Thea was heading to the bakery when she realized that Lorelai and Rory were following her. "What are you guys doing?"

"Coming with you to work," Lorelai said. "Instead of 'Bring Your Kids to Work' Day, think of it as 'Bring Your Mom & Sister to Work' Day."

Thea knew better than that. She had overheard Rory and Lorelai discussing wedding cake test tasting and demanded, "What are you guys really planning?"

"We just want to taste test wedding cakes," Rory replied.

"Sookie's making one for free and I do not approve because you're just taking advantage of Fran's kindness like that, since you're not going to buy any cakes from there," Thea pointed out, crossing her arms. "I don't like it. So just go home."

"Don't be so grumpy," Lorelai told her. "Besides, I might even change my mind."

Thea busted out laughing at that, "Yeah, you'll change your mind on the day you decide to quit coffee for the rest of your life." Which is to say...not gonna happen.

When Thea got in the bakery, she told Fran, "They're here to wiggle free cake out of you. Sookie is making the wedding cake."

"Maybe they might change their mind," Fran tried.

"The day she'll change her mind is the day she realizes she actually loves me," Thea said. "Not gonna happen."

Fran seemed to realize that as well, but she might as well sell it, even though she didn't look happy at the thought of giving them cake when they're not going to use any of her cakes at the wedding.

Lorelai and Rory standing at the counter in the bakery, to eat the cakes that Fran was 'happy' to give them.

Lorelai said, "Oh my god, here!"

"Wow," Rory replied.

Lorelai said, "With a crunch and a zing a hmm hmm hmm, hello!"

Rory said, "Okay, our house is burning down, and you can save the cake or me and Thea. What do you choose?"

Thea almost glowered at that comment because Lorelai would save Rory first; always.

"Well that's not fair," Lorelai said. "The cake doesn't have legs."

Fran came from the back, "So, how are we coming here?"

"Oh, Fran, so good," said Lorelai. "This cake is amazing."

"Beyond amazing," Rory added.

"Well, I should hope so. We've been doing this for about one-hundred-twelve years," Fran said.

"Huh, well, you don't look a day over a hundred-and-six," Lorelai told her.

"Mom," Thea said, bringing a cake out, not happy at the fact that they were taking advantage of Fran's kindness.

"I meant my family's been doing it for that long," Fran replied.

"Right, okay, well, I'm glad we got that cleared up," Lorelai stated.

Rory tried the raspberry cake and started flailing, "The raspberry, the raspberry, the raspberry!"

Fran asked, "So, when is the big day again?"

"Two weeks from tomorrow," Lorelai said.

Fran asked, "Have you picked a flavor?"

"Oh, I don't know," Lorelai said. "They're all so good."

Thea knew that was code for, 'Sorry, I have Sookie making it for me for free.' So, she was irritated with the whole situation again. Marjorie was cringing every time Thea looked at her in annoyance. She clearly didn't like it any better than Thea did – which is to say, 'not at all'.

"Well, you have to try them again," Fran continued saying.

"Oh, no," Lorelai said in a false 'I can't, but I really do' voice. "I've already eaten so many."

"This is a very crucial decision, young lady. Cake is the glue of the wedding, so you will stand here and eat until you decide," Fran told them.

"Okay, if you insist," Lorelai said.

"I do," Fran said. "After all, what's more important than your wedding day?"

"Well, it ain't Guy Fawkes Day," Lorelai quipped.

Thea rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, well, I'll just go and see if there's anything else in the back," Fran stated, leaving.

Thea and Marjorie went to go look at the wedding taste test cakes.

"Looks like we gave them all we had," Fran stated.

Thea looked at the shelves in the fridge. "We have the mocha crunch cream." She took it out and handed it to Fran.

Fran called out, "I'm bringing out a mocha crunch cream!"

Thea looked at Marjorie really irritated, who looked apologetic. She wasn't too thrilled with what Lorelai and Rory were doing either.

After her shift at the bakery, she went to Aiden's home to rant about what Lorelai and Rory did, but a man opened the door. Well, he was a man, but he had sleeve tattoos and was the nerdiest looking man that Thea had seen. He looked like he could've worked for the mafia as their tax accountant. He kind of looked like Aiden, so this was his dad.

"You must be Thea," Aiden's dad said, offering his hand. "I'm Ethan."
Thea shook his hand and said, "Hi. I thought you were getting out on the sixteenth. Aiden kept mentioning that you get out on the sixteenth."

"They wanted to get rid of me so they released me a few days earlier than expected," Ethan replied.

