*This is the final chapter of 5 Years After and is all for now from this storyline and family. I would like to thank you all for the ongoing support through this story. I'd like to apologize for such a late final chapter because I wanted to do it justice for the rest of the story. I hope you all enjoy this final chapter and enjoy it. XOXO-Hoopsandstuds*

I OWN NOTHING RELATED TO GILMORE GIRLS OR NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

6 more years later

"There she is, there she is. Get the camera ready Logan!" I smacked his arm as he pulled up the camera as Lena walked up to the podium to make her speech as valedictorian. We snapped pictures and she smiled as saw us waving and taking pictures along with Mom and Luke. Lena made a beautiful speech thanking her family and friends for their never ending support and thanking the school for preparing her for the real world.

"Now I'd like to thank all my fellow students for helping all of us learn from each other these past 4 years. Congratulations everyone, we did it!" she cheered with a smile, everyone clapped and her few friends wooed for her as she stepped down to her seat. I was crying and so was Mom, and I even saw Logan wipe a few tears away.

"There she is! Logan,"

"Camera is ready, oh our baby girl is graduating high school!" Logan smiled and kept snapping pictures as we watched her walk across the stage, move her tassel and get her diploma which now guaranteed her spot at Yale where Logan and I had both gone to school.

"I did it, I graduated!" Lena ran across the yard to us and Logan and I both gave her a big hug and half held her up as she stumbled in her heels,

"Yes you did! We're so proud of you sweetheart," I kissed her cheek,

"Congratulations loser," Belle nudged her arm and Lena nudged her back, Belle was definitely not one for showing her emotions a lot but everyone knew how proud she was of Lena and how much she hated that she was moving away in the fall to go to school, she was her best friend.

"Thanks loser," she teased her and gave her a hug, "Love you." I heard them whisper,

"What did you think of my speech?" Lena asked,

"Princess it was amazing, you didn't need to thank us."

"Of course I did, I don't think I could have handled these past 4 years let alone this year without your support and Butch's burgers." She laughed, and ran over to give Luke and Mom a hug, Mom initially taught Lena and Belle to call Luke Butch because it bothered him but now he genuinely liked the term his granddaughters (we don't use the term step because he was more of a father then Christopher ever was) had a name that was just for him that no one could take away.

"Now pictures, pictures. Stand with you Mom." Logan ushered us together under the tree in the court yard. We spent the next fifteen minutes taking pictures of us and of Lena and Lena with Belle and every other combination of pictures with the family before Lena took some pictures with her friends and we headed home,

"So, where are we hanging your diploma?" Logan asked as we drove home,

"Over my door?" Lena asked,

"Sounds like a good spot, I'll hang it up tomorrow. Okay?" Logan smiled back at Lena, as we pulled into our spot,

"Okay, everyone hurry and change we got to get for Hartford for dinner. We're sleeping at Nana's tonight." I ushered our girls into the house and rushed up to my room changing from my day dress to an acceptable evening outfit for Friday night dinner and to celebrate Lena's graduation.

"Everyone ready?" I asked as we stood outside the house,

"Yep," the girls answered and Logan begrudgingly nodded,

"Alright." I knocked on the door and in a heartbeat a terrified looking maid answered the door,

"Hi Grandma," I replied as she approached us,

"There's my girls," she walked past me and hugged my girls, fortunately Lena hadn't remembered the time when they were mean to her or maybe just repressed it and Belle grew up never feeling unwanted or unloved. "How was graduation Lena?"

"It was good, I was valedictorian." Lena beamed,

"That's great dear, you know your mother was valedictorian when she graduated Chilton. Of course we were allowed at that one."

"I'm sorry I was only allowed 5 tickets." She apologized,

"Logan took a lot of pictures, it will be like you were there." I argued, coming to my daughter's defense,

"But we weren't." she said, and walked into the kitchen,

"Someone's in a mood,"

"Belle, hush." I scolded her

"She's right," Lena argued,

"Lena!"

"Okay, okay we'll be good. Dad, hand me the camera we'll show her pictures and she'll calm down." Lena took the camera from Logan and we followed Grandma into the living room where Grandpa was waiting for us, he held up a Yale Sweater for Lena,

"I had a meeting in New Haven today so I thought I would stop by and get you a sweater, future Yale alumni." He smiled as she pulled the sweater on over her black dress,

"Thank you Grandpa,"

"And don't think I forgot about you Belle," he smiled and handed her a t shirt,

"Thank you but I don't know if I want to go to Yale." She said, and you could have heard a pin drop,

"That's fine honey, you can go anyway you want." I assured her,

"But why not Yale? I want there, your parents went there and now Lena is going."

"Because I don't want to go somewhere because my whole family has gone there. I want to go somewhere different, blaze my own trail." She smiled, then looked around, Logan was beaming,

"She got that from me." He whispered to me as Grandpa began to speak,

"Grandpa, we encouraged Belle to always be different and true to herself if being true to herself means maybe going to another school that's fine, as long as she's happy."

"Right, of course." He forced a smile, and Belle smiled though sincerely,

"Thank you Grandpa."

"Do you know what your major will be?"

"Uhm, I'm 12?" she reminded them,

"Rory knew what she wanted to be a 12, so did Lena." Emily reminded Belle for the umpteenth time,

"I didn't know until I was in my thirties, no rush love." Mom announced as she entered the room, with James in tow,

"James, do you know what you want to be."

"I think a doctor would be cool." He admitted,

"He's older than me!" Belle felt the need to point out,

"Belle," Logan prompted her, "its okay. Tell them what you want to do."

"I want to be a photographer. I want to travel the world, take pictures and do galleries based on issues in the world, like child soldiers, starving children in Africa, homeless people right here. Issues that people can't avoid when their staring it in the eyes." She explained, "And Dad said that he can arrange for me to write commentaries to go with it and have blurbs in the papers here so I can get my name out there. I just want to help."

"Belle, that's a really noble thing to want to do." I kissed her forehead,

"Hey, what about the sharks? They deserve help too," Lena insisted, she wanted to be a marine biologist and specialize in sharks or whales.

"Of course they do." Logan kissed her forehead as she came over to us,

"Well lets everyone sit down, I'll get drinks." Richard tries to shift gears away from schools under my glaring at him when he tried to make Belle feel bad. I smiled as I watched my daughters sit together, solidarity in numbers I suppose even with 5 years between them my girls were still best friends just like I am with Mom and Lane. I was sitting at the table and my girls were sitting next to each other discussing how Belle could do a photography piece for National Geographic on the endangered great white sharks and how I could write the piece with Lena's facts and Logan smiled next to me. My family was coming together and Grandpa told Belle that one of his golfing buddies went to Harvard and he could put in a word for Belle, and that made her light up, we still had all of my Harvard paraphernalia from when I wanted to go for Harvard and could easily put it up in Belle's room to match the Yale wall in Lena's room. I smiled at Logan who squeezed my hand,

"We did it." He whispered to me as everyone was lost in their conversations

"What?"

"We raised two amazing girls, who are going to make their way in the world. I think they'll be okay." He smiled at me,

"They will be. I love you so much Logan."

"I love you too Ace."