On the next Friday Night Dinner, Thea wondered when this crap was going to end.

Emily had let them in.

"Thanks," Lorelai said. "Man, it's cold out there."

"I know," Rory replied. "I'm freezing."

Thea liked to think that her hatred towards these Friday Night Dinners kept her warm.

"Well, come on in and sit by the fire," Emily said. "I'll make you three a drink and then we can talk." She led them to the living room.

"About what?" asked Rory.

"Antennas up," Lorelai told Rory.

"Aye aye captain," Rory replied.

They went to the living room and sat on the couch.

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

"Um, I'm fine Mom," Lorelai replied confused.

Emily asked, "Rory?"

"I'm fine too, Grandma," Rory replied.

"Thea?" asked Emily, so Thea can't complain that she was ignored the entire evening.

"I'm not dead yet, so I got that going for me," Thea replied.

The other three looked at her weirdly, before Lorelai asked, "How are you, Mom?"

"Also fine," Emily replied.

"Oh, look at that," Lorelai said. "All three of us fine, just like the Judds."

Emily passed out drinks, "So Lorelai, are you dating?"

"Uh, hm, no, I'm not dating," Lorelai replied.

"Really?" Emily asked, "There's no one at all?"

"No, totally single," Lorelai replied.

Emily asked, "Any chance you'd get back with Max?"

Thea was pretty sure that there was no chance, since Lorelai ended the engagement to him.

"No, Mom, there's no chance," Lorelai replied.

"What about the man at the diner?" Emily asked, "The one who refuses to shave?"

Thea thought that Emily made it sound like Luke had a Dumbledore beard. She and her friends went to see the movie, because Aiden wanted to, and then afterwards, Georgia said that it was good, but all she saw was a bunch of 'white bread' which meant that there were too many white people, not enough Black people.

"Luke?" Lorelai said, "He's just a friend, Mom."

Emily asked, "Do you think you'll be single your entire life?"

"Excuse me?" asked Lorelai.

Thea thought that you don't really need someone to complete yourself.

Emily continued her interrogation, "I mean, in terms of your finding someone, what do you think the odds are"

"Okay, what is going on?" asked Lorelai.

"Well, I visited the family mausoleum today," Emily explained.

"Never what you think it's gonna be," Lorelai stated.

"I just wanted to check on things, make sure they were keeping it up, changing the flowers, you know," Emily continued explaining.

"Uh-huh," replied Lorelai.

"So I went inside and looked around and it occurred to me that there's a very limited space there," Emily kept explaining.

"Oh," Lorelai said.

"Now, of course there's a slot open for me and Richard and you and Rory, but after the two of you – that's it," Emily explained. "No more room for anyone else." She looked apologetically to Thea at that.

That sounds about right, considering that she was a very unwelcome surprise. To be fair, she didn't exactly want to be buried, because funerals would plunge someone into debt for three years. Sure, she could be cremated but that sounded like pollution to her if her ashes were sprinkled somewhere, but it sounds weird holding onto the ashes of a family member for like sixty years. Maybe her loved ones could throw her body in a ditch and let the wolverines have at it.

Or maybe she should see if Francine and Straub had a family mausoleum and if there was room for her in it.

"Ah," Lorelai replied.

"Yes," Emily said. "So if you actually do meet someone someday, I don't know where to put him."

But what about Rory's potential children? What if Lorelai had more kids?

"Well, maybe we could just dump him at the local pool hall," Lorelai stated.

"Don't be silly," Emily said.

"No, because this is definitely not a conversation for that," Lorelai said.

"I looked into expanding into the crypt next door but the family that owns it wouldn't even discuss it with me," Emily said.

Thea thought it was weird that the family next door had a crypt too.

"I'm getting a little creeped out here," Rory said.

"So I talked to the head of the cemetery and he suggested that we buy an annex," Emily said.

Rory asked, "An annex?"

"Yes," Emily answered.

"You know, like an outlet store, it would specialize in the irregular family members," Lorelai said.

Emily continued, "So, if we do get the annex and you do eventually someday get married..."

Lorelai said, "Mom, just say it – fat chance – will you?"

"I just meant that we'll have to decide who to move," Emily said.

"Oh, oh," Lorelai said. "Well, uh...ugh, why don't we move Aunt Cecile? She was so annoying at parties. She loved the knock-knock jokes."

"Mom!" exclaimed Rory.

"What?" asked Lorelai.

"You can't just kick out Cecile," Rory said.

"Knock-knock. Who's there? Pineapple. Pineapple who? There's where it ended. Never fully grasped the knock-knock concept," Lorelai explained.
"She was a complete idiot," Emily said. "Okay, it's decided - Cecile goes."

"Good," Lorelai replied.