"Oh, that's good," Thea said. "Is Aiden home?"

"No, he's at work," Ethan said. "I thought I'd surprise him when he gets home."

Thea asked, "How did your parents go from Betzabeth to Ethan?" Aiden's aint was Ethan's older sister.

"They didn't," Ethan said. "Birth name was Wrase. Changed that shit as soon I turned eighteen." He seemed to be studying Thea, "You seem a lot sadder in the pictures that Aiden showed me." Thea stared, not sure how to respond to that. "I'm sorry, that was personal. I shouldn't have overstepped my boundaries like that."

"It's fine," Thea replied. "I need to go."

"Oh, go ahead," Ethan said. "Do you mind not telling Aiden that I got released early?"

"And ruin the surprise? Not a chance," Thea replied.

"Oh, if you know if anyone's willing to overlook the whole wife-murder conviction, can you tell me? That would be nice," Ethan told her.

"Oh, yeah, sure," Thea said with a nod. "Good luck in job hunting. See you around."

"Yeah, you too," Ethan replied. "I mean with the 'see you around' part. Aiden told me you work at the bakery."

"Yeah, bye," Thea said.

"Bye," Ethan said and closed the door.

Thea went back to the bakery.

Fran looked at her as she walked in, "I don't think you left anything behind."

"I know, but Aiden's dad got released a little early and is looking for a job," Thea said. "He's wanting to know if I know anywhere that's willing to overlook the fact that he's a wife killer."

Fran seemed to be mulling it over. She exhaled, "Okay. Tell him to be here tomorrow at six in the morning sharp, and he's got the job."

Thea smiled widely, "Thanks, Fran." She hugged the woman and Fran hugged her back.

"Anything for you, Thea," Fran replied, letting her go.

"Thanks again, Fran," Thea said as she left the bakery to go back to Aiden's house. She considered getting rollerskates, because it'll be faster to get around with. But then again, Taylor Doose would probably bitch about that at the next town meeting.

She rang the doorbell, but this time Aiden's aunt opened the door. "Oh, Aiden's not here."

"I wanted to tell Ethan that the bakery I work at is willing to give him a job, as long as he shows up tomorrow, six in the morning sharp," Thea said.

Betzabeth blinked and seemed happy at the news, "Okay. I'll tell him."

Thea asked, "Do you know where I can buy a pair of rollerskates?"

"Yeah, at the shoe store I work at, they sell them," Betzabeth told her.

"Okay, thanks," Thea said.

Betzabeth closed the door and Thea heard her calling out, "Ethan! I have news for you!"

Thea took off, heading back home real quick. Kirk was leaving and Max and Lorelai were inside.

Thea asked,"What was Kirk here for?"

"Oh, he was looking to be our wedding photographer," Max told her.

"I thought you two wanted Aiden to do it," Thea said.

"Oh, he is," Max said. He had to admit that Aiden's photos were more professional looking than Kirk's. He pointed out, "You seem happy."

"Oh, Aiden's dad got released from prison early," Thea said.

Max didn't know that. "What did he do to go to prison?"

"He poisoned his wife," Thea said. She paused, "You should talk to Aiden about that, it was his childhood after all."

When she got home from hanging out with Liberty and Georgia, she met Rory along the way to the kitchen.

Rory asked, "Do you smell something weird?"

Thea smelt the air. All she smelt was food, "No?"

They went into the kitchen.

Rory asked, "What's that weird smell?"

"It's food!" Lorelai stated, sitting at the table, watching Max.

Max asked, "It smells weird?"

"No, just weird for this house," Rory explained. "It smells great."

That was because all they did was eat a bunch of take out and went to Luke's almost four times a day.

Max asked, "Rory, Thea, can either of you get that?" He motioned to the broiler with his hand as he put a dish of food on the table.

Rory asked, "What?"

"Uh, right down there," Max said. Rory didn't seem to get what he was talking about, "Uh, shiny handle."

Thea rolled her eyes and went over to open the broiler to see what, she guessed, was garlic bread.

Lorelai gasped, "Did you know we had that?"

"Not a clue," Rory replied, just as shocked.

"I knew it was," Thea stated, bewildered by the idea that they didn't know a broiler existed.

"Hey, it's on fire," Lorelai pointed out.

"It's called a broiler," Thea told them, annoyed.

"Wow," Rory said.

Max looked at Thea, "What fallout shelter have these two been living in?"

"I try not to lose sleep over that question at night, so neither should you," Thea replied.

"He has much knowledge," Rory told Lorelai.

