Disclaimer: I own nothing.

"Luke!" Caesar called out.

Luke instantly lifted his head. "Yeah?"

"Get out there, man! You got a diner full of customers."

"Are you kidding me? I passed out again? That's, what? Three times today, right?"

"You threw up a few times, also."

"I don't know if I can do this."

"Relax, it's your first day on the job. It'll get easier."

"I've been waiting 20 minutes! Where's my sandwich?" a customer called from the front of the diner.

Luke rolled his eyes, and with help from Caesar, managed to get up from the floor. "Guess I better get out there."

"Guess so", Caesar said.

Luke headed out towards the counter, but stopped for a moment, spotting a young woman through the diner's windows. He'd never seen her before. This was Stars Hollow; there was never anyone new in Stars Hollow. Maybe she was just a tourist, but it seemed like she knew where she was going and what she was doing. She had vibe about her, an "I don't care" vibe. She looked motivated, determined, strong-willed, like she was on a mission. Strangest of all, she was carrying a tiny baby wrapped in what looked from a distance like a giant Bangles t-shirt, and this girl couldn't be more than seventeen years old. Luke shrugged, and made his way over to the toaster.

In reality, Lorelai Gilmore had no idea where she was going, what she was doing, or what would happen in the future. She just knew that she needed to get out of her parents' house. She'd known that since she was 5 years old, but never dreamed she'd one day have the courage to go through with it. Today was her very own independence day. She'd start her own life, she'd prove to the world that she didn't need Richard and Emily Gilmore or their multi-million dollar fortune.

As Lorelai walked, almost ran, through this unfamiliar town, she noticed something about it that made it no so unfamiliar, after all. It felt right; the perfect place to raise her daughter; most importantly, it felt like home, not like Hartford, but a real home, where she belonged. She walked past Doose's Market, Joe's Pizza, and Luke's Diner, where she noticed a giant "Grand Opening today" sign. The smell of coffee was in the air here, and Lorelai realized she'd only had one cup today. She'd asked Genevieve, the maid of the week, to make her some coffee before she began her journey that day.

There was no time to stop, but Lorelai made a mental note to come back to the diner later. She passed a coffee cart as she turned onto Third Street, and picked up some coffee there.

'Third street', she thought to herself, giggling. A Third street in her development was like selling X-rated videos at an elementary school store. No, it wasn't "her development" anymore.

Finally, she reached the Independence Inn. It looked much smaller in person than it did in the travel book Lorelai had been looking at just a few days ago, looking for some place to work.

'The Independence Inn', she thought. 'Goes with the theme of the day.'

She walked up to the door of the inn, much more timidly than she'd been walking through the town. Holding Rory in one hand, she rang the doorbell with the other.

"I'll get it, Nancy. We really ought to get rid of that doorbell. It's a bit strange for an inn, don't you think?" Mia called out. Mia was the owner and manager of the Independence Inn. She opened the door and was quite surprised to see such a young girl and a tiny baby on the porch steps.

"I'm here for a job, any job", Lorelai stated bluntly.

Mia looked at her awkwardly. "Well, why don't you come in?" she suggested.

Lorelai smiled. For once, no one was judging her, asking her questions. She switched Rory to the other arm and took the small bag filled with clothes for her and Rory and the tiny bit of money she had off of her shoulder and put it down as she sat down on the couch in the lobby, where she was guided by Mia, who started this strange little interview.

"A job?" she asked.

"Please. Anything's fine, anything you have available."

"We really don't need much help here."

"Please!" Lorelai begged.

"How old are you, Sweetie?"

"Seventeen."

"Seventeen. That's young. Who's this?" Mia asked, directing her attention to Rory, who had woken up for the first time since they'd left Hartford.

Lorelai blushed. "This…that's…that's my daughter."

Mia's face showed her astonishment, something Lorelai was basically used to at this point. She braced herself for the usual lecture, but Mia continued asking questions.

"Where are your parents?"

"Oh, you know."

