unscrew the top.

Lorelai glared at her with mock sternness. "Wine? Need I remind you that there is a minor present?"

"Mommy, don't let her corrupt me with the nectar of Dionysus!" Rory pleaded, laying a hand on her mother's forearm as she gave her the doe eyes.

Juliet laughed, grabbing a dish towel when her hands proved useless in unscrewing the bottle. "I'm just putting it in the sauce, the alcohol will cook out."

"Look at this domestic goddess," Lorelai said, gesturing to her sister with a grin. "The Barefoot Contessa bows down before you, Martha Stewart worships the ground you walk upon, Nigella–"

Lorelai was cut off from waxing poetic about her sister's culinary expertise when the alcohol Juliet had been pouring caught fire in the saucepan, accompanied by the pot holding the noodles boiling over, making the flame below it burn even bigger.

"Oh, my God!" Rory exclaimed, her voice barely audible over the hissing of the boiling water and the smoke detector that had just started to go off.

"Okay, we just need to, um–" Juliet started, panic tingeing the tone of voice she usually reserved for the hospital.

Lorelai looked at her sister helplessly. "What does Max do when this happens?"

"This doesn't happen when he makes dinner!" Juliet reached skittishly for the hot stove, jerking her hand away from it at least three times before turning both burners off, then grabbed a saucepan lid and dropped it on top of the rapidly growing flame with a little squeal, while Lorelai opened up the back door, trying to get some of the smoke out of the house.

As the water in the pot ebbed to a normal temperature and volume, the fire was successfully smothered, and the smoke detector went silent, the three of them looked at one another, coming down from an adrenaline rush.

"So, pizza?" Lorelai finally suggested.

"Pizza," Juliet confirmed with a nod.

"I'll get the phone," Rory offered, heading for the living room.

After dinner, Rory retreated to her room to study for her rapidly approaching finals, while Lorelai and Juliet went out to the front porch with a cheap bottle of screwtop rosé and a throw over their laps, talking and laughing in the cool spring air.

They stayed out long past sunset, losing track of how much wine they'd had, until Juliet finally rubbed her eyes with a sigh. "I don't think I can drive home."

"Well, then, stay here," Lorelai offered with a shrug. She nudged her sister with an impish smile. "I can freeze your bra, and put your hand in a bowl of warm water, and then tomorrow, you can burn my kitchen down again when you try to make pancakes!"

Juliet snorted. "Thanks, but I have to be at work in, like—" she glanced at her watch, "—six hours, and I don't have any scrubs here."

Lorelai stuck her lip out in an exaggerated pout. "Booo."

"I'll just call Max and have him come get me," Juliet said, standing up to get her cell phone from her pocket, stumbling a little as she did so. She turned around, pointing a finger at her sister as she clarified, "Um, Medina."

"Glad you cleared that up," Lorelai quipped with a giggle. "'Cause I was gonna guess Maxwell Smart."

"He is smart, though. He's so, so smart," Juliet gushed with a dreamy smile, leaning against the porch rail.

"Careful, the porch rail's–" Lorelai winced as the rail came loose and Juliet fell into the bushes with a squeal, "–broken. Are you okay?"

Juliet nodded, laughing as she attempted to pull herself out of the bushes. "The bushes broke my fall."

"That thing's a safety hazard. I need to ask–" Lorelai cut herself off, clearing her throat. "Uh, I need to get someone to fix it."

Juliet's brow creased in concern as she climbed the porch steps a little unsteadily, careful not to put too much weight on the broken rail. "You okay?"

Lorelai nodded, the combination of the wine and the fact that she was a whole year older making her eyes sting a little. She forced a smile. "I'm fine. Go call your guy."

Juliet shot her one last worried frown as she dialed, then pressed the phone to her ear, walking a few steps away from her sister for some semblance of privacy. "Hi, baby."

Lorelai watched her little sister for a moment, making a mental note to mock her for the way she was literally twirling her hair around her finger as she spoke to her boyfriend, before smiling sadly into her wine glass. She wiped a stray tear from the corner of her eye, giving Juliet a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes as she came back. "Romeo on his way?"

"Stop calling him that," Juliet grumbled, rolling her eyes good-naturedly as she sat down heavily beside Lorelai. "He said he'll be here in like thirty, forty minutes."

"That's nice," Lorelai said softly, eyeing her sister wistfully.