"We shall form a cult around him," Lorelai stated.

"Build a statue many stories high," Rory added.

"We shall grow our hair long and stop bathing," Lorelai added.

"Please don't do any of that," Max told them. Sometimes he wondered how Thea turned out so different from these two, then he remembered how Thea had joked that she was the 'grave mistake' Lorelai had made. But now it was looking like the truth every day, judging from the lack of photos Lorelai had of her.

Rory asked, "Are we eating at the table?"

"Wherever you want," Max told them.

Lorelai said, "TV?"

"I'll get a tape," Rory said.

Lorelai asked, "Can I at least grab some dishes?"

"Far away from me," Max stated.

Lorelai said, "Alarmist."

They took their food and made their way to the living room.

Lorelai and Rory chose to sit on the floor together, while Max and Thea sat on the couch, to watch the movie that Rory picked out. She wasn't surprised that Rory put on Billy Jack.

Thea was once again reminded how annoying it was re-watching the same movies to the point where Lorelai and Rory could both quote entire movies by heart.

"You don't learn very fast...Injun," the man on the TV said.

Lorelai asked, "How fast do you learn Billy Jack?"

"Fast enough," the man replied.

Rory started speaking, "Billy Jack, I'm gonna kill you if it's the last thing I do."

Lorelai groaned, "He so jinxed himself with that one."

"Yeah, he should've said, 'Billy Jack, I'm gonna kill you or buy myself a lovely chenille sweater,'" Rory said.

"Ooh, yeah, either way, he wins," Lorelai said.

Max asked, "How many times have you seen this movie?"

"Way too many times," Thea replied, patting River who decided to join her on the couch. Phoenix had climbed onto Max's chest.

"Yeah, I'm out of digits," Lorelai chimed in.

"You can't see a Billy Jack movie too many times," Rory stated.

Max started asking, "Who's the guy Billy Jack's..."

Lorelai shushed him.

"All right you cats...very slowly now," the man on the TV said.

"Let's do some jumping jacks," Lorelai stated.

"Spread out," the man on the TV ordered. "One—"

"Oh, it's the counting part," Rory stated.

"He means it, Daniel," a man said. "Two."

"Ooh, here comes my favorite and my least favorite line all rolled into one," Lorelai said.

"I'm gonna cut your bowels out," the man stated.

Lorelai made gagging sounds while Rory said, "Ahh, yuck!"

"I've heard worse from the movie Full Metal Jacket," Thea told Max. "Georgia wanted to watch it since she's getting into filmography, especially Stanley Kubrick's movies since she found he's a perfectionist. I'm still haunted by the bathroom scene."

Max seemed genuinely curious and asked, "What was the bathroom scene?"

"It's best if you don't know," Thea told him, remembering the scene very well.

"Hey, hey, you two be quiet, we're missing the good parts," Lorelai told them.

"You talk throughout the whole movie, and when Thea and I say something, you're shushing us," Max defended himself and Thea.

"That's because you two are talking through parts that we talked through last time, so we haven't seen those parts in a while," Lorelai responded.

Thea rolled her eyes at that.

"Ah, well, now it's clear," Max responded.

The phone rang.

Lorelai stated, "Max?"

"What?" Max asked, "The phone?"

"Whoever's closest answers," Lorelai said.

"House rule," Rory told him.

"You're both closer," Max replied.

Lorelai pointed out, "Oh, but I'd have to walk around the coffee table so my path would be farther."

"And my foot's asleep," Rory stated.

"Plus you're taller," Lorelai added.

"With longer legs," Rory continued.

"You'd get to the phone faster if we all got up to get it," Thea pointed out.

"Exactly," Lorelai stated.

"I got it," Max told them, cradling the kitten so he could get up to answer the phone.

"I'm gonna like having him around," Lorelai said.

"That's because you'll enjoy making him do all your evil-bidding," Thea replied.

"I know," Lorelai replied with an evil grin.

Thea went off to bed, her two kittens joining her because they both preferred sleeping with her. She was rudely shaken awake by her mother and she groaned, "What?"

"You know, I never asked how you felt having Max moving in," Lorelai said.

"It's fine," Thea said. "If I have a problem, I'll let you know."

"Well, you've been crabby since Max proposed," Lorelai told her.

"That's because I think the whole thing is a little weird and I'm still mad that you and Rory took advantage of Fran's kindness to eat free cake for breakfast, when we all know that Sookie was going to make one for free," Thea replied.

"How do you feel about him moving in? I know it's going to be life altering and nothing's going to be the same," Lorelai said.