"Not really."

"Oh, right. Well…they're in Hartford."

"Really?"

"I'm, um, emancipated" Lorelai lied. She was still more than a little wary of who to trust.

Mia chuckled. "Oh, why didn't you say so? So, where are you living?"

"I live in Stars Hollow."

"No, I'm pretty sure I haven't seen you around. Everyone knows everyone here, darling."

"Oh. Well I just moved here."

"What's your name?"

"Lorelai Gilmore."

"I'm Mia. It's nice to meet you. Can you start Friday?"

Lorelai was shocked. "Really? Just like that?"

"Well sure. You've got to start somewhere."

Mia went over to the registration desk and brought back a clipboard with some papers on it.

"Just fill these out, and come get me when you're done. I'll be in the kitchen."

"You wouldn't happen to have some coffee in there, would you?"

"Of course."

Lorelai smiled and began filling out the forms. Her name and birthday were no problem, but she got to the address and frowned.

"Mia!" she yelled, as she walked into the kitchen.

"Done already?"

"Just a question." Mia nodded and Lorelai pointed down to where it said "address line 1".

"What?"

"What should I put?"

"Your address, Dear."

"No, no, I mean, I don't exactly have one."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't have a house."

"Apartment number, then."

"Uh…"

"Where are you living, Lorelai?"

"Haven't figured that out yet."

"What?"

Lorelai sighed. "The truth is, I'm not emancipated. I ran away, but I'm not some troubled kid. It was just something I had to do, so please don't have me call my parents. Just let me work here. I can sleep in the park with my daughter for now."

"That's insane."

"Yeah, well, maybe it is. Look, if you don't want to give me the job, just tell me, and I'll leave."

"Come with me", Mia instructed, walking away and leaving Lorelai no choice but to go after her.

She led Lorelai out onto the inn's beautiful lawn. The lake was so beautiful. Lorelai wouldn't remember the last time she'd seen such an amazing place. Mia was walking far ahead of her now.

"Mia! Where are you going?" she yelled out.

Mia said nothing. Finally, Lorelai caught up. They arrived at a tiny white shed, a rake and two shovels propped up against the walls. Mia opened the door and gestured for Lorelai to go inside. She walked in and looked around. The ceiling was very low, so she had to duck when she walked. The whole potting shed was smaller than half of her old room in Hartford. The walls were an off-white, but sort of went into tan in one corner.

"What do you think?"

"It's okay, I guess. But what-"

Mia cut her off. "How would you like to live here?"

Lorelai's eyes widened and she didn't even think to say a word before gripping Mia in the tightest hug she'd even given anyone in her life. This was going to work.

Mia helped Lorelai and Rory get settled in the potting shed, which didn't take long, since they had only a duffel bag and the small pink bag that Christopher had bought for Rory that had her name stitched in.

"Chris!" Lorelai shouted out of nowhere, as Mia was finishing sweeping up the floor.

"Who's Chris?" Mia wondered aloud.

"No one. I'm going to go tour the town a little."

"You do that, Hon. I'll watch Rory."

Lorelai ran through the lawn and back through the inn's front door. She went across the giant front yard and right into the depths of Stars Hollow. Circling the town, she couldn't find a pay phone that cost a quarter or less anywhere, which happened to be a problem, considering she'd only brought twenty five cents with her.

As she stood across the street from Luke's Diner with that grand opening sign that was starting to get extremely annoying, with its huge picture of coffee, something she couldn't really afford at the moment, something caught her eye. Through the glass window at the diner, she noticed a black telephone hanging on the wall behind the counter.

The bells jingled on the diner's door as Lorelai walked inside.

'Oh God, is THAT going to get annoying!' she thought.

Her shoes made a weird crunching sound, though she didn't know what she could've possibly stepped on in here. She looked down and noticed a crisp five dollar bill.

'Coffee!' she thought. "COFFEE!" she shouted.

"Line", the scruffy-looking guy behind the counter said, pointing to the ten people standing in front of her.

