"As sick as it sounds, I loved you first."

— Gracie Abrams, "I Love You, I'm Sorry"

Just a heads-up that there's going to be a pretty slut-shame-y comment made to Lorelai by one of the characters in this chapter. I just want to make it clear that it's in no way meant to condone or contribute to the frankly misogynistic way that Lorelai's very normal amount of relationships for a single woman in her 30s is treated both by characters on the show and by fans of the show.

Anyway, feminist mini-rant over, happy reading :)

"Oh, I forgot to tell you," Juliet said as Lorelai walked her to her car Sunday evening. "I got scheduled for a twenty-four-hour shift on Tuesday, so I can't meet up."

Lorelai made a face. "Ew, I'm sorry; that sounds horrible. How are you gonna get any beauty sleep?"

Juliet laughed as she unlocked her car. "I'm not working Wednesday, so I guess I'll catch up then."

"Hey, me neither!" Lorelai exclaimed, her eyes lighting up. "Let's go shopping! You can get a new dress for your graduation thingy next week."

Juliet ducked her head, embarrassed. "It's just a dinner; I don't need a new dress."

"Come on," Lorelai cajoled, nudging her sister with a wide smile. "A nice red dress with a slit up the thigh? Huh?"

"I can't wear a red dress with my hair."

"Jessica Rabbit does."

Juliet huffed out a laugh. "Oh, now you've convinced me."

"Come on," Lorelai said again. "When was the last time you bought new clothes for yourself?"

"Well, I don't really like shopping," Juliet said with a shrug. "Besides, it's better for the environment if I re-wear clothes."

"You know, I think we had this exact conversation this morning, except you were wearing a baseball cap and your hair was a lot shorter," Lorelai quipped.

"Well, I had it tucked under the hat," Juliet deadpanned, pretending to tie up her waist-length hair to demonstrate.

"Oh, that makes sense," Lorelai said with a dry laugh. She tilted her head, her smile turning more encouraging. "Look, you've been working sixty-to-eighty-hour weeks for the past four years. Wouldn't it be nice to wear something new to celebrate the end of all that? I promise, one dress isn't gonna melt the polar ice caps."

Juliet sighed, feeling herself relent. "Yeah, I guess."

Lorelai's eyebrows went up, her smile widening. "Yeah?"

Juliet nodded with a small smile. "Yeah, that sounds good. Is one okay?"

"Does that give you enough time to sleep after work?" Lorelai asked, eyeing her with concern.

Juliet nodded again. "Yeah, it'll be good. I don't wanna sleep all day."

"Okay, good. See you on Wednesday."

"See you on Wednesday."

Early Monday morning, Juliet flicked off the bathroom light just before opening the door. She stepped back into her darkened bedroom in her scrubs, tilting her head as she watched Max sleep. He'd rolled over onto his stomach, his arm still draped over where she'd been lying only half an hour before. With a soft smile, she leaned over the bed and brushed a feather-light kiss to his temple.

He stirred slightly. "Juliet?"

"Shh, go back to sleep," she whispered, carding her fingers through his hair soothingly. "Sorry, I woke you up."

"Don't go," he mumbled, grabbing her hand and holding it against his face as he looked at her pleadingly. "Call in sick, I'll get a substitute."

She huffed out a laugh, stroking his cheek with her thumb. "I have to go, they have me helping in the ER since they're short-staffed, remember?"

"Now I know how Lois Lane felt," Max said, wrinkling his nose in mock petulance, making her laugh. He tugged on the front of her scrubs. "Real kiss? Since I won't get to see you tonight?"

Juliet acquiesced, bending to kiss him lingeringly, despite the fact that he hadn't brushed his teeth yet. She pulled back slightly, resting her forehead against his. "I love you. Now go back to sleep."

He put his hand on her cheek, holding her there. "Stay just for a minute longer, please?"

"Max–" she attempted to protest, her resolve melting away when he stuck his bottom lip out slightly. She sighed, standing up and then lowering herself to sit on the bed. "Just for a minute."

Max smiled in triumph, lifting his head from his pillow and resting it on her lap. He closed his eyes while Juliet began to run her fingers through his hair again. Once his breathing evened out again, she lifted his head from her lap and lowered it gently back onto his pillow, pressing one final kiss to his temple before standing up to leave.

"You don't need another green dress," Lorelai declared with an exasperated smile as Juliet held up a knee-length, bottle green dress up to herself. "Let's get you something different."

"Green looks good with my hair," Juliet protested, but put the dress back, knowing her sister was right.

"Blue would look good with your hair, too. And it'd match your eyes." Lorelai opened her own blue eyes wide, and batted her eyelashes exaggeratedly, making Juliet laugh. She glanced around the store, looking for a blue dress she liked before her eyes landed on a fifty percent off sign next to a display of men's dress pants. "Ooh!"

Juliet frowned in confusion as Lorelai dragged her by the elbow to the men's department. "What are we doing?"

Lorelai touched a pair of gray pants and then gasped. "Oh, my God, feel this fabric! I wanna have its babies!"

"Why are we in the men's department?" Juliet asked, but rubbed the fabric against her cheek when her sister held it up.

"Uh, because there's a sale," Lorelai said as though no other explanation was needed.

"Yeah, but neither of us wears men's clothes," Juliet pointed out, still confused.

"Not for us, silly," Lorelai said, searching the rack for the size she wanted. "You have a boyfriend now; buying him clothes and dressing him up like your own personal Ken doll is your God-given right."

Juliet rolled her eyes with a small smile. "Max doesn't need me to buy him clothes."

"Forget about need! This is about marking your territory," Lorelai informed her with a teasing smile and the sage bossiness that older sisters are so good at, no matter how old their younger sisters get.

"I don't need to 'mark my territory'," Juliet laughed, then frowned at the tag when Lorelai pulled a pair of pants out anyway. "And those aren't even the right size."

"It's fine." Lorelai waved her hand dismissively, her eyes lighting when she saw a display of sweaters. "Oh! Forty percent off!"

Juliet trailed after her sister to the sweaters, her pace much slower. She picked up one of the sweaters with a furrowed brow, then shook her head. "He's never gonna wear these."

Lorelai shot her a look, raising her eyebrows meaningfully. "A hundred-and-fifty percent off, Jules. We have to get them."

"Not if he's not gonna wear them," Juliet argued, folding one of the sweaters and putting it back on the table when Lorelai grabbed a third. "And you're still getting the wrong size–" She paused, a lightbulb going off in her head, then turned to her sister with an amused smirk. "Lor, who are we shopping for?"

Lorelai ignored the question, grabbing the sweater Juliet had just folded and adding it back to the rapidly growing pile in her arms.

"Lor?"

"It's a good sale!" Lorelai exclaimed, her cheeks pinking. She shrugged, avoiding her sister's eyes as she moved to a rack of dress shirts. "And, you know, I'm hopeless with home repairs and stuff like that, so Luke always helps me with that stuff, I should return the favor since he's equally hopeless at dressing himself. And since these are three-thousand percent off . . ."

Juliet nodded skeptically. "Mm-hm."

Lorelai glared at her, rolling her eyes. "If you're gonna mock, will you at least help me carry some of this stuff?"

"I wasn't mocking– here." Juliet took half of the clothes from Lorelai's arms, resisting the urge to roll her eyes too when her sister added another dress shirt to each of their piles. "How do you even know what size he is?"

"Oh, I mend stuff for him sometimes," Lorelai said with a shrug. "He's just as bad at stitching clothes as he is at picking them."

Juliet's brow creased. "So, isn't that already returning the favor of him fixing stuff around your house?"

"You're mocking again," Lorelai said in a sing-song voice filled with exasperation.

Juliet ducked her head to hide her smirk. "Sorry."

About an hour later, the sisters walked out of Bloomingdale's and into the mall parking lot, dropping an inordinate amount of men's clothing into the back of Lorelai's Jeep before Lorelai turned to her sister with a bright smile.