"I think you're the one that's bothered with this," Thea countered. "Shouldn't you be in bed?"

"I have a boy in my room," Lorelai said.

"He's a grown man," Thea said. "I think you're projecting your uncomfortableness on sharing a bed with Max. So go bother Rory. I have to go to Fran's bakery in the morning and I don't think she'll appreciate me face-planting in the batter because my mother decided to project her issues onto me at one in the morning in front of a potential new employee." She pulled her blanket over her head as she rolled over, facing away from her mother.

According to Fran, it turned out that Doose was going to put in a traffic light and a metered crosswalk. Thea had gotten out of breakfast with Max, Lorelai, and Rory by using the bakery as an excuse.

Ethan was measuring some flour. He asked, "Shouldn't the mayor approve of the traffic light and crosswalk?"

"Yeah, but I wouldn't put it past Doose blackmailing Mayor Porter with the blackmail material that Miss Patty probably has on him," Thea pointed out.

Ethan had been hit on by Miss Patty while Aiden had been showing his dad around town. Of course word spread about the ex-convict and Craig at least made Ethan feel better by saying that he, too, was a former ex-juvenile convict. Then the two ex-cons had a conversation about the horrors that they had seen while behind bars while Aiden stood there in awkward silence.

"You know, I wouldn't put it past Doose into doing it regardless of what Mayor Porter said," Marjorie stated.

"He's putting the traffic light in front of Luke's Diner," Fran added.

"Oh, good, he's trying to annoy Luke into moving his diner," Thea said.

Fran nodded, "Definitely. That sounds like Taylor."

Ethan said, "Sounds like this Doose guy has an unrequited crush on Luke, so he's just taking his sexual frustration out by annoying the guy."

"That...might be true. Never saw Doose with a woman," Thea said.

Max had managed to talk Thea into inviting Sage and Aiden out for dinner with him and Lorelai and Rory and Dean. He wanted to make up for missing breakfast with him, Lorelai, and Rory. He also wanted to meet Sage and Aiden, because he hadn't formally met the two yet. So, Thea (reluctantly) agreed.

However, it seemed like Max, Lorelai, Rory, and Dean had been confused by the fact that Thea and her two boyfriends were essentially eating off of each other's plates, even Sage and Aiden were doing that to each other, trying out the sides that they had ordered. (Old habits die hard, Thea guessed.)

Then Max had asked Aiden why his dad was in prison, so Aiden got a little uncomfortable and refused to talk about it. Thea didn't blame him because who wants to talk about that horror over dinner?

After dinner, they walked along the sidewalk. Lorelai and Max were holding hands, Rory and Dean were holding hands. Thea walked in between her two boyfriends, not holding their hands, because Thea liked to stand out from her family.

"Ugh, I can barely walk," Max stated.

Thea looked at Max's shoes, "Is that because you wore shoes that weren't meant for walking?"

Lorelai agreed, "Yeah, bad shoes?"

"I ate a cow," Max said.

"You had a steak," Lorelai pointed out.

"Plus the sides," Max corrected, "Seven people, six baked potatoes. "

"Uh, you always exaggerate," Lorelai told him.

To Dean, Sage, and Aiden, Max asked, "Am I exaggerating?"

"Nope," Dean replied. Sage and Aiden shook their heads.

Rory said, "Ooh, ice cream!" She took off running.

"Never saw her run before," Thea told Sage and Aiden who were silent the entire walk. They both snickered.

"Ooh, I'm right behind you!" Lorelai called after Rory, taking off after her.

Max asked the teens, "How can they possibly eat more?"

Dean was definitely used to this behavior, "Kind of surprised."

"I know," Max said. "They're bottomless pits."

"I mean, at you," Dean said. "You've known them long enough not to be so confused."

They sat on a bench.

"Oh, I'm not confused," Max replied. "I'm just...what do you mean?"

"Their eating habits are just the start of what you're gonna have to get used to," Dean said. "There's tons of stuff you should be aware of."

Max asked, "Really?"

Dean explained, "Oh yeah. Like, don't ever use the last of the parmesan cheese. And never get into a heavy discussion late at night 'cause that's when they're at their crankiest. Oh, and uh, go with their bits."

Thea looked at Sage and Aiden,

Max asked, "Their bits?"

Dean had to explain again, "Yeah, like, if you're eating pizza with them and Lorelai decides that the pepperoni is angry at the mushrooms because the mushrooms have an attitude and then she holds up a pepperoni and the pepperoni asks for your opinion...don't just laugh. Answer the pepperoni."