"Luke! You're Luke!"

"This is Luke's Diner. I'm the guy standing behind the counter."

"Terrific, so…coffee!"

"Wait in line!"

"Horrible service here, Luke."

"If you don't like it, go somewhere else."

"I'm going to need a suggestion."

"Just wait in line!"

Lorelai reached over to the table she was standing next to, where an elderly man dressed in golf attire was sitting. She picked up his newspaper and tore out the day's horoscope section. "Thanks" she whispered.

"So, Luke, when is your birthday?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Oh, you know."

"I do?"

"Go with it, Luke."

"Stop saying my name!"

"Tell me your birthday!"

Luke sighed, completely exasperated. "November 5".

"Scorpio!" Lorelai shouted.

"Yeah, that's me, so are you going to sit down and shut up because you're disturbing my customers, or are you going to leave?"

But Lorelai was too pre-occupied to hear him. She reached over to the old guy's table again and took the pen he had been using to do a crossword before he fell asleep. She circled the Scorpio horoscope, crossing out the "Err on the side of caution this week", and adding "You will meet an annoying woman today. Give her coffee and she'll go away" in its place.

She got up and went back to the counter, where Luke was busy tending to the long coffee line. She walked behind the counter to get his attention, which didn't go over to well.

"Don't come back here!" Luke yelled.

"I just wanted to give you something." Lorelai handed him the horoscope.

"What is this?" he asked, reading. He sighed and took the coffee he'd made for the next person in line, added some sugar, and handed it to her. "Here."

"Such good service", she said with a smile. "Hey, if you keep that and carry it around with you, it'll bring you good luck."

Luke returned the smile, unable to keep it in. Still grinning, Lorelai made her way towards the door. With coffee and Luke on her mind, she didn't even notice that she'd forgotten to call Chris.

Meanwhile, back in Hartford, Richard Gilmore was exasperated. "Marina! Where's that tea Emily asked for 10 minutes ago?" he called from beside his wife's bed. Marina ambled timidly into the bedroom with a tray.

"Here, Emily, drink. It'll make you feel better" Richard coaxed.

"'Dear Emily and Richard, I don't belong here' ? Who taught her to write a letter like that? No details, nothing." Emily was in tears.

"I've got some work to do. You'll be okay here? Just rest", Richard said.

After he was gone, Emily tiptoed out of the room and into the library. There was something about this room that was serene and calming. She took a seat in the giant leather chair Richard had bought her for their tenth anniversary. She remembered how angry she'd gotten, since this gift was neither romantic nor practical, since she already had about 15 leather chairs stored away. But now, the chair was positioned in such a way that Emily almost considered it an omen, because from this perspective, she could see one of Richard's travel books open a crack on the wooden table that sat in the middle of the room. She slowly reached for the book, and opened to a dog-eared page. Highlighted was "Stars Hollow, Connecticut", and underneath, the author of the book had summarized the town's attributes and such. But before Emily saw this, she noticed a certain picture circled in blue pen. An arrow reached from the picture to the edge of the book, where in her daughter's handwriting, it said "Independence Inn: talk to Mia Candace about $".

A few minutes later, after Emily had made sure Richard was in his study and the maid was out of sight, she was in her car, on the way to Stars Hollow. She wasn't exactly sure how to get there, but Richard had some old road maps she'd attempt to follow.

Emily pulled up to the Independence Inn, slammed her car door shut, and walked, almost ran, to the entrance.

'What kind of hotel has a doorbell?' she thought

She rang the bell and someone in a maid's outfit answered.

Before the woman could say anything, Emily asked for someone named Mia Candace.

"She's in the back right now, very busy, but I can help you. Do you have a reservation?"

"No, I'm looking for my daughter."

"Who's that?" the woman asked.

"Her name's Lorelai Gilmore."

"Oh right, she's not out back, but I can tell her you were here."

"Out back?"

"Yeah, in the shed."

"Excuse me?"

