Francine and Straub took Thea down to Las Vegas for the Vegas Shoots like they promised her since she had been suspended for getting strangled (which was something that she didn't tell them because it seemed unnecessary to mention). She took Georgia because Liberty was too busy to get away.

Apparently Jess had seemed sad that Georgia was gone, although Sage and Aiden seemed sad too.

Thea had won two thousand dollars for being first in the classic limited female championship part of the tournament.

Francine and Straub said that they would take her back next year.

Georgia had enjoyed her three days on the strip.

It came as no surprise that Lorelai didn't notice Thea's absence, but at least Rory knew where Thea went.

It was strange that Rory seemed to be trying to form some sort of bond with her, but at least someone in her family wanted something to do with her.

Sure, Rory had her moments where she didn't want anything to do with Thea and they can go weeks without talking to each other, but it seemed like Rory wanted something to do with her.

So, it made Thea wonder if Rory wanted something from her. So what was it, Thea didn't know.

In other news, the person who had strangled Thea and Craig ended up moving. Not because word got around that there was a Stars Hollow Strangler, but it was because the guy had started getting a whole lot of oddly threatening letters that were disguised as compliments.

One letter reportedly said, "I like your skin."

According to Liberty, her dad had sent that one.

There was another letter that also said, "I like your face. It looks good. Just. Like. That."

Jess wrote that one.

Georgia had seen the strangler in a store and wrote a letter that said, "You're really brave for leaving the house dressed like that."

Sookie, Todd, Aiden, Lane, Georgia's mother Annette, Todd's mother, Todd's sister Tara, Craig, Craig's parents, Jackson, and Luke seemed like they wanted to get in on the action of Sage sending threats and compliment-letters, so they all came out of the woodwork just to harass this guy that strangled Thea and Craig. Okay, Jackson and Luke had sent at least three letters.

Even Rory had sent a letter written with words from her Compact Oxford English Dictionary that basically insulted the guy's intelligence when he finally looked up what the words meant.

Todd's mother took it a step further by putting tampons dipped in red food coloring on the doorstep just because it was apparently something she used to do with her friends as a teenager.

It had gotten so bad that the family had to move. However, Sage somehow got a hold of the new address and sent one final letter: "I'm always watching over you."

Aiden, Sage, and Thea were looking over picnic baskets, since Liberty was using her picnic basket for Bid on a Basket and Georgia had the other one, so it left Sage to look over baskets.

Sage picked a basket up and looked over it.

"Not that one," Thea told him.

Sage looked over the picnic basket he picked up. He was confused, "Why not?"

"It's kind of ugly," Thea told him.

Sage said, "I'm the one that's going to auction it."

"You are not," Doose said.

Sage asked, "Why can't I auction off a basket?"

"For as long as Stars Hollow stood, women were the ones that auction off their picnic baskets," Doose explained.

"It says 'Bid on a Bakset','" Sage pointed out. "It seems a bit misogynistic, doesn't it? To assume that every woman in Stars Hollow has to make a basket and men have to bid on them."

"It's tradition," Doose replied.

"Traditions aren't written in blood, they can be broken. This is why you don't have a girlfriend," Sage replied. "You'll probably tell her to stay in the kitchen because it was a 'traditional female role'." He picked up a basket. "I'll make food for my girlfriend and her boyfriend and I'll auction it off. Next time, put 'Bid on a Woman's Basket' on the sign it just might clear things up." He picked up a picnic basket and walked to the cash register with it.

Aiden and Thea followed behind, not saying anything, because Doose put Sage in an irritated mood and it was best not to say anything 'til he got away from the man.

Doose just had a way of sending Sage's blood pressure through the roof.

When the day of the fundraiser came, a large crowd gathered in front of the gazebo that was filled with baskets. Taylor stood in front of a podium to be the auctioneer, like he always is.

He had just sold off a basket, "Sold for fifteen dollars to the man in the yellow. Thank you very much." His assistant picked up a green basket that was obviously Mrs. Kim's. "Now, the next basket I have here is a lovely green wicker number that would be a charming addition to any room once the lunch is gone. Let's start the bidding at five dollars. Do I hear five?"

"Five dollars," Lane's cousin said.

Doose said, "Okay, I have five dollars, do I hear ten?"

"Ten dollars," Kirk said. Mrs. Kim glared at him, because she can be terrifying at times when she really wants to be. Kirk added, "Withdrawn."

"Okay, I'm still at five, do I hear ten?" Doose said, "Five going once, five going twice, sold to the young man for five dollars." Lane and her cousin went to get the basket.

"I swear, it's like he's imagining himself on a gameshow set," Liberty said.

"He's hearing the audience cheering and laughing," Todd added.

Doose's assistant picked up Rory's basket and Doose said, "Now this next one may not look like much but remember people – good things come in small packages. Let's start the bidding at three dollars."

"Hey!" called Rory, clearly offended.

"Five dollars," Dean said.

"Now that's the kind of bidding we want to hear today," Doose said. "Five dollars, do I hear ten dollars?"

"Ten dollars," Jess said, just to get under Dean's skin and to irritate Dean because he could.

"Okay, I have ten dollars," Doose said. "Do I have fifteen?"