"'Answer the pepperoni?' That's going down as something to say out of context and not bother explaining," Sage said to Thea, who laughed.

"Answer the pepperoni," Max said.

"And don't let them near puppies 'cause they'll want to take home every one," Dean said.

"Oh, that one I knew," Max replied.

Dean explained, "Oh, and uh, here's a big one. If you ever think that they're doing something crazy, they're not. You see, after a while, their thinking becomes clear, but by the time it's clear, they've already done two other totally crazy things that you can't figure out. So there's no catching up."

Max said, "You have much knowledge."

Dean pointed out, "You got that from Rory."

Thea looked at Sage and Aiden, "Hey, if I ever start to act like that, tell me. Don't hesitate to call me a bitch."

"Deal," Aiden said.

Lorelai came over with a chocolate chip ice cream cone for Max.

As they got up the porch, Lorelai groaned, "I'm so full. Why'd you let me eat so much?"

"Yeah, they'll blame you," Dean told Max.

Thea looked at Sage and Aiden, "If I ever blame you for shit you didn't do, don't hesitate to call me out on that B.S."

Sage nodded, "Deal."

Lorelai headed inside.

"It's past eleven, guys," Max told them, going inside.

"Okay," Rory replied.

Thea went inside with Sage and Aiden following her, so she can make out with them a little.

"Sorry," Max said. "You know, they're still outside and I think Thea brought the two boys inside the house."

Lorelai asked, "Who's outside?"

"Rory and Dean," Max said.

"Oh," Lorelai replied.

Max asked, "How long do you think Rory and Dean will be out there?"

"I don't know," Lorelai replied.

Max asked, "Oh, how long will Thea keep Sage and Aiden here?"

"I don't know either," Lorelai replied.

Max asked, "So, there's no time limit or anything?"

"Yes," Lorelai said. "As soon as they both get tired of saying, 'no, you're prettier' to each other, then the night's over."

Max asked, "Well, how about Thea, Sage, and Aiden?"

Lorelai stayed quiet before asking, "She knows the rule; no sex when people are home."

"Lorelai, come on," Max said.

"What?" asked Lorelai.

"Well, I'm gonna be living here soon," Max started.

"I know that," replied Lorelai.

"So I just thought I should know what the procedure is when stuff like this comes up," Max said.

Lorelai asked, "Stuff like what?"

Max suggested, "Say you're not here, I come home, there's Rory and Dean in the dark all alone after eleven. I mean, how do I handle stuff like that?"

"Oh, Max, Rory is very low maintenance. Kind of like that robot kid in A.I., only way less mother-obsessed. Oh my god, that kid was so annoying. I would've pushed him out of the car while it was still moving."

Max asked, "Well, what if I catch them one night making out on the couch?"

Lorelai replied, "Umm...well, turn off the light?"

Max said, "You're not being serious."

"Max, they're teenagers," Lorelai replied. "They can kiss a little bit."

Max asked, "What about it being Thea and Sage, or Thea and Aiden?"

"Turn off the light and avert your eyes because they might be not fully clothed and wonder why they're not in her room," Lorelai said. 

Thea stood outside a nightclub with Lorelai, Sookie, Rory, Miss Patty, Michel, Liberty, and Georgia (Thea brought the two girls with her because she can).

Miss Patty declared, "Oh, this place looks like fun!"

"They're never gonna let me in," Rory whined.

"They will let you in," Lorelai told her.

"This is a felony, you know, corrupting minors. We'll all end up in the bookie," Michel said.

Liberty asked, "Who invited the Debbie Downer?"

Michel retorted, "Who invited the tiny girl with the attitude problem?"

"I'll bite you," Liberty warned him.

"Please stop arguing," Lorelai said. "You'll get us all thrown in the back of the line."

"Just try to look older," Sookie told Rory.

Rory asked, "How?"

"Look like you're thinking about retirement or 401Ks and stuff," Sookie stated.

"Yes, you should've brought your fake beards and mustaches," Michel added.

"Yeah, I agree with Liberty," Lorelai said. "Who invited Mister Schnickelfritz?"

"He heard us planning and wanted to come," Sookie said.

"I did not know the evening included babysitting," Michel said, looking at the three teens.

Lorelai said, "They're going to get in." Her cell phone rang. "Sorry." With a smile, she answered it. "Hey!" There was a reply of some sort, "What? Why?" The other person had replied with something. "Oh my god, what happened?" The other person replied with something again. "Why did he do that?" There was a reply. "Poor Jan." A replied. "Ugh. Ouch. How drunk was he?" There was a reply. "Huh." There was a reply of some kind. "What is he saying?" Another reply of some sort, "All right, well, take him home, and then go hit a strip club?"

