AN - 1000 imaginary points to those who got Family Ties. Yes. That was the original title of the chapter but I then decided I didn't like it.

So here we are the final curtain. For now at least this story is at an acceptable end point. We have roughly caught up timeline wise (the story is now in Summer 2017) and each story has roughly covered 3 years, which is alot. So if there is to be more I need the real world to move on a bit to give me ideas to play off. As it is a slice of life story obviously it's not an end end it's just a natural stopping point. So yeah for now no more. From a personal POV I really need to focus on finishing my degree and I want to work on a novel draft and then hopefully pursue getting that published. But who knows maybe this trilogy will turn into a quadrilogy. It is very strange for me which is why I think these last few chapters have taken so long to write and edit. This version of the family have been with me for just over two years. When I first started writing Luke and Lorelai had just embarked on their relationship and other than a few things I had no real idea where this was going, certainly them ending up with 4 kids wasn't on the cards nor Rory adopting Gigi but sometimes stories steer the ship. Thank you for all of you who have stayed with me on this journey. Thank you for the reads and the likes and the follows and of course the reviews. At times when I felt lost those words of thanks and encouragement have meant the world to me. For those that respond to this last chapter and are guests I will thank you now, for those with profiles I will pm you.

Thank you so much for reading, thank you so much for everything. I hope you enjoy the last chapter. x

Chapter 46 – What's Mine, is Yours

"Penny for them," Lorelai asked as she lifted herself onto the stool at the counter of the diner. April sat in front of the register staring intently at a notepad. "Oh God it's Math. I don't want to know. I've been doing books all morning."

April gave her a weak smile. "Just budgeting and thinking."

"Budget boredom." Lorelai rolled her eyes and tried to take a closer look. Her eyes fell on the word Charlotte, underlined, circled and surrounded in question marks. "You ok on that front, we can give you a bit more if you need extra."

"I'm OK," April closed her notebook. "Grandma," she offered simply.

"Ah, the Gilmore Checkbook. It has its benefits." Lorelai resisted the urge to brush April's hair from her face. April look tired and drawn. She had still; at least as far as Lorelai knew, not made contact with Anna, nor had she brought it up. April had however been spending more time in Stars Hollow, staying with them and with Emily when her studying allowed. Emily had even been flexible enough to let Charlotte stay over. Separate bedrooms of course, but in the same house. Lorelai was desperate to talk to April about it, but when it came to Anna she knew she had to maintain, at least an appearance of, a certain level of respect for the complicated web of horror that was the relationship. Really she wanted to tell April that she was hers and that bitch had had her chance. But that was neither helpful nor productive even if it would make her feel better. "Honestly, the service in this place," she scoffed, trying to change onto a subject that would mean she didn't say what she really wanted to.

"Dad's helping Spencer. Too much stuff, not enough space," April's smile warmed. "I think you're losing your garage."

"As long as I don't lose my sewing room. I've still got 3 fairies to finish and 2 pirates." Lorelai sighed heavily. The schools summer pageant was approaching at breakneck speed. As with every year, she offered to help with the costumes, but this year with the added work at the Amaryllis and a more absent than usual Michel at the Dragonfly, she was severely lacking for time. Luke was not being hugely helpful in the taking over bedtimes to help her have time in the evenings as he was caught up helping Rory and Spencer, now that Spencer had finally moved up from Baltimore. Spencer's job at Yale started in two weeks and they were now busy trying to fit a six-bedroom house into a two-bedroom apartment. Even with the storage unit, it was a stupidly tight squeeze. She meanwhile just dropped hints about the now empty Crapshack. So far, no bites.

"What do you want? I can get it" April stood up before Lorelai had a chance to protest, "I'm not strict like Dad, so if you want a donut burger with three types of cheese, go for it."

Lorelai twisted her mouth as she considered the choice that had been presented to her. "Now is the burger replaced by the donut or instead of the bun?" she asked carefully. She shook her head in mild amusement. "I can just hear the horror in your Dad's voice. Why don't you just eat a stick of butter? Better yet just let me give you an IV of cholesterol!" Blissfully, April gave a snort of amusement. Lorelai shot her a beaming smile. "Coffee to start and maybe a turkey sandwich, whatever breads open."