"So, do you have time for one more stop?" she asked, looping an arm through Juliet's.

"That depends, are we gonna buy more clothes for a guy you're not dating?" Juliet asked with a teasing smile.

"Okay, these clothes were three hundred trillion percent off! I would've been losing money if I hadn't bought them," Lorelai said defensively. "Especially since you outright refused to buy stuff for the guy you are dating."

Juliet rolled her eyes. "I don't need to buy him clothes, he dresses better than I do."

"Please, everything I've ever seen him wear looks like it was stolen from David Schwimmer's wardrobe in season five of Friends." Lorelai snorted, digging her keys out of her purse. "Anyway, I need to stop at CVS for some tampons. I'd go to Doose's, but then in five minutes the entirety of Stars Hollow would know that Aunt Flo has come to call on the Gilmore girls, and I really don't want Kirk stopping me in the street to ask about my cramps again, so–" She cut herself off with a concerned frown at the sight of her sister's pale face. "Jules, you okay?"

"What? No, yeah. Of course," Juliet said with an unsteady nod.

Lorelai took a step closer, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You sure? You don't look so good."

"Thanks, you're sweet," Juliet deadpanned, sounding distracted. She bit her lip, meeting her sister's eyes. "Um, what's today again? Like, the date?"

Lorelai frowned up at the bright blue sky, trying to remember. "Uh, May second, I think?"

"Shit," Juliet muttered under her breath. She swallowed, running a hand through her hair as she glanced in the direction of her Honda. "Um, sorry, I have to go. But we're still meeting after your class tomorrow, right?"

"Right." Lorelai nodded, following her sister to her car. "What's wrong? Did you forget an anniversary or something?"

Juliet laughed weakly. "Something like that, yeah."

"Is it Max's birthday? 'Cause I'm a really good present-buyer! I could help you get something for him," Lorelai offered with a bright smile. "I heard Nordstrom is having a sale on their Ross Geller collection."

Juliet shook her head with a strained smile. "No, his birthday isn't until September, but thanks." She unlocked her car with shaking hands, having to try several times to fit the key into the keyhole. "See you tomorrow, okay? I love you."

"Love you, too," Lorelai said, her brow creased in confusion. Juliet gave her one last smile and wave as she drove off, and she waved back, a thought occurring to her as she watched her sister's car drive off. She dismissed it as quickly as it came, shaking her head as she walked back toward the Jeep. "No, she'd tell me."

Juliet walked through the imposing hallway, the squeaking noise her sneakers made on the marble floor making her feel even more self-conscious about the jeans and t-shirt she was wearing. She'd been reluctant to come here at all, but Max had assured her multiple times over the phone that no after-school clubs were meeting that day, so there would hardly be anyone in the building once school let out. Despite not wanting to take the risk of a bunch of near-strangers knowing about their relationship, Juliet knew that if she waited much longer to tell Max what might or might not be happening in less than ten months, she'd work herself into a panic attack, and that was the last thing she wanted if there was anything in her stomach other than the cinnamon-sugar pretzel that Lorelai had force-fed her two hours ago.

Even so, she kept her pace brisk and her head down, only lifting it to look at room numbers until she finally reached the right classroom.

Juliet opened the door with a hesitant knock, a little weirded out by being there in the first place. "Hi," she greeted with a timid smile, making sure the door was closed firmly behind her.

Max glanced up from the paper he was grading at the sound of her voice, and his face lit up. "Hey!" He stood to greet her, pushing his chair in as he crossed to her and took her hand. He leaned in to kiss her hello, and she turned her face slightly so his lips hit her cheek instead.

He laughed, his brow creasing slightly in confusion. "What?"

"You're at work," she reminded him with an apologetic smile, squeezing his hand.

He rolled his eyes with a fond smile. "Ah, yes, I forgot I was dating the apotheosis of professionalism."

She blushed, ducking her head. "I just don't want you to get in trouble."

"And you're very sweet for that, but almost everyone's left by now," Max said, twisting a lock of her hair around his index finger like a curling iron. "Besides, I doubt anyone would care that much."

Juliet felt a familiar twinge in her stomach at that, but pushed it aside, forcing a smile as she squeezed his hand again. "Um, I need to talk to you about something. Or tell you something, I guess."

"You mentioned that on the phone. Is everything alright?" he asked, searching her face.

She nodded, keeping the smile plastered to her face. "Yeah, of course. Or, well . . ."

"Juliet?"

She hesitated, biting her lip nervously. "I'm late," she whispered, raising her eyebrows meaningfully.

"Late?" He frowned in confusion for a moment, before his face went slack as the light dawned in his eyes. "Oh."

Juliet nodded. "Yeah."

"So, you're . . ." Max trailed off, swallowing thickly.

"I might be."

He bit his lip, his eyes shining with unshed tears. "A baby? We're having a baby?"

"We might be," she said softly, shrugging. "I don't know for sure, though. I mean, I haven't taken a test or anything, and I've been pretty stressed the past couple of weeks, and my sleep schedule's been weird–"

Max wrapped his arms tightly around her, nearly lifting her off of the ground with the force of his embrace as he buried his face in her hair. "We're having a baby," he repeated, his voice breaking.

"We don't know that," Juliet reminded him gently, pulling back slightly and reaching out to wipe a stray tear from his face. She bit her lip, hating to bring him back down to earth. "I'm sorry, I should've waited to tell you until I knew for sure."

He shook his head, his smile dimming only slightly. "No, no, I'm glad you're telling me now. I want to be there when you find out. I mean, not necessarily while you're taking the test, but I'd like to wait with you."

She nodded, smiling. "Okay."

"Okay," Max whispered, brushing her hair away from her face. "So, what now? Do you want to get married?"

Juliet's eyes widened. "What?"

"There's a good chance we're having a baby together, Juliet," he said, as though she didn't already know that. "We should get married."

She pulled out of his arms, taking both of his hands in hers as she shook her head. "Max, no. We can't get married just because I might be pregnant."

"But we don't know for sure if you are, so we wouldn't be getting married just because of that," he pointed out with a smug smile.

She squeezed his hands, rolling her eyes affectionately at his typical fanciful logic. She opened her mouth to respond, when the classroom door slammed open, and Paris Geller marched in with her usual urgency.

"Mr. Medina, I was hoping you could–" Paris stopped short, frowning in confusion at Juliet's presence, and then at the fact that she was holding hands with her English teacher. "Juliet. Hi."

Juliet immediately dropped Max's hands, putting a safe distance between them as a pit began to form in her stomach. "Hi, Paris."

"What can I do for you, Miss Geller?" Max asked nonchalantly, as though there was nothing out of the ordinary.

Paris ignored the question. "You were holding hands."

Juliet nodded, resisting the urge to cover her flaming cheeks with her hands. "Uh-huh." Shit, shit, shit.

"Why were you holding hands?" Paris asked, looking between the two adults. "Were you praying?"

Max shook his head with a slightly amused smile. "No."

Paris frowned. "Are you sleeping together?"

"That is none of your business," he warned, raising his eyebrows.

Paris narrowed her eyes. "So, yes."

Max heaved an exasperated sigh, putting his hands on his hips. "Miss Geller–"

"I should go," Paris said abruptly, pursing her lips. "I told my nanny I'd be home soon."

His brow creased slightly in confusion, then he nodded. "Alright. I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow."

After Paris closed the door behind her, Juliet walked over to a desk in the front row and sank into it, burying her face in her hands. "Oh, my God."

"Well," Max chuckled, sticking his hands in his pockets. "That was a little embarrassing."

"Embarrassing?" Juliet repeated, wondering how he couldn't see how bad this was as she lifted her head from her hands. "Max, baby, you could get in so much trouble for this."

"What? Why would I get in trouble?" he asked incredulously, huffing out a laugh. "We weren't doing anything wrong."