Georgia seemed very confused, "What?"

"I am telling you, this is your last chance to look at another woman's breastage," Lorelai said. She hung up after what sounded like Max replied to it.

"That was a waste of going with boobage," Georgia told her.

"Or cleavage," Thea said.

"Okay, new rule for the evening. No call to fiancés or boyfriends or anything else like that." Sookie stated, "It's girls' night out." She pointed at her coworker, "Plus Michel."

They finally reached the club entrance, and the bouncer said, "It's twelve bucks." He looked at the four girls, "And it's eighteen and over."

"Oh, they're eighteen," Sookie said.

Rory nodded, "That's right. Last week for me and Thea. So it's a new eighteen, but it's eighteen, yup."

"I celebrated my eighteenth birthday last month," Liberty lied. "And Georgia celebrated the big 'one-eight' three months ago."

The bouncer asked, "You got some ID?"

"Hey, uh, sir, make way for Rory, Thea, Liberty, and Georgia. That's their names. And their only name. Rory, Thea, Liberty, and Georgia. Single name, they're that important. Rory is an internationally known international supermodel and sometimes spokesperson for international products. Thea, Liberty, and Georgia are internationally known singers and sometimes models in a girl group."

"Rory's very big in Germany," Sookie added.

"We're very big in Japan," Georgia added. "We can't get out of Japan that much though."

"Yah, yah, Rory's with the lederhosen and such," Lorelai said.

"Twelve bucks," the bouncer said with a grin. He most likely didn't buy this crap, but he probably didn't want to deal with throwing them out.

"Thank you," Lorelai said. She rushed the four teens into the club.

"Lederhosen are for men," Georgia hissed at Lorelai. "Dirndls are what women wear. And that is for Oktoberfest."

Lorelai asked her, "How would you even know that?"

"My dad promised to take me to Oktoberfest for my twenty-first birthday so I've been looking into it," Georgia said.

"Well you got in," Lorelai said.

"The power of a lazy bouncer," Liberty whispered to her friends.

A man wearing what looked to be a Marilyn Monroe outfit walked by carrying a tray.

"This is a drag club," Michel pointed out.

"It's called The Queen Victoria," Sookie told him. "What did you expect? Tea and crumpets?"

Lorelai said, "Aw, you guys, I guess we're gonna have to stand."

Sookie pointed, "Wait, that one looks open."

"Oh," Lorelai said.

They walked towards the table to where Emily was sitting.

"Oh my god," Lorelai said. "What in Lucifier's reach is my mother doing here?"

"Oh, I invited her," Michel said.

Lorelai asked, "You what?"

"Just a little surprise for you," Michel said, "I thought it would be a kick."

"I like your attitude, Frenchie," Liberty told him with a smile.

"Don't call me Frenchie," Michel told her.

Lorelai dragged Rory towards the table. So Thea followed and Lorelai stated, "Excuse me sir, you look just like my mother."

Rory kissed Emily on the cheek, "Hi Grandma. Come here often?"

"I should say not," Emily said. "How did you get in?"

Rory explained, "Oh, apparently I'm an internationally known supermodel, while Thea, Liberty, and Georgia are internationally known singers in a girl group who supermodel sometimes." She sat down next to Lorelai. They started taking some seats, although Thea, Liberty, and Georgia tried to cram themselves together on a seat.

Emily nodded and looked at Lorelai, "Happy bachelorette party, Lorelai."

Lorelai said, "Thank you, Mother."

Emily said, "And in the future, when you plan one of these things, and you tell a person to show up at eight o'clock, it is considered good manners for you to also show up at eight o'clock."

"Well, I didn't exactly invite you, Mother, Michel did," Lorelai told her.

"Ah, well, I feel much better now," Emily stated.

"Huh, let's drink," Lorelai stated.

"Looks like Emily's gotten a head start," Miss Patty said. To Emily, she asked, "What are you drinking, honey?"

"Manhattan. Good too. Not too sweet. I ordered it from that nice fellow dressed as Joan Crawford," Emily said.

"So, is there no dancing here? I was hoping there'd be dancing," Michel said, sitting next to Sookie.

Sookie patted him on the shoulder, "You need to strut Tony Minero?"

"It is a weekend and on the weekend I like to move, and the ladies, they like it too," Michel stated.