"A turkey sandwich. That's it?" April gave her an uncertain look.

Lorelai sighed heavily. "Unfortunately I have discovered that the dusting has caused technical difficulties when it comes to the eating whatever the hell I want."

April stared at her for a moment and then nodded in understanding. "It is a common symptom."

"It's a sucky symptom and as I plan on eating my weight in hotdogs and ice cream at the festival next week and I want to remain fitting in my jeans, every so often I must skip the bacon double cheeseburger and cheese fries that I actually want for something more healthy." She gave April a despairing look.

"Has Dad ever let you eat a bacon double cheeseburger?" April scribbled on a note pad and with a demeanour reminiscent of Luke slammed the sheet of paper down on the pass with a sharp. "Order!"

Lorelai frowned, trying to remember the last time she had a double cheeseburger. "Not since I was pregnant with Grace. I'm pretty sure I'd told him I'd eat him…Not in the dirty way. If he didn't bring me one. But since then only a single hamburger. Your Dad is a food…" she trailed off. "You know now there are actual Nazi's, it feels wrong to joke about them."

"Because the whole murdering of 6 million people and near destruction of a continent made it fine before," April muttered glibly.

"Good point, well made," Lorelai scrunched her nose up in mild apology. She grinned as April started to copy Luke in manner, wiping the counter and fiddling with the salt and pepper dispensers "Can I be nosy?" April looked at her warily. Lorelai gave her a cheeky smile. "What is with the circling underline and halo of question marks about?" April blushed red but smiled. "Spill."

April cast a look around the almost empty diner. "I was thinking of maybe asking her to move in with me. It's stupid her paying rent on somewhere…but I don't know if we're there yet and then it brings the whole other…thing…I have too much going on to be dealing with my…" she trailed off and sighed. "I was thinking about asking her. She's been so great with everything. Especially with all the stuff Anna has brought up."

Lorelai attempted to prevent herself from reacting to April calling Anna by her name, rather than Mom. She failed. Abysmally. The red blush on April's cheeks vanished instead a kind of waxy yellow wiped across her thin face. Lorelai swallowed and forced her attention on the original topic. "I think asking Charlotte to move in with you will be really great."

April turned a more normal colour and gave a soft nod. "I hope so." She looked warily at the other patrons and then sighed heavily, her heavy exhalation doing nothing to unburden the tension in her shoulders. "I've decided I don't want to see Anna right now. I want to be happy and it's always too much. Too much toxicity." She exhaled sharply. "I've said we can talk on the phone. I'll call her. When I want to. I agreed to at least one call a month."

"Payment for that whole giving you life thing, huh?" Lorelai tentatively reached her hand across to April's and squeezed. "As long as that is right for you."

"It is for now," April clung onto her hand. "I mean it when I say just like Rory sees Dad as hers, I see you as mine." She smiled weakly. "I forget the step."

"Me too Apricot," Lorelai stood on the bar of the stool, leaning forward to give April a kiss on the forehead. "It's always been All In. In fact I think I may like you a teensiest bit better as you didn't make me fat."

April snorted in amusement. "You weren't fat."

"I was a planet. Poor Pluto! It got knocked off its pedestal by me," Lorelai chuckled. "Want to share some cheese fries?"

"No," April shook her head. "But I'll share the apple pie with you," she nodded towards the pie nearest them under the glass. "Dad's got caramel sauce."

Lorelai's eyes widened in delight. "Screw the jeans!"

xXx

"Ow! F*CK!"

Spencer's mouth dropped open and he turned from his crouched position by the drawer to look up at Rory. "When did she start swearing?"

"She's fourteen," Rory muttered not looking up from the paper she was grading. "Give it a second she'll be…"

The bedroom door flew open. The wooden door collided with the dresser, making the too many pairs of balled up socks cascade from the drawer Spencer had open. Gigi stood in the doorframe wreathed in hormonal anger. "This is ridiculous!"

"I know Sweets," Rory stated calmly. "We're looking into it. Dad and I have appointments to look at some houses."

"You should have thought about it before!" Gigi gave an almost shriek. "I mean…GOD!"

"Yeah, we suck. I'm sorry," Rory looked up from her work. "Do you want to go hang out with Brayden? He's at the library tonight right?"