Juliet glanced over at her, her brow furrowed. "What is?"

Lorelai shrugged. "You have someone you can call to pick you up when you're drunk." She shrugged again. "It's nice."

"Well, you have me," Juliet reminded her with a small smile. "When I'm not drunk too."

Lorelai gave her a watery smile in return. "I know. I just . . ." She trailed off, pressing her lips together. "I'm getting old."

Juliet gave her a look. "You're not old."

"I'm thirty-three," Lorelai countered, raising her eyebrows.

"That's not old."

"I'm thirty-three, and you're thirty, and you have this great boyfriend who loves you, who you can call at midnight when you're wasted and need a ride home. And I just– I don't think I've ever had that, you know?" Lorelai heaved a sigh, taking a generous sip of her wine. "And I know I've accomplished a lot without a man, I know that. I raised a kid, I worked my way up from maid to executive manager, I bought a house, I'm in school, I don't need a man." She paused, wiping her nose with the heel of her hand. "But I want one. I want a man, and I hate admitting it, because I fancy myself Wonder Woman, but I do."

"You'll find one," Juliet promised, rubbing her shoulder.

Lorelai sniffled. "How do you know?"

"Because you're great," Juliet told her, scooting a little closer. "And if you want, I know a lot of single doctors I could set you up with."

"Are any of them George Clooney?" Lorelai asked, a ghost of her usual smile returning to her face.

Juliet nodded, letting out a tiny giggle. "There's actually a surgeon who kind of looks like him."

"Sold!" Lorelai quipped with a chuckle. After a moment, her smile faded. "Nah, any guy I date right now would just be a transition guy. Maybe I should go out with Rune again, and then I'll be ready for Dr. Doug Ross."

"Stay away from Rune," Juliet said with a laugh.

"But I love him," Lorelai whined in an exaggeratedly high voice, making her sister laugh. She elbowed her playfully. "Hey, since you're not driving, that means you can have another glass, right?"

Juliet nodded. "Yes, please."

Twenty minutes and two glasses later, Juliet lifted her head from where it had been resting on Lorelai's shoulder when she heard the sound of a car pulling up. She let out a delighted gasp. "Max's here!"

Lorelai looked over at her with an affectionate laugh. "Yeah, babe, you called him."

Juliet ignored her, jumping up a little unsteadily. Then, recalling their earlier conversation, she hesitated, glancing back at her sister.

Lorelai rolled her eyes, jerking her chin toward the Mustang. "Go. I'm not that bitter." She paused, eyeing Juliet with a smirk. "Or maybe let him come to you since I doubt you can walk in a straight line."

Juliet narrowed her eyes. "I'm not that drunk."

Lorelai snorted as she began to gather the wine glasses and nearly empty bottle. "Sure you're not, pal."

"You've had just as much as me!" Juliet protested.

"Yeah, but I can actually hold my liquor," Lorelai snickered.

"I can hold my liquor!" Juliet said defensively, only slurring her words a little.

Lorelai shook her head with another laugh. "No, you can't."

Juliet shot her sister a glare, before pointedly turning to Max as he climbed the porch steps, her face melting into a tipsy smile. "Hi."

"Hi, sweet Juliet," he chuckled, wrapping an arm around her waist when she swayed into him slightly. "You're drunk."

"No, I'm not." Juliet shook her head emphatically. She pointed an accusing finger at Lorelai. "She's had just as much as me."

"Yes, but you can't hold your liquor," Max said, pushing her hair back from her face with a fond smile.

Lorelai pointed a triumphant finger at her sister's face. "Ha!"

"You guys are mean." Juliet tried to scowl at them both but ended up smiling instead, pressing her face into Max's shoulder.

He laughed, kissing her hair lightly, then raised a questioning eyebrow when he pulled a leaf from the auburn locks. "What's this?"

Lorelai smirked. "Oh, Shannon Miller here decided that the bushes looked like a nice place to practice her somersaults."

"You fell in the bushes?" he asked with a mix of concern and amusement.

"Just a little," Juliet said, pinching her fingers together to illustrate as she looked up at her boyfriend innocently. Then, her face broke into a beaming smile, and she put her hands on either side of Max's face, bringing his forehead down to rest against hers, making him laugh. "You're so beautiful." She turned to Lorelai for confirmation. "Isn't he so beautiful?"

"Oh, yeah, you bagged a hottie," Lorelai agreed with an exaggerated wink.