"Especially when you move out of town," Lorelai said. "Ba zing!"

A nice man who looked like Joan Jett came over with two chairs for Liberty and Georgia, who both took the chairs rather gratefully, but not gracefully as they would've liked.

Emily asked, "Has she eaten?"

"Yeah," Sookie said, "About a quart of wine."

A man dressed like Mae West came up to them.

"Hmm, hi Mae West," Lorelai greeted.

Mae asked, "What can I get for you?

"My dignity back," Michel told him.

Lorelai said, "We'll have a rum and coke, a margarita no salt, martini with olives, four Shirley Temples..."

"Love her!" Mae stated.

"I'll have her on the rocks please," Rory stated.

"I always wanted to try a cosmopolitan," Georgia said.

"That sounds good," Liberty said.

"Make that three," Thea said.

"One Shirley Temple, three cosmopolitans, and, uh, I will have giant Long Island iced tea," Lorelai told Mae.

"Coming up," Mae took off.

Emily asked, "So, Lorelai, how are you feeling?"

Lorelai replied, "Um, well, I'm tipsy, but just short of seeing pink elephants."

Emily said, "No, I mean about you getting married. It's only a week away."

Lorelai replied, "I'm fine. Everything's fine. I figured once I got the shoes to match the dress, the rest was just gravy."

Emily stated, "I must say, I admire your composure. The week before my wedding, I was a wreck."

Miss Patty added, "So was I, before all of mine."

Sookie asked, "How many was that?"

Miss Patty rattled off, "Well, uh, there was Sinjin, John, Sergio, Sinjin. Three men, four times."

Sookie asked, "Do you regret any of them?"

"Well, Sinjin was a let down the second time, but he was my Burton and I was his Taylor. Just wish I could've found a little Mike Todd there in the middle," Miss Patty said.

"You know, I can't believe it was thirty-four years ago that I married Richard. I remember it so distinctly," Emily said.

"Ooh, this is gonna be a romantic story," Sookie said.

Emily explained, "My stomach was not my friend. It was full of butterflies; I couldn't eat a bite the whole week."

Lorelai said, "Hmm, what a bummer."

Emily continued, "I was actually weak in the knees. Trembling all the time, can you imagine?"

Rory asked, "Really?"

Emily continued with her story, "When I wasn't actually with Richard, I was thinking about him. Constantly. Imagining what he was doing, was he thinking about me? Making up little scenarios in my head about how we'd run into each other accidentally at the club. And he would be playing golf and I would walk by and he would be so distracted that he'd completely miss the ball. Silly."

"Kind of," Liberty muttered.

Sookie nodded, "It's sweet."

Emily said, "I was in love." She took a drink from her Manhattan.

Michel agreed, "It is wonderful to be in love."

It kind of was, Thea agreed as Lorelai got her Long Island Tea. Eventually Thea and her two friends got their cosmopolitans.

Emily said, "But the thing I remember most was that for the entire week before my wedding, I'd wait 'til my mother went to sleep, and I'd sneak out of bed and I'd put on my wedding dress and my tiara and my gloves, and I would stare at myself in the mirror and think how very safe I felt. How very right and wise and honored." She picked up her glass, "This is a very good drink. I highly recommend it."

Sookie took her phone out of her bag, "Okay, I have got to make a call."

With a grin, Miss Patty asked, "Are you calling Jackson?"

Sookie had her cell phone to her ear. She said, "No. Well...yes, but it's only because I need to pick up something I left at his house, that is, if it's still there, I should – hi honey, it's me." She left the table.

To Rory who had her pager out, Emily asked, "And who are you writing to?"

Rory replied, "I just want to see if Dean's around."

Emily asked, "And thinking about you?" Rory blushed.

Thea looked at Miss Patty, "You married those three guys four times?"

"Yeah, but that's a story for a different time," Miss Patty said. Lorelai got her phone out and Miss Patty grinned, "Ooh, no, not you too."

Lorelai said, "No, it's just...it's...I'll be quick." She walked away from the table.

"I have to shake my thing," Michel said.

"I hope you're talking about your ass," Georgia told him. Michel left the table.

Emily asked, "What about you three? Don't you want to see if your boyfriends are thinking about any of you?"

"I know Sage and Aiden are thinking about me," Thea said. "I'm fine if they're not."

"Georgia and I aren't dating anyone," Liberty said.

Sookie returned and a moment later, Lorelai returned, "Hey."

"Hey," Rory replied.

Lorelai asked, "Michel leave?"