"We were alone, we were holding hands–"

"Juliet, my sweet, paranoid angel," Max began, stepping closer to where she sat with a placating smile. "This isn't a Samuel Richardson novel. Holding hands isn't enough to cause a sex scandal anymore."

Juliet ignored the slight condescension in his voice, rubbing at her eyebrows. "Max, I went to a school like this, remember? It doesn't take much to get people gossiping." She bit her lip, trying to formulate a plan, then stood, taking a deep breath. "Okay, it's fine, we can get ahead of this."

"There's nothing to get ahead of!" he protested, rolling his eyes.

"You go to the headmaster's office and explain what happened before he hears some exaggerated version from ten different people tomorrow saying that we were making out in here or something," she said, tucking her hair behind her ears. "I'll call Lorelai so she can prepare Rory a little bit for school tomorrow, I don't really know how much she can do–"

Max sighed, rolling his eyes again. "Juliet, I love you, but you're acting crazy."

Juliet blinked, her head jerking back slightly. "I– what?"

He paused, looking up at the ceiling briefly as though mentally replaying his previous sentence, then closed his eyes. "I'm sorry. That was– I didn't mean that."

She shook her head quickly. "It's okay."

"No, it's not. I shouldn't say things like that," he said, putting his hands on her shoulders. He ducked his chin slightly, meeting her eyes. "However, I do think you're worrying about nothing."

Juliet sighed, wondering how someone as smart as he was could have so little common sense sometimes. "Look, we knew this might be a problem when we started dating. I mean, I'm the aunt of one of your students–"

"And I told you before we started dating that it wouldn't be a big deal." He took her hands, bringing them to his chest and holding them there as he smiled reassuringly at her. "If you were Rory's mother, it would likely be a different story, but you're not, so it's a non-issue."

She deflated, feeling her frustration evaporate completely as his words sank in, replaced with a combination of jealousy and a strange sense of vindication that her first impression had been correct. She nodded, biting the inside of her cheek to keep from crying. "Okay. Um, I should go buy a pregnancy test. Maybe a couple, so I can take one tomorrow morning too."

Max nodded, kissing her cheek quickly in farewell. "Okay. I'll meet you at your apartment when I'm done here."

"Sounds good," Juliet said, avoiding his eyes as she headed for the door. She sniffled, turning back around. "Um, I still think you should tell the headmaster what happened. There's always a possibility people could think it was Lorelai you were in here with, and– and you're right. That would be a lot worse than it being me."

"He's golfing right now, but I'll send him an email," he promised indulgently, then raised a teasing eyebrow. "In the interest of full disclosure, should I mention that you're having my baby?"

"I think you can leave that out," she said with a forced chuckle, feeling her eyes prickle as she focused intently on turning the door handle.

"Hey." He caught her hand before she could leave, searching her face with a frown. "Is something wrong? Is it something I said?"

Juliet shook her head, blinking rapidly. "No, you're fine. See you in a bit."

"Juliet," Max prodded, taking her other hand. "Talk to me, please?"

"It's nothing. I'm being stupid." She attempted to pull away, forcing another smile. "I should let you get back to work."

"Juliet. Please. What is it?"

"I just–" She cut herself off, looking up at the ceiling and pressing her lips together. She blew out a shaky breath, meeting his eyes. "Is that why you picked me?" she asked, half-dreading the answer.

"Why I picked you?" he repeated, his brow furrowing.

"Instead of Lorelai," Juliet said almost inaudibly, lowering her eyes to the ground. "Was it in case something like this happened?"

Max dropped her hands with an aggravated sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose as he stepped back from her. "Oh, my God."

"I'm sorry."

He pressed the heels of his hands to his eyes. "I thought we were past this! I thought we had gotten past this in November!"

"You're mad," she observed in a whisper, blinking in surprise.

"No, I'm frustrated that after nearly six months, you still don't trust me!" he corrected, his voice rising.

"I do trust you!" Juliet protested, taking a step closer to him and reaching out to touch his shoulder.

Max shook her off. "Well, you're doing an excellent job of pretending that you don't!" He put his hands on his hips, looking at her helplessly. "How many times, Juliet? How many times are we going to have this conversation?"

"Max–"

He scoffed, throwing his hands up in frustration. "I mean, first you won't go out with me because you're convinced I'm carrying a torch for your sister. Then, you think that I'm just going to up and leave you with no warning, and for no reason. Then, you act as though I'm giving up my dream of gallivanting around Canada for the summer instead of spending it with you. And now I'm finding out that after all this time, you still think I'm interested in Lorelai?"

"I'm sorry," she said, her voice breaking.

Max scrubbed a hand over his face. "What's it going to take to convince you? What's it going to take to make you see how much you mean to me?"

"Just time, I guess." Juliet shrugged, swallowing thickly. "And I do trust you. I just . . . I don't know. I like Lorelai a lot better than I like myself, so I kind of assume everyone else does, too."

He sighed, seeming to deflate. "You don't understand, Juliet," he said, his tone edging on desperation. "I don't think I've ever been this comfortable, this open, with anyone else before. I mean, you're the only woman I've ever been with who's seen me without hair gel, for God's sake!"

"I am?"

Max nodded, stepping toward her and taking her hand, focusing on playing with her fingers instead of making eye contact with her. He blew out a shaky breath. "I don't think I realized how much I was performing for everyone else until I met you and didn't need to."

Juliet reached up and cupped his cheek in her free hand. "I love you. I'm sorry I made you feel like I didn't trust you."

"I'm sorry, too," he whispered, turning his face and kissing her palm. He met her eyes seriously. "I love you, alright? More than I've ever loved anyone or any job. I would burn this place down if you asked me to."

She let out a slightly horrified chuckle. "Okay, now that will get you in trouble no matter who you're dating."

He raised his eyebrows with an impish smile. "Good thing I'm already writing an email to Headmaster Charleston."

She smiled, rolling her eyes. "I'm gonna go buy a test."

"Come on!" Lorelai called, drumming her fingers impatiently on the diner's counter.

"I hate you, very much," Luke called back from the storeroom.

"Oh, baby, don't talk like that, you know it drives me crazy," she said with exaggerated huskiness, fanning herself for effect, but found she was only half-joking when Luke came out wearing the tightest of the sweaters she'd bought, grumbling and rolling his eyes. She recovered quickly, pretending to squint at him in confusion. "Excuse me, sir, do you know where Luke is?"

He rolled his eyes. "Very funny."

She gasped, putting a hand to her heart. "Oh my God, Luke, is that you?"

"Why do I even need this stuff, anyway?" he asked, tugging on the hem of his sweater uncomfortably. "I run a diner."

"Yes, but you still need nice clothes," Lorelai pointed out, pulling a belt from one of the bags and walking over to him with it. "I mean, you said yourself that they like collars over at the bank."

"I don't need a whole new wardrobe for something that happens once a year."

She rolled her eyes as she began to thread the belt through the loops in his pants. "These aren't just for the bank–"

Luke batted her hands away, "I can put a belt on by myself, thank you.".

"Okay, sorry," Lorelai said, holding her hands up in surrender. "But there are other places you'll need to dress up."

"Like what?"

"Like weddings, high school reunions . . . dates," she listed with affected nonchalance, tucking her hair behind her ears.

His head jerked up from putting on the belt. "You think I should date?"

Lorelai shrugged. "Well, I'm not gonna put a gun to your head and make you go to a singles bar, but when you're ready—you know, after Rachel—it might be nice to not be wearing stuff you've worn on dates with another woman."

"And these women that I'm going on these hypothetical dates with? They wouldn't have a problem with me wearing clothes that were purchased for me by another woman?" Luke asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, I would think, hypothetically, if you were with the right person, she wouldn't have a problem with it," she countered with a coy smirk.

He nodded, seeming to suppress a smile. "Good to know."