Juliet giggled, planting a sloppy kiss on her boyfriend's cheek, before resting her head on his shoulder again.

Max smiled down at her with another affectionate chuckle. "Come on, let's get you home."

Juliet nodded in acquiescence, bending down to hug her sister. "Happy birthday, Lor. I love you."

Lorelai squeezed her tightly, rubbing her back. "Drink lots of water before you go to bed."

"I'm not that drunk," Juliet insisted, wobbling a little as she straightened up. "I just asked Max to get me as a pretaucion."

"Precaution," he corrected as he and Lorelai exchanged an amused smirk at Juliet's uncharacteristic lack of reserve. He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, placing his other hand on her hip to steady her. "Can you walk, or am I carrying you to the car?"

"Ooh! Make him carry you!" Lorelai said excitedly, clapping her hands.

"You don't have to," Juliet hedged, but wrapped her arms around his neck in case he decided he wanted to anyway.

Max shook his head fondly, before sliding an arm under Juliet's knees and scooping her up, making her giggle.

Lorelai watched them go with a wistful smile, returning her sister's wave as the Mustang drove off, then took a deep breath, picking up the glasses and wine bottle and draping the throw over her forearm as she stood up to head inside.

Friday evening, Lorelai and Rory pulled up to the Gilmore mansion just after Juliet, hurrying up the front porch steps so it'd look like they had been standing there already when she'd rung the bell.

Emily whipped open the door with an exuberant smile. "Hello, hello, hello!"

Juliet gave her mother a small, bewildered smile. "Hi, Mom."

"Check the rubbing alcohol," Lorelai hissed into her sister's ear.

Emily raised her eyebrows excitedly. "I have a surprise for you."

"A surprise?" Lorelai repeated, thinking it had something to do with her birthday.

"For Rory," Emily corrected with an excited smile as she tugged on her granddaughter's hand. "Come with me."

"Okay, so, we'll– we'll follow you then." Lorelai exchanged a look of confusion with her sister. "Do you know what this is about?"

Juliet shook her head blankly as they headed upstairs, standing behind their mother as she opened the door to one of the many guest rooms in the house.

Emily flicked on the light switch with a proud smile. "Voila!"

"Oh, my." Rory glanced around, wide-eyed, at the bedroom decorated with boy band posters and Hello Kitty paraphernalia. "Grandma, what is this?"

"Well, since you've been spending so much time here lately, I thought you should have a special place all your own," Emily said, gesturing around the room.

"It's beautiful," Rory said, giving Emily a hug. "Thank you, Grandma."

"You're welcome, sweetheart. Now come on, let's go downstairs and see if dinner's ready." As Rory and Juliet headed for the stairs, Emily turned back to her eldest. "Are you coming?"

"You bought her CosmoGirl," Lorelai marveled with a wistful laugh.

Emily shrugged. "Well, the young girls enjoy the articles."

Lorelai shook her head in disbelief as she looked around the room. "You filled the room with sunflowers."

"Rory likes sunflowers," Emily informed her with an innocent smile.

"I know Rory likes sunflowers," Lorelai said incredulously, pretty sure if she asked her mother what her favorite flowers were, Emily wouldn't be able to tell her.

"What is the matter, Lorelai?" Emily asked, annoyance clouding her voice.

Lorelai shrugged, huffing out a laugh. "Nothing. I don't know. It's just a little weird, that's all."

"Why is it weird to do something for my granddaughter?"

"I don't know. I mean, it's not like you bought her a car. By the way, don't. It's a room and . . ." Lorelai trailed off, shaking her head. "You know, you're right. It's nice. I'm sorry. I'm just being silly."

"Maybe you don't like the fact that now she has a place away from you, someplace that's just her own," Emily suggested, pursing her lips.

Lorelai forced a smile. "I said I was fine."

"Or maybe it's because it's so large and spacious and has four solid walls around the bathtub," Emily said, punctuating the words by slamming a hand on the doorframe.

"What?"

"I mean, it may not be exciting or bohemian, but at least it doesn't have shovels propped up against the sofa either, now does it?"

Lorelai glanced around the room in confusion, trying to get a handle on this conversation. "I'm sorry. I missed the checkered flag, when did the argument start?"

Emily shook her head with a scoff. "You know, I always knew how much you hated your father and me."