Thea looked at Jess, who spoke to her in a low voice, "Watch for a vein to appear in Dean's forehead. It's going to be hilarious." He called out to Doose, "Twenty."

Doose said, "Twenty dollars, do I hear twenty-five?"

"Thirty," Dean said.

"Okay, see, you boys don't seem to understand the way this thing works," Doose told them.

"Forty dollars," Jess said.

"Fifty dollars," Dean said.

Thea wondered what Jess was doing, because she knew that pissing off Dean was one of Jess's favorite activities.

Doose seemed confused on why these two were hard-up on buying a tiny basket, "Excuse me, have either of you noticed how tiny this thing is?"

"Seventy-five," Jess said. To Thea, he said, "Just watch, it's going to be hilarious."

Doose said, "Now we're not talking cents, gentlemen, we're talking dollars, remember?"

Dean hesitated, "Eighty."

Doose said, "Eighty? Eighty dollars?"

"Withdrawn," Jess told Doose.

"Okay, we've got eighty, going once, eighty going twice...sold to the nice young man in the leather jacket for eighty dollars," Doose said.

Jess smirked because he pissed off Dean, wiped Dean out of his money, and helped raise a lot of money for whatever the money was supposed to go to, in one fell swoop.

Well played Jess, well played, Thea thought.

Rory and Dean went to get Rory's basket, though Dean didn't look happy as he gave Jess a glare over his shoulder.

Jess smiled and waved at him.

Doose continued his auction.

After Doose auctioned off a basket, the assistant picked up a basket.

"That one's my mom's," Sage whispered.

"Oh lord, will you look at this? Ladies and gentlemen, now this is a basket," Doose said. Let's start the bidding on this delicious treat at ten dollars. Do I hear ten dollars?"

"Ten dollars," Kirk said.

"Fifteen dollars," Andrew said.

"I have fifteen dollars," Doose said.

"Twenty dollars," Kirk said.

"Twenty dollars, I have twenty dollars," Doose said. "Is that my final offer?"

Sage was looking at Jackson, probably wondering why he wasn't bidding for Sookie's basket.

"All right, fine, twenty-five," Kirk said.

"Kirk, you just offered twenty, you upped your own bid," Doose said.

Sookie asked, "I'm sorry, can we stop the bidding for just a second?"

"Sookie, you know the rules," Doose said.

Sookie replied, "Yes, but I—"

"We have twenty-five dollars," Doose said. "Do I hear thirty?"

Sage was busy trying to bore holes into Jackson's head by staring at him. It must've been working because it seemed like Jackson was beginning to nervously sweat a little.

"Thirty, if there's pie," Andrew said.

"There's no contingencies, Andrew," Doose told him.

"Thirty-five," Kirk said.

Doose started, "Andrew?"

"I'm not going any higher without the promise of pie," Andrew said.

"Thirty-five going once, thirty-five going twice...sold to Kirk for thirty-five dollars," Doose said.

Jess had to grab a hold of Sage to keep him from going over to shout obscenities at Jackson that would've made Doose banish Sage from the premises.

"Yes, finally! You know, if it hadn't have been for me I could've had it for twenty-five," Kirk said, going up to the podium.

Thea and her friends looked at Todd.

Todd held up his hands, "Not even I know how to disassemble Kirk's logic."

Kirk, Sookie, and Jackson walked off.

Doose picked up Georgia's basket, "Now we have a nice, farmhouse style basket. Let's start the bid at five dollars."

"Ten dollars," Jess said.

"Fifteen," a man said.

Georgia shuddered, just a little.

"Twenty," Jess replied.

"Twenty-five," the man said.

"Forty," Jess said.

"Forty?" asked Doose, sounding stunned.

"Fifty then," Jess said.

"Sixty," the man said.

Thea wondered why this man was so hard up on buying Georgia's basket. It was kind of weird.

"Seventy," Jess said.

"Eighty," the man said.

"Ninety-five," Jess said. 

"Withdrawn," the man told Doose.

"Ninety-five, going once...going twice," Doose stated. "Sold to the nice young hoodlum in the back."

Jess was grinning victoriously as he and Georgia went to get the basket, but at least Georgia didn't have to have lunch with a creepy man.

Todd leaned over to say, "We all know that he paid that man to make sure Georgia gets the highest bid on her basket, right?"

That sounded oddly sweet.

Doose auctioned off a few more baskets, finally auctioning off Liberty's, which Todd bought, so it left Thea bidding on Sage's when Doose had to auction it.

After a few more bids, Doose finally auctioned it off.

"Eleven dollars," Thea said.

Sage seemed slightly insulted, "Eleven dollars?"

Thea patted him on the shoulder, "You get laid. Suck it up."

Doose seemed slightly annoyed, "Thea...you know it's tradition that a man—"

"You said someone has to bid on a basket, not that a man has to bid on a basket. You should've been more specific," Thea told him, hands on her hips.

Doose seemed to sigh, "Eleven dollars, going once, eleven going twice...sold to Thea for eleven dollars."

Thea and her boyfriends went to get the basket, but Doose looked at Aiden.

"You said the buyer has lunch with the person who made the basket, not that the lunch has to be a private one-on-one lunch," Aiden said. 

Doose looked like he really hated that they were right. Traditions like Bid on a Basket were made to be broken.

It was the smallest victories from abusing loopholes.