"Look – put me in the annex," Rory said.

"Nuh-uh. No way. You are not leaving me alone in there with Cecile," Lorelai said.

"You can have Thea go in there," Rory said. "I refuse to be held responsible for somebody being kicked out of their eternal resting place."

"I'd rather you throw my corpse into a ditch and let wolverines have at it," Thea said.

"Ooh, I have an idea," Lorelai said. "I'll probably go first, right? So when Rory kicks, just throw her in with me."

"I'd like my own space if you don't mind," Rory said. She thought about having Thea thrown in Lorelai's coffin, because it would serve her mother for ignoring Thea for her entire life.

"Why? It'd totally be fun to be there together," Lorelai said. Richard was coming down the stairs. "Plus I plan to be buried with all the good CDs and my rock star belt."

Richard said, "Sorry I'm late. What did I miss?"

"We were just discussing who to move to the annex," Emily said.

"Oh," Richard replied. "I vote for Cecile." Lorelai and Emily made a 'told you' hand movements. "Horrible woman..." He paused and added, "those terrible jokes."

Lorelai asked, "What'd I tell you?"

"This is a cold, cold family," Rory said.

Thea nodded in agreement, thinking that all of them were so going to hell.

While they were eating, Lorelai said, "This is really good."

Rory asked, "Yeah, what is it?"

Emily started saying, "Well, it—"

"No, don't tell us," Lorelai interrupted.

Rory asked, "Why not?"

"Because every time in my life that I've tasted something great but I didn't know what it was, it turned out to be something really disgusting that had I known what I was eating, I never would've tried it in the first place," explained Lorelai.

"Name an example," Thea said.

"Snails," Lorelai said.

"Gross," Rory replied.

Thea agreed. She never tried 'snails' or 'frog legs' and she'd rather not start now.

"Eat in ignorance and enjoy it, my friend," Lorelai said.

"Gladly," Rory replied.

Lorelai asked, "So, Dad, how's the retired life treating you?"

Richard said, "Well, fascinating actually. I find myself noticing things, everyday things that I must've witnessed a hundred times before but just walked right past. Like yesterday, your mother moved a vase, the one in the hall, and she didn't do it in front of me."

"Oh, no," Lorelai joked, "'cause nice girls never move vases in front of men."

"And she only moved it a little but as I passed it by, I noticed it had been moved," Richard continued.

"Impressive," Rory said.

"And every day's a new discovery," Richard continued. "Your mother changed her hair. Or she wore shoes that didn't match her purse."

"Richard," Emily admonished, as if it was a crime that her shoes and purse didn't match.

Once, Thea wore a red lace bra with blue underwear. Aiden had seemed confused by the non-matching underclothes.

"Last Thursday," Richard added.

Emily seemed annoyed by him noticing things.

Richard asked, "You know what else I noticed?"

"What?" asked Rory.

"A first edition Flaubert, mint condition, shoved behind several of my Churchill biographies," Richard said.

"No!" gasped Rory.

"Interested?" asked Richard.

"My life is good," Rory said.

"Follow me," Richard said.

"Ooh Dad, see if you can find a pair of new Chanel patent leather pirate boots stuffed back behind your Churchills," Lorelai said.

"And my will to live," Thea added.

Richard seemed confused by the statement and asked, "What was that?"

"Nothing," Thea replied.

Richard and Rory left the dining room.

Lorelai and Emily proceeded to have a conversation about how different it was to have Richard home.

"It's very different," Emily explained. "He's always here – watching me and noticing when I move a vase and...I don't know. It's silly. So he noticed my hair was different. Women die for that sort of thing."

"Aw, Mom, it's just an adjustment," Lorelai said. "You've had your routine, he's had his routine. You guys just need to figure out a new routine."

"Yes, you're probably right," Emily told Lorelai.

"He just needs a hobby and some friends to go fishing with," Thea said.

"Mm, I am right," Lorelai said. "Okay, I give. What is this?"

"Sweetbreads," Emily said.

"Sweetbreads," Lorelai repeated. "So, that's uh..."

"Pancreas," Emily said.

And Thea was done eating.

Thea found Aiden and Sage staring at a door in school. She asked them, "What are you two looking at?"

"We're trying to figure out how someone stole the fire exit sign," Aiden said, pointing.

"Or why for that matter," Sage added.

Thea frowned, "Or who."

"Probably the same person who stole that classroom door and the sink," Aiden said.

The principal never bought a new door for the classroom, so there was still a beaded curtain hanging up, and it just looked weirdly out of the place.

In the morning, Thea left the house to find Richard there on the porch.

"Grandpa," Thea said in greeting.

"Thea," Richard greeted back.