After a moment of charged eye contact, Lorelai dropped her gaze to the appalling job he'd done at fastening his belt. "Oh, you, uh, you missed a loop. Come here." She pulled him to her by his belt loops and began re-threading the belt, frowning in concentration. "What did you do?"

Lorelai glanced up at the sound of the bells jingling, her eyes lighting up when she saw her daughter. "Oh, hi, sweets!"

"Mom?" Rory asked as she looked between her mother and the diner owner, her brow furrowed in a mixture of confusion and annoyance. "What's going on here?"

Lorelai removed her hands from Luke's belt and came over to kiss her daughter hello. "How was your day?"

"Long. Crappy," Rory said as she accepted the kiss her mother placed on her cheek. When Lorelai kept her hand on the other side of her face, eyeing her daughter with a concerned frown, Rory batted it away with an eye roll. "I'm fine. I repeat: what's going on?"

"Oh, there was this great sale at Bloomingdale's, so Auntie Jules and I thought our favorite lumberjack could use a new look," Lorelai said, turning to Luke with a teasing grin.

"Oh, yeah, I'm sure this new method of torture was all Juliet's idea," Luke deadpanned, adjusting the sleeves of his sweater with a grimace. "Can I take this off now?"

"Honey, what have I told you about taking your clothes off in public?"

He heaved a long-suffering sigh and headed back to the storeroom. "I'm gonna change."

Lorelai watched him go, probably being a little too obvious about doing so, before turning back to her daughter, beaming. "Doesn't he look great? Like Viggo Mortensen."

Rory rolled her eyes again. "Spitting image. Can we go now?"

Lorelai stopped her with a hand on her elbow. "Wait, don't you want coffee, or pie or something? Spoil our dinner?"

"And watch you and Luke make eyes at each other while I'm trying to eat? No thanks. Let's go home." Rory grabbed her mother's forearm and all but dragged her out of the diner, the sound of the bells jingling as the door opened doing nothing to ease her crabby mood.

Lorelai took a deep, cleansing breath as she adjusted her grip on her purse. "Okay, Rory, honey, love of my life, you know I have never been the type of mother to demand a certain tone when a young lady speaks to her elders, but I think the Geneva Convention established that there is a bare minimum of civility that you have to treat people with. Why don't we shoot for that?"

"Sorry. I just–" Rory huffed, looking away. "It was just weird, that's all. Seeing you and Luke pawing at each other like that."

"I wasn't pawing at him, I was helping him put a belt on!"

"Oh, like he's never done that before?"

"Apparently not, with how much he messed it up!"

"God, you two should just sleep together and get it out of the way," Rory scoffed. When her mother didn't respond, she glanced at her with a puzzled frown, her eyes widening when she noticed the stricken expression on Lorelai's face. "Mom?"

Lorelai closed her eyes. This was so not how she'd imagined this conversation going. A deathbed confession, if at all. "There's been . . . one instance, where–"

"Oh, my God! When? When did this happen?"

"How about we talk about this at home, hon?" Lorelai suggested a little desperately, hoping Patty or Babette weren't within earshot of this conversation.

"No, let's talk about it now. When did you . . . have sex with Luke?" Rory said the last part in an embarrassed whisper.

"Um, you know that night I helped him paint– was supposed to help him paint the diner?" Lorelai amended, knowing that only one wall had actually ended up getting painted.

"You slept with Luke when Dad was here? You slept with Luke two months ago and I'm only hearing about it now?" Rory asked, her voice rising as her embarrassment gave way to indignation.

"Well, I didn't know you'd take it this well," Lorelai said dryly, glancing around the street again for any eavesdroppers. She lowered her voice to an urgent whisper. "Besides, nothing came from it, so what was the point of telling you?"

Rory's eyes widened even more as a thought occurred to her. "Is that why Rachel left?"

"No! Or– I don't know. No!" Lorelai shook her head more forcefully. "If she left because of me, she wouldn't have made a point to say goodbye to me."

Rory crossed her arms over her chest in begrudging acquiescence.

Lorelai softened, touching her daughter's shoulder. "Honey, why is this upsetting you so much? Nothing's changed, we still go to the diner, we still consume our weight in coffee, what's the problem?"

"You weren't supposed to date Luke. I told you that months ago," Rory reminded her petulantly, keeping her arms crossed. "God! I can't believe you!"

Lorelai clenched her jaw, feeling her frustration mount. "Okay, while I really try to consider your feelings when selecting a gentleman caller, that's a courtesy, not a requirement. I'm a grown woman, and I don't have to ask my sixteen-year-old daughter for permission to date someone."

"There are a million other guys out there! You don't have to jump into bed with the only guy I've ever asked you to steer clear of!" Rory exclaimed, gesturing wildly in the direction of the diner. "But I guess when you've already blown through half the state, there aren't many options left."

Lorelai's head jerked back in shock, her nostrils flaring. "You know what? That's something I'd expect to hear from my mother, or some woman named Goody trying to burn me at the stake for witchcraft, but definitely not from you. I'd like an apology."

"Fine. I apologize," Rory spat, turning and walking down the sidewalk. "Let's go home."

"Yeah, let's go home and try that apology again," Lorelai shot back, her irate strides interrupted as she passed the market and realized she needed to buy lightbulbs. She grabbed her daughter's backpack so she'd stop walking too. "Wait. We need light bulbs."

Rory rolled her eyes. "We're fine."

"We're in the dark. It'll take a minute. I assume you won't come in," Lorelai said, glad to have an excuse to take a minute away from her moody teenager.

"Is it Tuesday?" Rory asked, narrowing her eyes.

"No," Lorelai answered, confused.

"Well then I can't, can I?" Rory huffed, turning around to leave. "I'll meet you at home."

"What does Tuesday have to do with anything?" Lorelai called to her daughter's retreating back, rolling her eyes when she got no answer and stepping up to the market door.

Twenty minutes later, Lorelai transferred one of her shopping bags to her other hand as she dug her keys from her purse and unlocked her front door.

"Rory, I'm back for round two! I got some silly string in case things get really ugly," she called, hoping they could have a less explosive discussion about the Luke situation now that both of them had gotten a few minutes to calm down. When there was no answer, she frowned, walking down the hallway and poking her head into her daughter's room. "Rory? Where are you?"

Juliet had been here before. Kneeling on a cold bathroom floor, three pregnancy tests on the counter, her hands shaking and sweaty as she watched the minutes tick by on a kitchen timer she wasn't sure why she owned.

Some things were different, though. There was a different head of dark hair beside her, a larger hand holding hers as they waited. The tile in her bathroom was much harder on her knees at thirty than it had been at thirteen.

And the tests were for her this time. That was definitely different.

She was startled from her reminiscing by the timer loudly ringing, and she jumped slightly at the noise, shooting Max an apologetic smile when she tightened her grip on his hand to the point of pain.

He smiled tremulously at her, uncharacteristically silent as he tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.

Like last time, Juliet was the one to stand up, the same feeling of roiling nausea in her stomach as she peered at the three tiny screens.

Oh. That was different, too.

She swallowed, turning to Max with a small, watery smile.

"Negative."

The word hung in the air for a long moment, until Max stood up too, stepping forward slightly and leaning over the counter, as though needing to see the result for himself.

"Oh," he breathed, his eyes filling. He looked so sad, so defeated, that for a moment she hated herself for indirectly causing his disappointment, wishing for the second time that day that she hadn't told him anything until there was something to tell.

Juliet pulled him into her arms, rubbing his back gently as he cried into her shoulder. "I'm sorry," she said softly, her own tears soaking his hair.

"No, I should've listened to you. I've been acting as though this was a done deal, that we were definitely having a–" Max cut himself off, his voice choked. After a moment, he lifted his head with a sniffle, scanning her face with red-rimmed eyes. "How about you, are you alright?"

"I don't know," she admitted, reaching out and touching his cheek, gently wiping the moisture from his face. "I don't think I realized how much I wanted it until I saw it wasn't gonna happen."