The expression on Gigi's face softened and Spencer thought that she almost looked like the daughter he remembered instead of the crazed banshee that seemed to inhabit her body. "Ok," Gigi smiled softly.

"Curfew's at ten," Rory called noncommittally.

Spencer frowned as Gigi gave a delighted pivot and managed to get out the apartment in seeming nanoseconds. "Uh?" He turned to look at Rory who had gone back to her grading "Two questions. Who the hell is Brayden and what happened with Gigi?"

"Puberty happened with Gigi." Rory muttered. "She gets like this sometimes and it's easier to just go with the flow until proper Gigi returns. Brayden is the kid who works in the library. You've met him."

"I have?" Spencer frowned trying and failing to place the kid.

"Yes and if you can't remember him picture Sam's personality in a sixteen year olds body. He's basically like that kids in Inside Out, he looks terrified whenever he sees someone of the opposite sex but he's very taken with Gigi. He also knows that her Grandpa is Luke and Luke terrifies him so," she looked up and smiled. "He's sweet really."

"He's a teenage boy," Spencer's scowl deepened. "I know what I was like and I was sweet. If he touches her in any way…"

"Then you can pair up with Luke for a lynching," Rory chuckled. "Besides if you say no you'll force them together. Don't forget her genetics," she gave him a meaningful look. "When the hormones are in play there is way too much Christopher."

"Well that explains the demon then," Spencer bent down to pick on the upended socks. "How many houses are we looking at?"

"Just two," Rory sighed sadly. "One looks like it's the same size of this just with a yard and the other needs so much work it would probably be easier pulling it down and starting again. According to the realtor, it's slow on the sales front. She did have some rental properties we could look at. Maybe we should do that and keep a look out for a house we actually want."

Spencer gave a defeated sigh. "Then we'll be paying someone else's mortgage and taking away from the money we have to buy, properties are only going to get more expensive."

"I know, but I've been saving most of the rental money I get from the building Grandpa left me. Even after paying for your apartment in Baltimore we have more than enough, and we don't have to pay for flights now." She looked at him thoughtfully. "We just need to get this place tidied up a bit."

"You could get rid of some of your books," Spencer teased. Rory stared at him in horror. "You know I'm joking."

"Of course, because if you were serious, I'd divorce you. This marriage is me, you and my books." Rory leaned forward and shuffled the papers in front of her. "We've got an hour and a half if you want to something a bit more fun."

"That's optimistic." Spencer threw the socks in the drawer and slammed it with his leg.

"Well. A Girl can hope and you know we are terribly out of practice and you know what they say." Rory raised herself up onto her knees and smiled coyly at him. She started to undo her blouse. "Practice makes perfect."

xXx

"What exactly was that about?" Luke muttered out of the side of his mouth. Lorelai waved her hand at him in annoyance. "I know, cute and parents."

"Exactly, and I think it was about all kids getting a part." Lorelai bounced in her seat. "Besides Sssshhh it's Gracie and Sam's part."

Luke rolled his eyes and sank into his chair. Lower Grade Summer pageants were the most pointless thing in the world. They were lucky if the kids could remember the words, let alone sing in tune, not to mention anything else they might be called on to do. Beside him Emily shifted in her seat. "They make up for it in enthusiasm," she muttered. When he glanced at her she looked as bored as he felt. The curtains reopened and Lorelai bounced in her chair, almost looking like she was about to stand up. On stage, Grace stood amongst the other girls dressed in pretty, floaty dresses and fairy wings. The boys stood at the other side of the stage dressed in all manner of costumes. Sam positioned in the back dressed in his explorer outfit. "Well they look darling," Emily muttered. "Lorelai did you make all the costumes?"

"All the girls and the pirates. There are some others but I guess they didn't use them," she frowned as she scanned the stage.

"You made costumes and they haven't used them?" Luke shook his head in disgust. "Do they know how much time you spent on them?"

Lorelai waved her arm in response as one boy and one girl from the groups walked to the centre of the stage. Immediately they started to taunt each other.

"What is this?" Luke stared at Lorelai.

"I don't…oh music," Lorelai waved her hand as the kids on stage started to sing Anything you can do I can do better.

Luke glanced at Emily who looked equally as confused as the kids on stage paired up and pretended to mock fight.

"NOW WAAAIIIIIT A MINUTE!"