Thea had overheard Lorelai saying that Richard was going to be following her around all day, so Thea wasn't too surprised to see him there. She stood back to let Richard in and she took off to go to school.

School, however, went fine. Someone stole the other fire exit sign and then a guy decided to risk expulsion by strangling Craig, who just happened to walk by. It seemed like everyone was in shock at the brazenness of someone getting strangled and Thea managed to overcome her shock to go up to them, to try and separate the two.

"Hey, let go of him," Thea said and the strangler decided to strangle her instead.

Thea's first thought was, bitch really?

"Let go of my girlfriend!" yelled Aiden.

The guy finally let go of Thea's neck and Thea heard Libety yelling at a guy to 'suck it up, bitch'.

Among the situation, a schoolwide brawl broke out, while teachers tried to get control of the situation while a school cop started pepper-spraying anyone that came his way.

Thea, Aiden, Craig, and the strangler ended up getting suspended for 'instigating' a mini-scale riot despite Thea and Craig being victims even having finger marks around their necks as evidence and Aiden was just trying to help break it up.

Thea was horrified at getting suspended for one week because she was sure that 'instigating a mini-scale riot' as the principal put it, would ruin her chances of getting into Yale.

Sure, she could fight the unfair suspension, but that would take longer than her suspension. She knew that it would get Lorelai involved who probably wouldn't care, and then Francine and Straub would get involved and it was just a lot of unnecessary stress that Thea didn't want to deal with. Besides, she could explain her side of the story. 

Aiden took Thea to his house where he put on Matilda afterwards it would be The Princess Bride and then Shrek, bought some pizza, and held Thea while she cried.

Liberty, Georgia, Sage, Jess, and Todd sure had a lot of fun 'teaching the stranger' a lesson.

And whoever threw those balloons filled with mayonnaise at the principal's car and wrote 'you suck' on the back windshield in lipstick was a mystery. 

Thea and Aiden went to Luke's Diner because Thea felt a bit better after the movie marathon and crying while eating pizza. There were bruises on her neck from being strangled. Chances were, Craig probably had the same.

It looked like Sage, Todd, and Georgia had saved them their seats.

Sage had gone over to kiss Thea before going to sit down.

"Hey, Teddy," Luke said. "Do you want a milkshake?"

"I'm fine, thanks," Thea replied.

"Come on, I heard about what happened at school," Luke said. "I can always put in strawberry and vanilla with the chocolate like how you always want it during the summer."

Thea can feel herself slightly caving, "I'm fine."

"I can add whipped cream," Luke said.

That sealed it.

"Sure," Thea said.

Luke went to make the 'Neapolitan' milkshake for Thea.

The doors opened and Rory and Paris walked in. Well, it looked like Paris stormed in. They went to the counter and Paris took a menu, opened it, and started looking at it in an almost shady manner.

Rory asked Paris, "What are you doing?"

"Trying just to blend in, fade away, observe," Paris explained.

"You look shady while looking at the menu like that," Thea told her.

Luke sent the milkshake in front of Thea, "Hey, Rory. Coffee?"

"Thanks Luke," Rory said.

Luke asked Rory, "Who's your friend?" He had seen the girl at the Bracebridge Dinner, but he never got her name.

"Angela Landsbury," Rory said.

"Oh," replied Luke, not knowing that Angela Landsbury was a singer and actress.

Paris asked Luke, "You're the owner here?"

"Yup," Luke said as he poured Rory some coffee. "You want some coffee, Angela?"

"No thanks," Paris replied.

"Okay," Luke replied.

Paris asked, "So, you run the diner, huh?"

"Oh, boy," Rory said.

Paris asked, "You get a lot of truckers through here?"

Georgia seemed confused and asked Paris, "Why do you want to know?"

"Just answer the question," Paris told Luke.

Luke repeated, "Do I get a lot of truckers through here?" He was also confused by the question.

"Yeah," Paris said. "You know, guys on the road for weeks, lonely, looking for company, a little pick-me-up. Things like that?"

"It sounds like you're confusing a movie for reality," Thea told Paris.

Paris asked, "But have you ever seen anything like that going down here?"

"No," Todd said.

Paris pointed at the reverend, "What about that guy over there? What's his story?"

Luke asked, "Reverend Nichols?"

"Reverend Nichols, huh? What is that?" Paris questioned, "Like Dr. Feelgood?"

Luke asked, "Rory, how much do you like this person?"

"Do what you gotta do, Luke," Rory said.

Liberty made the mistake of coming down from the apartment from above.

"Hey, where'd she come from? What's up there? Is that where you keep the rest of the girls? You got yourself a little cathouse up there?"

Jess had come down, hearing Paris's questions. Before Liberty can clear up the situation, Jess said to Luke, "Wow, I think she got you Uncle Luke. You better give up now."