He nodded in understanding, toying absently with the ends of her hair. "It seems silly, doesn't it? To grieve over something we never had in the first place."

Juliet shook her head, blinking back a fresh round of tears. "Not silly."

Max swallowed thickly, then gave her a sad smile. "Well, I suppose it wasn't meant to be."

"I guess not," she agreed, willing to pretend to be a fatalist for a moment if it made him feel better.

She wrapped her arms around him again, running her fingers through his hair as he rested his head back on her shoulder, the occasional tear falling from both of their eyes. After a few minutes, she heard the sound of a key turning in the door and lifted her head, her neck popping at the awkward position it had been in.

"Auntie Jules?" Rory's voice called hesitantly from the living room.

Juliet wiped her face quickly and led Max into the living room, greeting her niece with a slightly puzzled smile. "Rory, hi."

Rory, still in her uniform, returned the smile with a watery one of her own. "Hi." Her eyes landed on Max and widened slightly. "Mr. Medina. You're here. And you guys were in the– oh, God. I'm so sorry!"

Juliet shook her head rapidly, turning bright red. "Oh, my God, no. No, we were just talking."

"Still, I didn't think! I should've called."

"Sweetie, you know you don't have to call before you come here," Juliet said, taking a step toward her niece and touching her arm gently. "What's going on? Are you okay?"

Rory exhaled shakily, her lower lip beginning to quiver. "I had a fight with Mom."

"You had a fight with your mom?" Juliet repeated, unsure if she'd heard correctly.

Rory nodded in confirmation, sinking down onto the couch. "I just couldn't take it anymore. I had to get out of there. Out of that house, that town. Everything. I just had to go."

Juliet exchanged a look with Max as she processed her niece's words, both of them seemingly coming to the same conclusion. She turned back to Rory, squatting down so she was at eye-level with the girl, and placed both hands on her knees. "Rory, does your mom know you're here?"

Rory was silent for a moment, before lowering her eyes to her lap and shaking her head mutely.

"Okay." Juliet nodded, then glanced back at her boyfriend. "Max, get me the phone, please?"

"I don't want to talk to her!" Rory burst out with uncharacteristic vehemence.

Max stopped short on his way to the bedroom door, turning around with a surprised frown.

Juliet's eyes widened, her head rearing back slightly. "Whoa, no one's gonna make you talk to her, okay? She just needs to know you're safe."

"Okay," Rory said softly, looking a little embarrassed by her outburst. She glanced up at her aunt, twisting the fabric of her skirt in her hands. "Um, would it be okay if I stayed here tonight?"

"Yeah, of course." Juliet nodded, smoothing a hand over the crown of her niece's head. "Are you hungry? Can I get you anything?"

"Your options are ramen, cereal, or Diet Coke," Max said with a smirk, then sobered slightly when his girlfriend shot him a quelling look over her shoulder. "Sorry. I'll get the phone."

Suddenly remembering something, Juliet turned to face him more fully. "And can you get rid of the–"

He nodded, catching her meaning. "Right. Yes. I'll be right back."

"I think I have coffee, too," Juliet said, turning back to Rory with a small smile. "Unless you and your mom drank it all the last time you were here."

Rory wrinkled her nose slightly, avoiding her aunt's eyes. "I'm not really hungry."

"I know, but you should still eat," Juliet told her gently, brushing the girl's hair behind her shoulder. "We could order pizza or something?"

Rory shrugged noncommittally. "Maybe."

"Think about it." Juliet patted her niece's knee with what she hoped was a reassuring smile, then stood up, accepting her cell phone from Max as he came back from her room. "How about you go shower and change while we call your mom?"

"Okay." Rory nodded, standing and pecking a kiss to her aunt's cheek. "Thanks for letting me stay."

Juliet smiled, squeezing her niece's shoulder as she walked past her. "Of course."

The bedroom door closed, and Juliet blew out a breath, running a hand through her hair tiredly. She leaned into Max's side, wrapping her arms around his middle and resting her head on his shoulder. "I'm gonna have to kick you out in a few minutes."

"I figured," he said softly, laying his cheek against her hair. "There's not exactly room for three people here."

She lifted her head. "You gonna be okay? With, um . . ."

He nodded, running a hand over her hair. "I'm a bit disappointed, but I'll be fine."

"Call me if you want to talk about it?"

"I will. Same for you." Max kissed her gently, before pulling out of her arms and turning to leave.

After hanging up from a fruitless phone call with Mrs. Kim, Lorelai wiped her nose with the back of her hand, trying to push through the panic rapidly clouding her brain as she tried to figure out where her daughter might be. Pressing her lips together against a rush of frantic tears, she dialed another number, crossing her fingers as she listened to the phone ring.

"Luke's," the man himself answered with his usual customer service savvy.

"Luke? It's Lorelai. Uh, Gilmore," she clarified, unsure why she'd felt the need to do so. She sniffled, wiping her nose again. "Um, is Rory there? We had a fight earlier, and–"

"Wait, she's not with you?" Luke asked, his voice taking on a panicked tone.

"No, we had a fight, and she told me she'd meet me at home, but I've been home for half an hour and she hasn't been here," Lorelai said, covering her mouth with her free hand when her voice broke.

"Shit. I haven't seen her." There was a pause, and she could hear his slightly muffled voice talking to someone next to him. After a moment, he came back on. "Caesar hasn't either. Damnit!"

"Oh, okay. Well, uh, thanks anyway," she said, fighting to keep her voice steady against the dread rapidly working its way up the back of her neck. "If you see her, can you–"

"I'm coming over."

"No, Luke, you really don't have to–" There was a click in her ear before she could finish, and she pulled the phone away from her ear, frowning at it in confusion, before placing it back against her ear. "Luke?" She heard the sound of the doorknob turning, and she rushed into the foyer. "Rory?"

Sookie smiled apologetically at her as she closed the door behind her. "Just me, honey. Sorry."

"Anything?" Lorelai asked hopefully, despite knowing that if there had been anything to tell, her friend would've announced it as soon as she walked in.

Sookie shook her head. "Patty hasn't seen her, but she's been working all day, and she wasn't at the library when I looked."

"She's not at Luke's, either. I just checked." Lorelai put a hand to her forehead, her eyes filling. "Where is she? Why wouldn't she leave a note?"

"Could she be at Juliet's?" Sookie suggested, putting a hand on her friend's forearm to calm her.

"In Hartford? You think she'd be mad enough to go to Hartford?"

"I don't know, honey, but it doesn't seem like she's anywhere in town, so–" Sookie was cut off by a frantic pounding on the front door, and shot Lorelai a confused look as she went to answer it.

"She's not at the lake. Or in the lake, thank God," Luke said by way of greeting, his chest heaving with exertion as he stepped into the foyer. "She has to be missing at least twenty-four hours before the police can do anything, but we can turn on the TV for accident reports or Amber Alerts–"

"You think she was kidnapped?" Lorelai asked, her panic rising exponentially.

Sookie glared at him. "Hey, down, Lassie, you're not helping," she warned, raising her eyebrows pointedly. "How about you go into the kitchen and get Rory's mother a glass of water? Huh? That would be helpful."

Luke lowered his eyes, looking effectively chastened. "Yes, ma'am."

He was halfway to the kitchen when the phone rang, and ran back into the foyer as Lorelai pressed it frantically to her ear. "Rory?"

"She's fine, she's with me," Juliet reassured her quickly, not bothering with greetings.

Tears of relief sprang to Lorelai's eyes. "Oh, thank God," she breathed, covering her mouth with her free hand. She pulled the receiver slightly away from her mouth. "You were right, Sook, she's with Jules."

Sookie squeezed her elbow with a small smile while Luke heaved an audible sigh of relief, pressing his fingers to his eyes. "Thank God."

Lorelai put the speaker back to her mouth, putting a hand on her hair. "So, she's really okay? Riff and Diesel didn't snap their fingers at her on the bus or anything?"