Lorelai shot her mother a quelling look. "Mom, what–"

"But I severely overestimated how much you cared for your own sister, if you ran away from her to live in a shack in the woods like a hobo!" Emily cried, gesturing vaguely to her right.

"Who uses the word hobo anymore?" Lorelai quipped weakly

"All those years, Juliet would come home from visiting you and tell us that inn had 'nice rooms for staff' where you and Rory were staying, and then she'd go into her bedroom and cry herself to sleep," Emily said, her voice dangerously low. She stepped closer to her daughter. "And I always wondered why. I mean, she got to say goodbye to you before you left, she saw you more than twice a year, you've never dodged her phone calls."

"Mom–" Lorelai tried again.

Emily's lip quivered slightly, but her spine remained ramrod straight. "But now I know. Now I know what she knew all along: that you would've lived in the gutter, in the street, in a cardboard box, anywhere as long as you didn't have to be near us, and that included her!"

"That is not true," Lorelai said defensively. "I stayed in touch with Jules as much as possible!"

"Yes, Jules," Emily spat out the nickname, as though holding it in her mouth was causing her physical pain. "You stayed in touch with Juliet, but not your father. You stayed in touch with Juliet, but not–"

"Mom–"

"–But not me," Emily finished, the fight seeming to leave her.

Lorelai opened her mouth but then closed it again, for once at a loss for words.

Emily sniffled, covering her mouth with her hand. "Excuse me."

After a silent drive back to Stars Hollow, Lorelai and Rory pulled up to the town square, parking right behind Juliet's Honda.

Lorelai gave her daughter a strained smile as they hopped out of the Jeep. "Honey, why don't you get us a table while I talk to Auntie Jules for a bit?"

Rory frowned worriedly at her mother. "Are you okay?"

Lorelai nodded, still smiling brightly. "Yep! She and I are just gonna talk about how much it sucks that Steven Tyler's married."

Rory made a face. "Gross."

"Seconded," Juliet agreed with a grimace. As Rory turned and headed for the diner, she turned to her sister, her brow creased in concern. "How are you? I heard you and Mom fighting about the room."

"How much did you hear?"

"Not much." Juliet shrugged. "Just yelling, but no distinct words or anything. What happened?"

Lorelai heaved a sigh. "Rory showed her the potting shed when she was here on Saturday."

"Oh," Juliet said softly, not knowing what else to say.

Lorelai pressed her lips together guiltily, resting a hand between her sister's shoulder blades. "When you saw it—you know, when you'd visit, and stuff—did it make you feel . . .?"

"Make me feel what?"

"Did it hurt you? Seeing how, uh, rustic it was?" Lorelai asked, smirking slightly at her chosen adjective.

"No."

"No?"

"No," Juliet said again, shaking her head. She shrugged. "I remember being more jealous than anything. It was so peaceful there, and I just remember that I wished I could stay there with you guys instead of having to go back to Mom and Dad's every time I visited."

Lorelai's chest constricted with shame at the traces of lingering sadness she saw on her sister's face. "I'm sorry. I know I put a lot on you when I left. Asking you to lie for me for so long, making you make up for all my shortcomings as a Hartford debutante, dealing with the rage of Emily Gilmore so I wouldn't have to."

Juliet shook her head again. "It's okay."

"Jules–"

"It's okay. Really. I told you, the best thing you did for Rory was to get her out of that house." Juliet swallowed thickly, biting the inside of her cheek. "Do I wish you'd stayed? Sure. I wish a lot of things had been different about the way we grew up."

Lorelai barked out a laugh. "Understatement of the year."

"But none of that's your fault."

"I know," Lorelai said softly, guilt twisting in her gut anyway.

Juliet gave her a small smile, touching her shoulder gently. "Should we go in?"

"Yeah." Lorelai nodded, plastering on a bright smile as she looped an arm through her sister's.

Arm-in-arm, they walked into the nearly empty diner, quickly spotting Rory and moving to sit with her.

Rachel rushed up to meet them, blocking their path. "Lorelai, hey! Good, you're here."

"I'm here," Lorelai confirmed with a puzzled smile.

"Hi, Juliet," Rachel said with a quick smile at the redhead.

"Hi, Rachel." Juliet smiled back. A quick glance at Rachel's expression told her she wanted to talk to Lorelai alone, so Juliet squeezed her sister's elbow, pointing at her niece's table. "I'm gonna go sit. Good to see you."