From amongst what Luke guessed was structured chaos an explosive yell sounded. The crowd on stage parted and Ceilidh, Sam's friend, marched to the front of the stage. She was at least three inches shorter than everyone else, looking like she belonged to the younger age group. Her energy made up for her lack of height.

"Boys aren't better than girls," Ceilidh announced followed by indignant yells of the girls. "No, No," she waved her hand over dramatically. "We are all just as good as each other." Half of the kids responded positively while the other half responded negatively. One little boy strode forward and began to mock the fairy outfits the girls they were wearing.

"Oh!" Lorelai gasped as Grace reappeared this time wrapped in a black sparkly cloak.

"We can wear anything!" Grace called as more of the girls ran off stage. Seemingly, moments later they ran back on wearing other costumes.

"Oh my God. Baby quick change!" Lorelai burbled in excitement.

"We can be anything!" Grace called into the auditorium.

"Yeah!" A little boy marched forward. "No one is better or worse than anyone else. We can all change the world."

A boy and girl on stage looked at him in a bad representation of alarm and then yawned dramatically. "I don't want to change the world. I just want to be happy."

The kids started to skip around calling out what made them happy.

"See," It was Sam who stepped forward this time. He took a deep breath and stared seriously out into the dark auditorium. "We're all just shiny happy people."

"Oh! Oh! Oh!" Lorelai smacked her hand against Luke's thigh.

"He said one line," Luke muttered, completely bemused by what was going on in front of him.

"No," Lorelai smacked him again. "Shiny Happy People." She tore her eyes away from the stage and flared her eyes in excitement. "R.E.M!"

Sure enough, no sooner had she said it the string intro began and the children now all facing forward began bouncing and waving their hands roughly singing in tune with the R.E.M Classic.

"What the hell!" Luke muttered.

"It's cute!" Lorelai waved her hand at him.

"This song is about Government propaganda and people not caring what they do to them as long as they are happy," Luke hissed at her.

"I know that, Sam was obviously stating the subversive nature of the American Dream. Give me Liberty or Give me Death. Most of us choose death." Lorelai looked at him incredulously. "This is brilliant."

"It's insane!" Luke sank back into his chair while the kids on stage finished the number waving their hands in delight and smiling cherubically. The children all straightened and then bowed before filing off stage.

"That was amazing!" Lorelai smiled breathlessly at him. "Who ever came up with that is a genius."

"Whoever came up with that needs a psych evaluation." Luke countered.

"Luke! Lorelai!" The pair of them turned to find Patty sat two rows behind them. "Your two were great!"

"Thanks Patty," Lorelai beamed.

"You did the costumes right?" Patty returned the beaming smile. "They were amazing!"

"Thank you." Lorelai grinned. "You scouting?"

"Absolutely. Kirk said he would do something to showcase the talent. Rich pickings!"

"That was rich pickings?" Emily muttered alongside Luke.

Luke stifled the urge to smirk. "Kirk did this?" Luke looked around at her.

"Kirk wrote it and did the music," Patty told her with a grin. "Lulu directed it. The second grade one it about Me too."

"Oh Jeez!" Luke leaned forward dropping his head into his hand.

xXx

"That was disgusting," Spencer murmured into Rory's ear as they made their way down the path of the house they had just finished viewing. While the house on the outside looked a little tired, it did look cared for to a point that the lawn was cut. Inside had been another story. The smell of animals had hit them the minute they had entered. The house had been filthy. "I'm pretty sure I saw mould."

"We knew it was going to be a no." Rory gave a sigh of despondency. "But you heard what she said, there just isn't the movement in the market at the moment." She looked at him nervously as they walked away from the house and headed back towards the town square. She wanted to stay in Stars Hollow and from a logistics point of view it made sense, it was pretty much half way between New Haven for Spencer's new job and Hartford for her at Chilton which was where Gigi would be starting in the new academic year. But they could not stay in the apartment, it was just too small. "Maybe we should rent."

"I guess," Spencer growled. "It just seems so stupid."

"I know," Rory eased course corrected them towards the square where people were beginning to set up for the upcoming festival. "We'll just be paying into Taylor's coffers."

"Taylor?"

"Taylor Doose," Rory pointed towards the market. "He snaps up properties as soon as he can. He's a property tycoon."