"Nope. He said he had to shake his thing," Sookie said, taking the olive out of her martini. "So how's your guy?" Lorelai hummed, "How's Max doing?"

"Fine. Fine, everything's just fine," Lorelai replied, taking a drink from her Long Island tea.

To Thea, Liberty, and Georgia, it didn't sound like everything was 'just fine'.

Rory, Lorelai, and Thea were in the kitchen. Lorelai was paying bills and Thea was looking through the fridge.

"I can't believe school's already starting," Rory stated.

Lorelai groaned, "I used to hate school starting. I once flipped the pages back in a calendar my mom kept in the kitchen and tried to convince her it was June and not August."

Rory asked, "Didn't work?"

Lorelai hummed, "Oddly enough."

"I wonder why," Thea stated.

"Thea and I got an interesting call today," Rory said, sitting at the table.

Lorelai asked, in a teasing manner, "Oh, yeah, who?"

"Dad," Rory stated.

"Cool," Lorelai said. "How is he? I – I – I talked to him last night."

"He did say that," Thea said.

"Yeah, I was about to mention it myself," Lorelai told them.

"That is quite a coincidence," Rory said.

"Yeah," Lorelai said. "Did I not mention it last night?"

"No," Thea replied.

"I could've sworn I did," Lorelai said.

"You didn't," Thea said.

Rory asked, "Why'd you call him?"

"Oh, just to check in," Lorelai replied.

Thea asked, "Why would you call him at your bachelorette party?"

"It seemed as good a time as any," Lorelai said.

Rory asked, "You catch up on calls?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Lorelai replied.

"Seems like a weird time," Rory replied.

Lorelai asked, "Did he call just to fink on me?"

Rory said, "No. He wanted to see what's up with you. He thought it was weird too."

Lorelai stated, "Heaven forbid I ever use the phone again."

Rory asked, "Was it when you told us you were calling Max?"

Lorelai replied, "Somewhere around there."

Rory asked, "Why would you tell us you were calling Max?"

Lorelai stated, "Honey, someday when you're a little older you will be introduced to something that is extremely seductive but fickle. A fair-weather friend who seems benign but packs a wallop like a donkey kick, and that is the Long Island iced tea. The Long Island iced tea makes you do things that you normally wouldn't do, like lifting your skirt in public or calling someone you normally wouldn't call at really weird times."

Rory stated, "I'm not looking forward to meeting the Long Island iced tea."

Lorelai told her, "I'd definitely walk the other way."

Rory said, "You know, Dad wants you to be happy."

Lorelai said, "I know."

Rory said, "And I really want you to be happy."

Lorelai replied, "I know, sweetie."

Rory asked, "You are happy about all this, aren't you?"

Lorelai asked, "Don't I seem happy?"

"I guess," Rory stated.

"No," Thea replied flatly.

Lorelai looked at her, "What do you mean by that?"

"You came into my room in the middle of the night to bother me about my feelings about Max sleeping in your bed. Then you slept in Rory's bed," Thea pointed out. "And last night, when you said everything was fine, you sounded like everything wasn't fine."

"I'll be in my room if either of you need me," Rory said, taking off.

Lorelai looked at Thea, "Honey, it's just pre-wedding jitters."

"It doesn't sound like it to me," Thea said. "It sounds like you don't want to marry Max and that's fine. It doesn't bother me; even though I wished you and Max didn't rush into this whole thing, which I assume that's why people wait a few years to get married. It's why I was so crabby, because from the way you were acting, I assumed that not even you wanted to marry him." She went to her room feeling better getting all of that off her chest.

Thea was in her room, looking through her CD collection when Lorelai came in, "Pack!"

Thea was confused, "For what?"

"We're hitting the road," Lorelai said.

Thea was still confused, "For what?"

"We haven't had a roadtrip in forever," Lorelai said.

Thea would rather not go. Sure, it sounded like fun, but not with Lorelai and Rory; especially not with Lorelai who might forget her somewhere again.

Lorelai asked, "Why aren't you packing?"

"Because I'm not going," Thea said.

Lorelai asked, "What?"

"I'm not going," Thea repeated. "I have River and Phoenix and dropping them off with Babette seems cruel because they might think I'm abandoning them. I'll just stay here."

Lorelai looked at her, "You're not staying here alone."

"I can stay with Francine and Straub," Thea said. "I'm sure they'll agree on having me stay for however long you're going to be gone for."

Lorelai said, "Fine. Call them."

Thea smiled and went to call the Haydens, she knew that they would take her in for a while.