"She's fine," Juliet said again. "Lor, what happened? She said you guys had a fight?"

"Uh, yeah. She picked a fight with me as soon as she got home from school, then when I stopped to get lightbulbs she said she'd meet me at home, and then I get there and she's not—she wasn't–" Lorelai cut herself off, her voice breaking.

"She's here. She's okay," Juliet reminded her, her voice gentle but firm. "Okay?"

Lorelai inhaled shakily, sniffling. "I want to talk to her. Can you give her the phone?"

"Um, she's in the shower right now, but I'll see if she feels like talking when she gets out," Juliet said evasively, her tone suggesting that Rory would not feel like talking once she finished showering. "I told her she could spend the night. I hope that's okay."

Lorelai blinked back tears, wondering what was so great about Dr. Phil's apartment that Rory would rather stay there instead of talking to her mother. "Yeah, that's fine. As long as she's safe, right?"

"She'll cool off," Juliet promised. "I'll talk to her."

Lorelai nodded, wiping her nose. "Okay. Thank you for taking care of her."

"Oh, Lor, anytime," Juliet said sincerely. "I'll call you tomorrow, okay?"

"Tomorrow," Lorelai agreed, hanging up. She tossed the phone onto the credenza, turning to her friends with another sniffle. "She's gonna stay at Juliet's place tonight."

"But she's okay?" Sookie asked, touching her arm.

"She's fine," Lorelai said with a nod. She shrugged, letting out a bitter laugh. "Doesn't wanna talk to me, but she's fine."

"Honey–"

"I hate that kid! I hate that he did this to her," Lorelai seethed, wiping her nose. "I mean, who plans this huge romantic evening for someone, and then dumps them? Who does that?"

"He's a punk," Luke spat, his lip curled in disgust. "I should've kicked his ass when I had the chance."

"I have a lot of really sharp knives," Sookie offered, squeezing her elbow. "Maybe I'll 'accidentally' cut off something important."

"Or we could key his car," Lorelai suggested, pursing her lips.

Luke pointed a finger in her face. "Or better yet, you can key Taylor's car and tell him Dean did it."

Lorelai smiled despite herself. "Yeah. That'd be good."

"You can key Taylor's car, tell him Dean did it, and also tell him that Dean litters and walks his dog without a leash," he continued, his ears turning red.

Lorelai's shoulders relaxed, grateful for Luke's righteous indignation on her daughter's behalf, even though she was pretty sure Dean didn't even have a dog. "He'll run him out of town."

Luke nodded. "Good."

Sookie gave Lorelai's arm one last squeeze. "I should go. I told Jackson I'd be home once we found Rory."

"Thanks for taming the crazy lady," Lorelai said, pecking a kiss to her friend's cheek in farewell.

Sookie giggled, slinging her purse onto her shoulder. "Backatcha."

As the door closed behind Sookie, Luke took a hesitant step forward. "So, uh, how you doing?"

Lorelai blew out a long breath, tugging the hem of her shirt down. "I don't know. I should be completely relieved, right? I know Rory's safe. I mean, if there's one person in the world who I completely trust with her, it's Jules. I don't know why it's bugging me so much that my kid went to her aunt's house."

He shrugged, sticking his hands in his pockets. "Maybe you're jealous."

"Jealous?" she repeated, bristling slightly. "Of Jules?"

"Well– yeah. You and Rory have always been close, but now she's running to your sister when she's angry instead of working things out with you," Luke explained, gesturing vaguely in the air with his hands. "I don't know. Juliet's the shrink, not me."

Lorelai huffed, tucking her hair behind her ears. "Yeah, but she's not a shrink shrink, she's a psychiatrist. It's not like people lay on her couch and talk about their problems all day. She writes Prozac prescriptions and makes sure teenagers don't slit their wrists on their paper scrubs."

He arched an eyebrow. "You sound jealous."

"I am not jealous."

"Fine, you just sound it," Luke mock-acquiesced with another shrug.

"I am not jealous! She'd rather talk to Juliet than me? Fine! She wants to move to Hartford and have Auntie Jules and Uncle Max adopt her? Fine!" Lorelai exclaimed, her voice rising. Suddenly realizing something, she dove for the phone again.

"What the hell are you doing?"

She began to dial frantically, not looking at him. "I'm calling Jules. I have to tell her to get rid of Max."

Luke's brow creased in confusion. "What? Why?"

"That's the rule. No boys in the house when Rory's there," Lorelai explained impatiently, groaning in frustration when she pressed the wrong button and had to start over. She tilted her head, amending, "Well, that's the rule for Jules—oh, hey, that rhymes—for me, it's no boys in the house period, but Jules doesn't live with us, so that seemed like a little too much."

He glanced around the house, then at himself with a furrowed brow. "What, do I not count or something?"

"Of course not, you're Luke."

He narrowed his eyes. "Thanks."

"That's not what I meant," she backtracked, lowering the phone slightly. "I just mean you're our friend. You're off limits."

"Off limits? But me and you have already . . ." Luke trailed off, gesturing awkwardly between the two of them.

"Yeah, and look what happened when Rory found out," Lorelai said with a bitter laugh, gesturing at her teenager-less house.

His face went slack with surprise. "Wait, that's what you guys fought about? She didn't like that we, uh . . . ?"

"She told me not to date you last year. She was afraid we'd screw it up," she explained, shrugging. She smiled sadly. "Smart kid."

"So that week you didn't come in? That was because of her?"

"Well, that was part of it. It was mostly that I was so afraid of screwing up with you that I did screw up with you." Lorelai glanced at the floor with a self-deprecating laugh. "Jules says it's my 'avoidant attachment style', whatever the hell that means."

"Not like I would know," Luke said with a snort, ducking his head. He took a deep breath, then shrugged. "And, uh, I screwed up too. You were right." He shrugged again, working his jaw. "I could've found you and made you talk." He paused, playing with the strap on his watch instead of looking her in the eyes. "I'm sorry."

"Me, too," she said in a near whisper.

Their eyes met and held for a long moment, before he dropped his gaze, running a hand over his hat. "Look, um, I should head back. You gonna be okay?"

Lorelai nodded with a wry smile. "I promise not to pull a Sylvia Plath as soon as you leave."

"Well, you'd have to know how to turn your oven on for that, so I'm not too worried," Luke deadpanned with a smirk as he turned to leave.

"Hey, I resent that!" she protested, her smile warming slightly. "I'll have you know that I use my oven all the time to dry my socks."

He rolled his eyes affectionately with a snort. "You're cracked."

Lorelai watched him leave with a small smile, the door softly clicking shut behind him. She took a breath, biting the inside of her cheek as she glanced around her empty house, then walked into the living room and turned on the TV so the silence wouldn't be quite so loud.

"Hey," Rory said as she came out of the bedroom wearing her aunt's pink floral pajamas, her dark hair still wet from the shower.

Juliet glanced up from the book she was reading at the sound of her voice with a concerned smile. "Hey. Feeling a little better?"

"Yeah, thanks." Rory nodded, twisting her lips together. She swallowed, inhaling shakily. "Um, did you talk to Mom?"

"Yeah. She's fine with you staying," Juliet said, marking her place in her book and closing it. She patted the space beside her on the couch. "Here, you wanna sit?"

"Was she mad?" Rory asked anxiously, lowering herself onto the couch.

Juliet shook her head with a reassuring smile. "No, she was just glad you're safe." She tucked a lock of her niece's damp hair behind her ear, an admonishment for not telling Lorelai where she was going on the tip of her tongue, but she reconsidered it, unsure whether that was her place or not. "What did you guys fight about?"

Rory hesitated for a moment, frowning.

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," Juliet assured her quickly.

"No, it's okay." Rory paused, her frown deepening as she turned to face her more fully. "Did you know she slept with Luke?"