"Thereby killing the town he claims to love so much." Spencer shook his head and sent a reproachful look towards the market. "If everyone rents then no one has any loyalty, especially when there is no real industry here."

"I guess," Rory shrugged tiredly. The non starter of a house hunt had drained all her energy. "Lunch?"

Spencer chuckled. "By which you mean the diner."

"Obviously!" Rory nodded. "I am in need of serious chilli cheese commiseration fries that will make me feel better and help me deal with the potential teenage meltdown we're going to get."

"Do you think she will?"

"Not sure we'll get a meltdown, but we'll probably get some surliness." Rory glanced towards the library where Gigi had become a somewhat permanent resident. She gave a soft yelp as Spencer suddenly came to a halt. "What?" She looked up at him and then followed his gaze. He was staring through the window of the diner at her family. Her younger sisters and brother were seated at a table while Mom was being shooed out from behind the counter by an annoyed looking Luke. "What?" she repeated again.

"Did your Mom say she had a house to rent?" Spencer asked softly.

"Only the Crapshack," Rory shrugged. She took a step forward but when Spencer didn't move she looked back.

"That's your childhood home?" Spencer asked her.

"From when I was eleven," Rory told him. She frowned as she realised what he was getting at. It had been eleven years since she had lived in that house. A house that had been so much about her and Mom, about their life together. When it was just them taking on the world as a pair. So, so much had changed in the past decade since they had moved out of the house. Her frown deepened as she realised that her Mom had been mentioning the Crapshack with alarming frequency. She wondered if she had consciously ignored it. She had already come back home, was moving to the Crapshack a step too far in retreat? Was she that much of a Homebod? A human boomerang?

"It was just a thought," Spencer waved his hand as if he was wiping out something written on a blackboard. Her husband reading her mind, seeing her thoughts and knowing he had taken a sidestep into something she didn't want to talk about. "So two orders of chilli cheese fries?"

"Yeah," Rory mumbled letting him guide her into the diner. She blinked in surprise as the kids shouted loudly in greeting at her and she stumbled over to where they were sitting. Spencer sat down and began answering the kids questions as her younger siblings chattered away excitedly.

"You OK Kid?" Lorelai asked stepping up alongside Rory. Rory looked sideways at her Mom and then took her hand, pulling her towards the curtain that hid the staircase up to the office. "Er. Babe?" Lorelai asked cautiously.

"Hang on," Rory insisted as she tugged her Mom up the flight of stairs and into the office space. "Everything is fine."

"Ok Good, because this is freaking me out a little," Lorelai narrowed her eyes at her warily.

"Spencer and I just went to see this house and it was awful. Like worse than when we did the rummage sale because there were dogs or at least their essence," Rory paced in the small space between staff lockers and a worn seat. "It was foul."

"Gross!" Lorelai grimaced. "So why the freaky need for privacy."

Rory turned and stared at her and then flopped down in defeat onto the couch. "Am I a human boomerang?"

Lorelai stared at her blankly. "I have no idea what that is."

"Spencer mentioned the Crapshack and my first thought was oh God yes and then like sooo no. I mean, if we were to live there, I would be living in the house I was when I was a teenager while I'm working in the school I went to. I mean how lame is that?" She stared at her Mom. There was softness in her Mom's smile and an excitement in her Mom's bright eyes that made her skin glow.

"You want to live in the house?" Lorelai's voice was so hopefuly it made Rory almost want to cry.

"Yes," Rory nodded. "But also no."

"Because of the boomerang?" Lorelai smiled and walked over to her, sitting beside her on the couch. "Babe, Boomerang's come back just as they left. You have changed so much. You have your PhD, you're married, you're a Mom. You are going to be a published author. That is just the big things. Huge things. Big Huge Gigantic things. There is all the small weeny things that are too mountainous to talk about. Besides it's not like you are coming back to live with me. It's just the house."

"It's a great house. With soo much more space in it." Rory looked at her hopefully. "God I'm fretting about it and you haven't even said we could have it."

"Of course you can have it," Lorelai patted her knee. "I was hoping you would. Besides, good doors for slamming and some great stairs for stomping on," she wrinkled her nose teasingly. "Remember?"