"Do not add this insanity," Luke said.

"An innocent boy like me should not be raised in an atmosphere like this," Jess continued.

Luke warned, "Jess!"

"I wanna be good, life's not just not letting me," Jess continued.

"Actually you can be good," Georgia said. "You just refuse to change."

Liberty spoke to Paris in a joking manner, "Do call the cops. I'm only seventeen."

"Rory, get her out of here and do not call the cops," Luke said, frustrated with the situation his nephew and daughter were creating.

"Okay, let's go," Rory said dragging Paris out of the diner by her arm.

Paris called out, "Why do you need me to leave? What have you got to hide?"

Rory said, "Paris, let's go!"

"That wasn't funny," Luke told Liberty and Jess.

"You're right," Thea said. "That was hilarious."

"That's it," Luke said. "I'm revoking your milkshake, Teddy." He took the milkshake away from Thea.

Thea came home from Georgia's house to find Rory and Richard were home.

Rory asked, "How was your day?"

"It was very pleasant," Richard replied.

"I heard you saw Mom in action," Rory said.

"Oh, yes he did," Lorelai said, coming from the kitchen, holding a bottle of beer.

"She's great, isn't she?" asked Rory.

"She's uh...spirited," Richard replied.

Demons were spirits, too. Maybe he should be more specific. Thea went upstairs and went to her room, taking her two cats with her, because she'd rather not be down there. Maybe she should take off.

After a while, The doorbell rang so Thea went downstairs to answer it. It was Sage and Aiden. Rory and Richard were in Rory's room, and Lorelai was in the kitchen.

Sage said, "I told my mom what happened so she made deviled eggs and mac and cheese. Actual homemade mac and cheese, not from a box."

"And milkshakes," Aiden added.

"Don't worry, it was a new carton of ice cream so no one ate out of it," Sage said.

They went into the kitchen because Lorelai was talking to Rory in the bedroom.

Richard, Rory, and Lorelai finally came out of the room.

Lorelai tried to steal a deviled egg, but Aiden slapped her hand away from the food. Lorelai looked offended.

"Hello," Richard greeted Sage and Aiden, who nodded at him in acknowledgement. "Lorelai, you cannot order all of that food. You're teaching your daughters wastefulness and gluttony."

Lorelai looked slightly insulted at Richard's criticism of her, but she looked even more insulted that Aiden allowed Rory to take some deviled eggs.

Rory looked smug in her victory of being allowed the food.

"They usually order more food so they can eat leftovers during the week," Thea explained to Richard as she and her boyfriends moved to the living room.

Then Lorelai and Richard came into the living room, discussing colleges, so Thea and her boyfriends moved onto the porch to avoid the drama.

Thea had enough to last her two weeks.

A car pulled up and Dean honked the horn, before getting out to stand in front of the car.

It was a nice car to be honest.

Rory and Lorelai came out of the house.

"Oh my god," Lorelai said.

Rory asked Dean, "Whatcha doing?"

"Just standing here," Dean told her. He nodded at Thea and her boyfriends, "Watching them eat while watching me."

"Next to?" asked Rory.

"A car," Dean said. "Your car."

"No!" exclaimed Rory.

"Finished it yesterday," Dean said.

Rory said, "No you didn't!"

Dean held out some keys, "Do you want 'em?"

Rory ran over to hug him. 

"Now if you don't like it, I bet I can sell it to someone else," Dean said.

"Don't you dare," Rory said.

Thea looked at Aiden and Sage to see that even they seemed confused over Dean building Rory a car. At least she wasn't the only one who thought Dean gifting Rory a car was a little too much.

"Dean, that's amazing!" Lorelai told Dean.

No, it was weird. Was she the only one who thought it was strange?

"Let's drive," Rory said. "Can we drive? Does it drive?"

"Does it drive?" repeated Dean.

"Well, no, I know it drives, but...oh my god! I can't believe you finished it! You built me a car!"

Lorelai said, "Dean, now that you're done with that, will build me a plane? One that looks like Shamu?"

Richard had come out of the house, "He made that car?"

Lorelai said, "Isn't that incredible?"

"Well, she can't accept it," Richard told Lorelai.

"Oh, Dad, it's okay," Lorelai replied.

"It's not okay," Richard said. "He's a child. She's not driving a car a child put together."

"Excuse me, sir, but, uh, my father worked on cars and my grandfather worked on cars. I know what I'm doing," Dean defended himself.

Thea looked at Aiden and Sage. They seemed to be in agreement. What they tried to do for a nice evening after Thea and Aiden got suspended, was pretty much ruined.

They should've gone to the Dragonfly Inn instead.