"Look, ma'am, I've really got to get back to work."

"Just tell her to call me the instant she gets back."

Emily left the inn a wreck and with a feeling she'd experienced not too long ago, on Lorelai's sixteenth birthday when she announced that she was pregnant. It was the feeling of disappointment, but this time it came with a sting of reality. It was the feeling of terror and grief; the feeling that you get when you give your child the best of everything all her life, and she runs away from you, and the feeling that she'd lost Lorelai.

"When did we get an alarm clock?" Lorelai shouted to no one in particular.

She rolled over, flipping the air mattress to the side and leaving her in a very uncomfortable position. After she slammed her hand down on the alarm to silence it, she stood up, still half asleep, stretched, and made her way over to Rory's makeshift crib. Mia had gotten Saul, the inn's handyman, to mail a few pieces of wood together, so Rory would have somewhere to sleep.

Rory was somehow sleeping peacefully. Lorelai, who could now fully open her eyes, even though she wouldn't be completely awake without massive amounts of coffee, looked down at her daughter. Rory was worth all of this.

"You're up!" Mia was standing in the doorway.

"Just me, not Rory."

"She's not an early bird, huh?"

"And she got that from me. Any idea where this alarm clock came from?"

"I put it there."

"And set it for-" Lorelai glanced at the clock. "6:30 AM! Good Lord…WHY?"

"You need to get an early start today. Go get some breakfast and be back here at 8."

"Why?"

"You're starting work today."

"Oh, today?"

"Yup."

Lorelai made a face and half-moaned, but so Mia couldn't hear her.

"Kay."
When Mia left, Lorelai continued stretching, woke up Rory and fed her. After taking a cold shower, more of a bath since the shower head only half worked, she picked up Rory and headed to the inn for some coffee so she could actually make it to Luke's to get more.

She stumbled into the kitchen.

"Mia!"

Lorelai covered her mouth when she saw Mia talking to a plump woman wearing a bandana with blondish-brunetteish-red hair. She slowly backed out into the lobby through the large double doors.

Mia finally strolled out of the kitchen with a huge smile.

"Lorelai, hi!"

"I'm so sorry I walked in like that."

"Don't worry about it. So, I thought you were getting breakfast."

"Yeah, I'm going to Luke's. I'll probably collapse on the way or something if I don't have my daily pre-morning cup of coffee."

"Okay, then. Come into the kitchen. Sookie's making some."

"Sookie? What's a Sookie?"

"That's a Sookie." Mia and Lorelai turned the corner and walked back through the kitchen doors. Mia pointed to the blondish-brunetteish-red haired woman. "I just hired her a few minutes ago."

"To do what?"

"To cook."

"What happened to Rose? She made the good coffee!"

"Rose retired."

"In one day?"

"Well, dear, she was here much longer than you, so…Sookie! You made the coffee already?"

"It's a family secret", Sookie explained.

"Meet Lorelai. She just started working here, too."

Sookie smiled. Lorelai examined the woman. She was more of a girl than a woman. A girl about her own age.

"Blue or purple?" Sookie asked Lorelai as she shoved two coffee mugs into her face.

"Geez, those are huge. Um…purple!"

Sookie smiled yet again- she hadn't really stopped smiling. She walked, or more danced than walked, to the counter where the humongous coffee pots were set up. Lorelai noticed the kitchen was completely re-arranged from the day before. Sookie seemed like the kind of person who liked to do things her own way. She was brace, independent, and strong.- all the things Lorelai aspired to be. She drank the coffee Sookie gave her in the giant purple mug. They talked about Stars Hollow, add got to know each other. Sookie lived in Stars Hollow pretty much all her life, but she'd commuted to Hartford for school, so she was rarely in town. Lorelai was looking for someone who could help her out, being new in town and all, but this was good, too. She thanked Sookie, and after picking Rory up from the chair she'd set her in, she was back on her way to Luke's. Sookie's coffee was delicious. But one cup, even in a giant purple mug, just wasn't enough.