"I remember," Rory smiled weakly. "It would only be until we find somewhere of our own."

"It will be for as long as you want," Lorelai scrunched her shoulders up in delight. "I'm so pleased you want it. You know short of hosting a firework display to get you to realise I was worried you weren't going to ask me for it and I was going to have some nasty smelly wierdos staying there."

"We are nasty smelly wierdos," Rory laughed, easily this time. Feeling like a tonne of bricks that she hadn't even realised she had been carrying around was lifted from her shoulder. "Gigi is going to be so pleased and now I won't have to divorce Spencer so I can keep my books."

"Works all round then," Lorelai jumped up from the couch. "Come on Sweets."

"I feel like we should do something to celebrate," Rory muttered.

"Not that I should but, mud pie?" Lorelai quirked her eyebrows at her.

"Luke made mud pie?" Rory followed Lorelai in amassment. "What brought that on?"

"Kirk's birthday, but because of the kids show Luke is withholding it owing to the trauma of what he had to witness. So chocolate creamy cookie pie crust goodness. And there are gummy worms." Lorelai waved her out the office. "Dibs on those."

"Uh uh," Rory called childishly as she half ran down the stairs "I am not missing out on gummy worms."

xXx

"Be Careful!" Lorelai called after the kids, as the four of them ran across the street into the newest festival fun in the centre of the square. The kids had been desperate to attend the festival after every day watching the construction process. Tempting signs, telling of can throws and win a prize and any number of glorious festival foods. All which were tempting to her, let alone four young children. Kitty had stated on more than one occasion that it was unfair and cruel for the signs to be out before they could actually go and play or eat.

At the word cruel, Lorelai's eyes drew onto the donut stand. Crullers hang on a rack amongst more brightly coloured glazed affairs. She really shouldn't, she'd had way too many sweet treats this week, but those fried rings of dough were just calling to her.

"Lorelai."

Lorelai nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of Emily's voice. Hand on chest she turned and looked at her mother who was approaching with Athena on her leash. Emily looked less than impressed at the carnival before her. "Mom," Lorelai nodded at her. "Little Sis," Athena scurried up to her in doggy excitement and Lorelai bent down to greet the small creature. "How are you?"

"You're talking to the dog," Emily voice was ladened with eye rolling.

Lorelai straightened with the smirk. "Of course I am. Sisterly love." She grinned cheekily at Emily. "And how are you Mom?"

"I'm fine. Just seeing what all this fuss is about. Do you think this awful music will be on all day?" Emily asked glancing towards the festivities.

"Be grateful it's four songs on a loop. One year at the late summer festival they sang one song, over and over and over. It was worse than being on hold and then it was stuck in your head for weeks after. Nightmare!" Lorelai wrinkled her nose in delight. "Are you going in?"

"Of course not."

"Grandbabies are in there," Lorelai pointed in the direction that the children had ran. Emily looked wistfully towards the activities. The desire to be with her grandchildren at odds with her distaste for the tackiness the Fayre was filled with.

"Oh My God!"

Lorelai turned to see Rory running towards her. She turned eyes wide with concern. "Are you OK Babe?"

Rory skidded to a halt, panting for breath "Pretend we're talking. Hey Grandma."

"Hello Rory. Why are we pretending?" Emily asked curiously.

"We're not really pretending, we're actually talking, unless there is some Inception type thing going on," Lorelai held her hands out to steady Rory. "Are you OK? Do you need be to get the shocky thing?"

"The shocky thing?" Rory straightened and looked at her in confusion.

Lorelai pointed towards the yellow box affixed to the high school. "The defibrillator. It's a stupid word I couldn't think of it."

"Right. OH!" Rory gasped and took a sidestep so she was peering into the crowd of the festival and forced Lorelai to look outwards. "Stay there. I just want to see."

"See what?" Lorelai and Emily said in unison, turning to look.

"Don't!" Rory hissed pulling at their arms to pull their attention back to her. "Don't look."

"Rory?" Lorelai whined. "Babe Mommy needs the context of what is happening." She raised her eyebrow threateningly. "I'll look."