"Yeah, you too." Rachel turned back to Lorelai with a wide smile. "I'm so glad you're here! I was worried I wouldn't get to say goodbye to you."

"Goodbye?" Lorelai repeated blankly, noticing for the first time the giant duffel bag and camera bag at the other woman's feet. Her shoulders dropped. "Oh, Rachel, I'm sorry. I really tried to–"

"I know you did," Rachel said, putting her hand on Lorelai's arm and giving it a reassuring squeeze. "But it wasn't enough. And I can't really blame him, can I? I've skipped out on him a million times before, he has no reason to think this time is any different."

Lorelai sighed, her gaze involuntarily darting over to where her sister sat. "So, where are you gonna go?"

"Uh, I'm thinking Berlin," Rachel said with a nod, her eyes lighting as she spoke about her work. "I want to look at how citizens of East and West Berlin are still impacted a decade after the Fall of the Berlin Wall."

"Wow," Lorelai breathed, the photographer's contagious excitement making her smile too. "That's even more exciting than the Armbrusters."

"Only marginally," Rachel said with a smirk. She reached out and hugged Lorelai tightly. "Stay in touch, okay? Keep me updated on the Dragonfly."

"I will," Lorelai promised as she pulled away, keeping her hands on the other woman's shoulders. "And I'll keep an eye out for your pictures in museums."

Rachel laughed. "Maybe just indie bookstores for now."

"Still cool."

"Still cool," Rachel agreed, smiling. She turned to Luke as he came out from behind the counter, giving him a wistful smile.

"You sure you don't want a ride to the airport?" he asked, putting the dishrag in his hand down on the nearest table.

Rachel shook her head, her eyes filling. "No, I think it's best if we say goodbye here."

Luke nodded in agreement, his eyes a little shiny as he took another step toward his ex. He turned to Lorelai. "Can you, uh . . .?" He gestured vaguely between himself and Rachel.

"Oh! Sure." Lorelai moved to sit with her sister and daughter, giving Rachel a wave over her shoulder. "Send me some German beer!"

Rachel waved back with a chuckle. "I will."

Lorelai sat down, accepting the cup of coffee her daughter handed her with a grateful smile as she tried not to eavesdrop on Luke and Rachel's whispered goodbye.

After a moment, Luke raised his voice to a normal volume. "Hey, uh, I'm gonna take Rachel's stuff to her cab. Don't–" he pointed a finger at Lorelai, "–pour your own refills. I'll be back in thirty seconds."

"He didn't say anything about not getting our own pie," Lorelai said once the door closed behind them, grabbing a napkin as she stood up with an impish smile.

Rory shot her a look. "Mom."

Juliet tugged on her sister's skirt. "Sit back down."

Lorelai pouted exaggeratedly. "You two never let me have any fun."

The bells jingled, signaling Luke's re-entry. He walked over to their table, narrowing his eyes slightly as he pointed to Lorelai. "Did she go behind the counter?"

"She was very good," Rory told him with mock pride.

Lorelai nodded with a gleeful smile. "Yeah, I should get a toy."

Juliet eyed her sister with a smirk at that, but said nothing.

"I'll build you a rocking horse," Luke deadpanned with only a tiny eye roll.

"You do that," Lorelai agreed with a smile. They held eye contact for a long moment, until she took a breath. "So, uh, Rachel's gone."

"Rachel's gone," he confirmed with a nod.

"Are you okay?" Juliet asked, noting the lingering redness around his eyes.

"Yeah." He nodded. "It's what's best for both of us. She loves her job, and I . . ." He closed his eyes, heaving a long-suffering sigh. "Love it here."

Lorelai laughed out loud. "That was painful for you to admit."

Luke snorted, ducking his head to hide his smile. He gestured behind him with his thumb. "Uh, I have some cherry pie I was gonna throw out unless someone eats it, you guys want it?"

"Is that even a question?" Lorelai asked with a wry lift of her brows.

"I'll just bring out the whole pan," he said, rolling his eyes as he turned to go. Abruptly, he turned back around, opening his mouth to say something to Lorelai, before closing it just as quickly and heading for the counter.

Notes:

The title of this chapter is from the Taylor Swift song (this is me, after all, lmao), even though the TS songs that I personally associate with Luke and Rachel are Suburban Legends, tis the damn season, and dorothea (tbh evermore is just Luke's album), but this one works too lol.

Let me know what you think!