Luke lifted his head in mid-pour at the sound of the bells on the door.

"You have to get rid of those things!" Lorelai said. "Anywhere?"

"Sit anywhere…and the bells stay."

Lorelai rolled her eyes while she walked to the counter.

"So what are you doing here?" Luke asked.

"Coffee."

"This is a diner, not a coffee shop."

"Well, you serve coffee, don't you?"

"Of course."

"Okay, then."

"But I don't do lattes and cappuccino and cinnamon sticks."

"Good to know."

"You just want coffee?"

"Just coffee.

Rory opened her eyes suddenly.

"Hey, babe." Luke, Rory's awake, more coffee!

"She can't drink coffee!" Luke yelled.

"I was kidding."

"Who is that, anyway?"

"This is Rory…my daughter."

"You're daughter?" Luke was uncomfortable now.

"Yep."

"She's quiet."

"Yep." Lorelai was enjoying this.

"And pretty."

"Thanks."

"Yep."

"Is this awkward for you?"

"Yep."

"Luke!"

"Sorry, sorry…but, Rory?"

"Her real name's Lorelai."

"You named her after yourself?"

Rory let out a whimper.

"Yep."

"Creative", Luke said sarcastically.

"Hey, if guys can do it-"

He stopped her mid-sentence, "I wasn't taking a stab at your feminism."

"Good, great."

"Getting the coffee now." Luke started to walk into the storage room to get a cup, but he stopped when he heard an unfamiliar, wavering voice call out, "Duke!" and then Lorelai yelling out, "Rory!"

He walked back to the counter. "What? What happened?"

"Her first word!"

"That's great…wait, her first word was duke?"

"I think she was referring to you."

"Me? My name's Luke."

"She's 8 months old. She can't pronounce it et!"

"What's so hard about Luke?"
"Luke!"

"Right, sorry, so why was I her first word?"

"I think it's the great coffee."

Luke looked down at Rory. She was holding a bottle that Lorelai had filled with coffee.

"You didn't!"

"I did!"

"How did you get the coffee?"

You shouldn't leave the diner without someone here. A customer might go behind the counter and pour themselves coffee!"

"I was going to get cups. I'll get right on that."

Coffee and Rory close at hand, Lorelai was in a rush to get back to the inn. She'd been so happy about Rory's first word that she'd completely ignored the time. It was already 7:52! At this point, she was running. She ran past Al's Pancake World, past Miss Patty's Dance Studio, and all the way back to the Independence Inn.

Mia was checking a guest in when the door opened. She looked at her watch.

"8 o'clock on the dot, very good."

Lorelai smiles weakly.

"Okay, so while you were out, I ran into a problem we hadn't thought about before."

"What?"

"What are you going to do with Rory when you're working?"

"I thought she could come with me."

"To clean rooms? Are you sure?"

"That's a lot of responsibility."

"She's my daughter."

"Okay, follow me."

"Lorelai carried Rory up the stairs of the inn. She hadn't actually seen it yet. She was amazed at how beautiful it was. The hardwood floors and carved oak walls were incredible. Mia led them into a room on the right.

"This is the storage room. You'll get your cart everyday from here."

"My cart?"

"It has cleaning supplies, you know."

"Oh yeah, I know."

"Lorelai grabbed one of the carts that was already set up with everything she'd need. She rolled it after Mia, who was leading her to another room. Mia instructed her to clean only even numbered rooms, up to sixteen. She'd have to restore the room with fresh towels, draw the curtains closed, make the beds, pick up things from the floor, and mop the bathrooms. It didn't seem too challenging. Mia left. Lorelai picked up a stack of towels that was on the cart and filled the empty space with Rory, who sat there giggling the whole time. As she worked, an overwhelming feeling of relief rushed over her. And the thought of Emily's reaction if she were to see her mopping the bathroom like Gloria, Samantha, Veronica, or any other one of the thousands of maids Emily had ever hired sent a massive grin across her face.