Oh. Juliet hesitated, taking a breath. "Well, um–"

"Oh, my God!" Rory exclaimed, standing up. "You knew? You knew and you kept it from me?"

"It wasn't my thing to tell," Juliet protested, standing up too. "I would do the same for you if you asked me not to tell your mom something."

Rory crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow. "Really? You would keep a secret from Mom?"

"Unless something you told me made me genuinely worried for your safety, if you asked me to keep something from your mom, I would do it," Juliet promised, putting a tentative hand on her niece's shoulder. When Rory didn't bristle at the contact, Juliet wrapped an arm more fully around her, letting the girl rest her head on her shoulder. "Is that what's bothering you? That you didn't know?"

"Well, I mean, I knew there was something going on. Kirk knew that there was something going on between Mom and Luke," Rory said with a snort. "I just can't believe she didn't tell me when something actually happened."

"But it's not like your mom really even tells you that much about the guys she dates, right?" Juliet asked gently.

"Yeah, but she's never dated Luke before."

"What do you mean?"

Rory shrugged. "It's just– he's Luke. Our Luke. The town's Luke. If they break up, we can never eat at the diner again, and then we'll starve to death."

Juliet frowned, cocking her head. "Well, that's not true. I mean . . ." She trailed off, feeling weird about discussing her sister's sex life without her there. "That– that thing that happened, happened a couple months ago, and you guys have still been able to go to the diner like normal, even though they're not together now."

"I know," Rory begrudgingly agreed, sitting back down on the couch.

Juliet followed, sitting cross-legged on the cushion beside her. "And, I don't know Luke that well, but from what I've seen, he likes you a lot, and he seems like a decent enough person to not let his relationship with your mom affect his relationship with you."

"I guess," Rory said with another shrug. "I just– I don't know. Sometimes it feels like people see me as an extension of her or something, you know?"

"Oh yeah," Juliet said softly, nodding. "I know."

"So, um, did Mr. Medina leave?" Rory asked as she glanced around the room, signaling that she was done with this particular topic.

"A little bit ago, yeah."

Rory looked down at her bare feet sheepishly. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ruin your night."

Juliet shook her head, waving her hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it. You didn't ruin anything. Our night was probably just gonna be me reading Psychology Today while he grades term papers."

"Wow, you guys are party animals." Rory chuckled weakly. She played with the ribbon on her pajama pants for a long moment, then turned abruptly to her aunt. "Do you love him?"

Juliet blinked at the non-sequitur. "Do I– um, yes. Very much."

"How do you know?" Rory asked. At her aunt's furrowed brow, she clarified, "How do you know when you love someone?"

Juliet pressed her lips together thoughtfully. "I don't really know how to explain it, um . . ." She trailed off, worrying her upper lip between her teeth. "I don't know, it's different for everyone."

"Thanks, that helps a lot," Rory deadpanned, rolling her eyes.

Juliet scanned her niece's face, her brow creased. "Why do you want to know?"

Rory shrugged, avoiding Juliet's eyes. "Just curious."

Juliet frowned, sensing this sudden curiosity had something to do with Rory's recent breakup, but didn't push the issue. She took a breath, thinking for a moment. "Um, I think for me it was about trust, and like, feeling safe, I guess." She shrugged, wishing she were as good with words as her sister or boyfriend were. "I don't know, I don't think you can love someone if you don't feel comfortable around them."

Rory nodded, seeming to ponder that. "Okay."

"Does that help at all?"

"Sure. It'll be good for future reference," Rory said evasively, standing up. "You mentioned pizza?"

Thursday afternoon, Lorelai knocked on her sister's apartment door, once again deciding not to use her key in case Rory was in the process of filling out a change of address card because she never wanted to speak to her mother again.

Juliet pulled open the door with a small smile, still wearing her scrubs, her long hair tied back in a French braid. "Hey, good timing. I just got her from school."

"Oh. Good." Lorelai nodded as she stepped inside, glancing around the living room for her daughter. "Where is she?"

"My room," Juliet answered, gesturing in the direction of the closed bedroom door.

Lorelai crossed the living room briskly, then rapped on the door a few times before turning the knob. "Hey."

Rory sat up at the sound of her mother's voice. "Mom!"

"Okay, so I thought when you said, 'I'll see you at home', you meant our home. My mistake," Lorelai joked weakly, her hand still on the doorknob.

"I'm sorry." Rory jumped off of the bed and half-ran into Lorelai's arms. Mother and daughter hugged tightly for a moment, rocking side to side as they spoke quietly to one another. Juliet lowered her eyes, not wanting to intrude on their moment.

Lorelai pulled back, putting her hands on her daughter's shoulders. "Rory, tell me what happened with you and Dean."

Rory shook her head. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Well, I do."

"Why?"

"Because I had a little chat with him today," Lorelai confessed, her tone slightly contrite.

Rory's eyes widened. "What? Why?"

"Well, because I was upset and I was in the mood to do a little yelling," Lorelai said sheepishly.

Juliet's head jerked up. "You yelled at a sixteen-year-old boy?"

Lorelai chortled, glancing at her sister with a smirk. "I thought he deserved it at the time."

"You can't just go around yelling at kids," Juliet chided, biting her lip to keep a laugh from escaping.

Lorelai's smirk widened. "There he was, stacking cookies, and I'm railing on him about what a great kid you are and how it sucked that he dumped you, and then he said that he told you he loved you . . ." She sobered, raising her eyebrows meaningfully at Rory, who avoided her mother's eyes. "And I started feeling a little stupid."

"He did tell me," Rory admitted quietly.

"And you didn't say anything?" Lorelai asked, dipping her chin slightly to meet her daughter's eyes.

Rory shook her head remorsefully.

"Wait, is that why he broke up with you?" Juliet asked, stepping closer to her sister and niece. When Rory nodded, her brow creased sympathetically. "Well, that's not love. Love isn't transactional."

"But I hurt him," Rory protested, her eyes shiny with unshed tears.

"Well, sure," Juliet acquiesced with a small shrug. "But he's your first boyfriend, how are you supposed to know what romantic love feels like?"

"I don't think I've done a very good job showing you what it's supposed to look like," Lorelai admitted, brushing a stray lock of hair from her daughter's forehead. "I mean, it's not like either of our parents—" she jerked her chin over at Juliet "—were Mary Poppins, but one thing they got right was showing us what a good marriage looks like. And I worry that I passed my commitment issues onto you, you know? I don't want you to panic as soon as things start getting serious, I don't want you to be afraid to tell someone how you feel about them. I want you to be like your aunt."

"Like me?" Juliet echoed with a laugh. "I'm not that great at relationships either."

"You have no problem saying 'I love you'," Lorelai argued, raising her eyebrows. "I've heard you say it to Professor Plum about a million times."

"Okay, sure," Juliet acquiesced, ignoring the nickname– which was somehow even worse than Romeo. "But I also swing a little too far in the opposite direction. I mean, there is a middle ground between your commitment issues and my abandonment issues." She shrugged, turning to her niece. "Maybe that's what you should try to find."

"Have either of you found it yet?"

The sisters exchanged a look. "I'm working on it," Lorelai finally answered.

"That's a good answer," Juliet agreed with a nod. "Me, too."

"Yeah, except her 'working on it' involves a lot more Dr. Phil books than mine does," Lorelai quipped with a wink.

"Which you're welcome to borrow anytime," Juliet reminded her.

"No, thanks. I'll just keep getting the bullet points from you," Lorelai said breezily, laughing when her sister rolled her eyes. She turned to her daughter, pushing her forward playfully. "Okay, Miss Houdini, let's motor."

Rory smiled at her mother's teasing, then pecked her aunt's cheek. "Thank you again for letting me stay here."

"Yes, thank you, Jules," Lorelai said, more seriously. "I never have to worry about her when she's with you."

Juliet smiled, a little embarrassed at the praise. "Of course. You guys know you're always welcome here."

"But only if we take a self-help book home with us?" Lorelai asked, smirking.

Juliet huffed out a laugh. "Yes, only then."

Lorelai's smile widened, and she ushered Rory out of the bedroom. "We'll see you tomorrow night at Napoleon and Josephine's."

"Mom," Rory admonished, giving her mother a look.

Juliet laughed. "See you then."

The three of them walked to the front door and after one last round of hugs and kisses, Lorelai and Rory walked down the hallway, their arms around each other. Juliet watched them go until they were out of sight, feeling a slight twinge at being left alone in Hartford while the Lorelais went to Stars Hollow again. She ducked her head, dropping her hand immediately when she noticed it had been resting on her stomach the entire time she'd been standing in the doorway.

"No," she told herself firmly, shaking her head. "No."

"Well, we can't give him clozapine since he's on bepridil," Juliet was saying on Friday afternoon as she stood in an alcove with her attending. "So I think we should prescribe a different angina medication, and then have him wait to start taking the–" She was cut off by the sound of a throat clearing behind her and startled at the noise, putting a hand to her chest as she turned around. "Paris. Hi."

"Juliet," Paris greeted with a tight nod. "Or would you prefer I call you Dr. Gilmore here?"

Juliet shook her head with a small smile. "No, Juliet's fine." She turned to her attending, gesturing awkwardly to the teenager. "Ann—sorry, Dr. Perkins—this is Paris. She goes to school with my niece."

"We've met," Ann said shortly, leveling a scowl at Paris.

Juliet's brow creased at the hostility in her voice. "Um, do you have any more questions for me?"

Ann shook her head. "No, I'm good. You haven't taken your break yet. Why don't you two go talk in the cafeteria?" she suggested in a tone that seemed to say get this child far away from me.

"Oh. Sure. Page me if you need anything." Juliet turned to Paris, indicating down the hallway. "The cafeteria's this way."

"I've been here before," Paris said in a clipped tone as she fell into step beside her.

Juliet let out an uncomfortable laugh, ducking her head. "I figured." There was a seemingly endless pause before she took a breath. "So, um, what are you doing here? Isn't school still going on?"

"I got special permission from Headmaster Charleston to leave early," Paris explained, glancing over at Juliet briefly. "I had an interview for a candy striper position for this summer."

"Oh, how'd that go?"

Paris shrugged. "Not very well, I don't think. I'm not the smiling and passing out pudding type."

Juliet didn't necessarily disagree with that statement, but it seemed mean to agree outright. "Well, if you do get it, it'll be good experience for you. You'll be able to see if you actually like working in healthcare."

"Yeah," Paris agreed, before stopping short in the middle of the hallway. "I want to talk to you about Wednesday."

Juliet blew out a shaky breath. "I figured that was it. Um, here–" She led the girl over to the side of the hallway so they wouldn't be in anyone's way. She took another deep breath, steeling herself. "I'm sorry if it was weird for you to see that. I wouldn't have even been in the building if we'd thought there was anyone still there."

"How long have you and Mr. Medina been dating?"

"About six months," Juliet answered, seeing no point in avoiding the question. "And– and I just want you to know that he and I have been really careful to make sure that it's not affecting how he treats you or Rory or anyone else in class. Like, I put sticky notes over people's names when he's grading papers so he doesn't know whose stuff he's looking at, and–"

"I'm not going to say anything," Paris said, cutting her off.

Juliet frowned in confusion. "You're not?"

"Well, you both have helped me a lot with college and career preparations, so . . ." Paris trailed off, glancing down at her saddle shoes with a shrug.

"Thank you," Juliet said softly.

Paris shrugged again. "Sure."

"No, I–" Juliet cut herself off, hesitantly laying a hand on Paris's shoulder. When the girl looked up at her, she smiled gently. "I went to a school a lot like yours, and I know how tempting it can be to share something like this. So thank you."

Paris glanced down at the hand on her shoulder, as though human contact was entirely alien to her, then impulsively wrapped her arms around Juliet's waist, hugging her tightly. After a half-second of shock, Juliet hugged her back, her heart breaking at the intensity of the reaction.

She didn't let go until Paris did, who ducked her head, blinking rapidly. "Uh, sorry. I don't usually– sorry."

Juliet shook her head. "Don't be sorry." She inhaled, swallowing thickly. "Hey, I have a bunch of MCAT prep books at my apartment. Would you want them? I mean, they're a little dated, but. . ."

Paris nodded. "Sure."

Juliet smiled. "Okay."

As Lorelai stepped out of the flower shop, her arms full of various spring flowers for the inn, she saw Luke coming from the opposite direction and felt her face break into a dopey grin. "Hey, you! Don't you have a business to run?"

He shrugged uncomfortably, his eyes darting away from hers. "Oh– yeah. Well, I was, uh, I was on my way to see you, actually. At the inn. I didn't know you'd be here. I'm not stalking you."

"Oh, good, I was worried," she teased, her stomach fluttering at the knowledge that he'd been looking for her. After a moment, her smile dropped slightly, and she looked at him sternly. "You don't want gift receipts for the clothes, do you? Because you will need to get dressed up occasionally, and you'll need them."

"No, yeah, you were right. I think the people at the bank were getting tired of the one blue shirt," Luke grumbled, raising his eyebrows sardonically. He met her eyes, his nervousness seeming to return. "No. I just—uh—I didn't see you and Rory this morning, she back now? Is she okay?"

Lorelai's smile widened as the fluttering in her stomach intensified. "Yeah, she's good. I think she got most of the teen angst out of her system, so . . ."

"Good. Good. And you're good, too? No ovens?"

She laughed, shaking her head. "No ovens. I escaped with only a mild heart attack."

"Good. I mean, not about the heart attack, but it's good that you–" he cut himself off, avoiding her eyes again as the tips of his ears turned a little pink. He opened his mouth to say something else, but then shut it again, gesturing in the direction of the diner with his thumb. "I should get back."

Lorelai nodded, trying to mask her disappointment that the conversation was ending already. "Oh, right, yeah. Me too."

"See you later."

"See you later– oh, hey! Is that the belt I bought you?" she asked with a delighted smile, hoping he wouldn't prod her on why she was looking in his belt region in the first place.

Luke glanced down, then shrugged, looking a little embarrassed. "Oh. Yeah. The old one broke, so . . ."

Lorelai pressed her smiling lips together. "Well, lucky you happened to have a spare."

"Yeah, lucky," he agreed with one of his rare half-smiles as he turned to leave. He took a step, then abruptly turned back around and took an extra step closer to her. "Hey. Uh, your birthday was last week, wasn't it?"

"It was, yeah," she confirmed slowly, narrowing her eyes as she tried to figure out where this was going.

"Well, um, we should, uh, get dinner sometime. You know, like a late birthday thing." Luke put his hands in his back pockets, rocking back on his heels. "I mean, friends do stuff together on their birthdays, right?"

Lorelai blinked, deflating slightly at the word 'friend'. She plastered on a bright smile. "Right, yeah. I would– I would like that."

He nodded with a shy smile. "Good. I can wear the clothes somewhere other than the bank."

"Oh, they'll be super jazzed about that."

"Yes, because a sweater can tell the difference between a restaurant and the bank," he deadpanned, rolling his eyes with a smile he couldn't quite contain.

"The sweaters I bought you can," Lorelai quipped, raising a teasing eyebrow.

"Goody." Luke rolled his eyes again, before holding eye contact with her for a few moments. He inhaled shakily, preparing to say more, but then closed his mouth just as abruptly as he did the first time. "Okay. Well, see you later."

And then he was gone, hurrying back to the diner before they could make any concrete plans as to when and where this 'birthday dinner between friends' was going to take place, and leaving Lorelai to stare dumbly at his retreating back.

Notes:

Thank you to tree for proofreading this chapter for me! Let me know what you think (and if you caught the Parks and Rec reference lol)