"Ok, ok. Gigi and Brayden they're…"

Behind her, she heard the sound of the kids erupting into elated giggling. Willow was yelling something. She couldn't make out all of it but she could make out enough that she needed to turn to stop them. She pivoted on her heels, ignoring Rory pulling on her arm. "STOP!" she bellowed across the street, making several residents stop as well as Sam and Grace who had come racing out of the festival. Her youngest two stopped on the precipice of the road. The toes of their sneakers hovering over the concrete. "Don't run into the road." Lorelai called to them.

"But Gigi's kissing!" Grace called in excitement.

"That's private," Kitty stated emerging out of the crowd. "She doesn't want any one nosing. It's bad enough Miss Patty saw."

"Yeah," Willow added as she stepped out, holding some hideous looking toy that she had somehow won in the minute they had been in the festival. "You don't tell on people kissing. Even PDA's are private."

"What do you know about PDA's?" Lorelai trotted across the road towards the kids. Rory and Emily at her heels.

Willow gave her a knowing look. "Enough."

"Enough, huh?" Lorelai tugged the bear from her hands. "Why?"

"Why not," Kitty shrugged and took the toy in turn. "It's not like their making out or anything."

"Making out?" The family turned to look at Luke who was approaching holding a diner bag. "Who's making out,"

"Gigi," Grace answered immediately.

"What?" Luke's nostrils flared. "Who…"

"It's nothing bad Daddy," Willow interrupted him staidly. "Gigi did a game and she won so she got excited, so she hugged the library boy. And then they kissed. It was very romantic and out of a story book. They're just holding hands now."

"Library boy?" Luke fumed.

"Easy there Gramps," Lorelai took his bicep. "Gigi's just had a romcom first kiss, in front of the entire town. who are not going to let her forget it. Everyone chill."

"When I get kissed that's how I want to be kissed," Willow gushed, making Luke go a deep shade of purple. "Nothing dumb like spin the bottle."

"What's spin the bottle?" Sam asked innocently.

"Nope. Enough," Luke waved his free hand. "Here," He thrust the bag at Kitty. She opened it excitedly and then looked up at him in dismay. "So you don't buy anything?"

"But its water." Kitty scowled. "I wanna get a slushie."

"No slushie," Luke told her pointing his finger angrily. "It's full and sugar and…"

"Blue and that is why it's good," Lorelai finished. "Just remember the rules Kitty Kat. You puke, you clean it up."

"I know," Kitty grinned devilishly at her. "Come on" She grabbed at Sam's hand. "No staring at Gigi. In fact we should be distraction. Wanna be my Scott Moir?"

"No sexy Dancing with your brother," Lorelai called as the pair ran back into the fun.

"EW Gross!" Kitty called loudly. "I just meant throwing him about a bit."

"Don't…" Luke trailed off seemingly exhausted. "See this is what sugar does."

"This is pre sugar," Lorelai chuckled.

"Come on Grandma," Willow took Emily's hand and started to tug her and Grace into the festival. Athena wove between the trio, her leash in danger of tripping them.

Lorelai kept her hold on Luke's arm keeping him anchored in place.

"I better go do damage control with Miss Patty," Rory grinned, her cheeks flushed a faint pink.

"Some little punk kissed Gigi," Luke muttered quietly.

"She's fourteen. These things happen," Lorelai raised her shoulder furthest from him in a half shrug. "Just take a deep breath and be cool. You'll have plenty to get stressed over later today."

"They really shouldn't have all that sugar," Luke lamented.

"Them. I was talking about me." She pointed towards the donut booth. "They sing to me."

"I thought you were trying to eat a bit better," Luke sighed heavily. Knowing the answer before he'd even finished.

"I'll be a grumpy moody lady next week. I'll be headachy from no sugar and super blamey about the jeans," Lorelai grinned and rested her chin on his shoulder. "It's part of my charm don't you know."

"It's part of something," Luke shook his head.

"You love it really," She leaned forward and kissed him softly on his grizzled jawline. "Come in and be townie. You can throw sponges at Taylor. It's not a stand but there are wet sponges and he's about."

"Sounds fun," Luke placed his arm around her waist. "And if I have to endure this horror, who better to do it with then you."

"That's the spirit Hon. Enduring Horror since 2004." she kissed him on the cheek again. "It's not bad really," she caught his eye, making him finally smile. "Really. Really."

"I guess not" Luke admitted. "Come on then you."

"So Romantic," Lorelai teased letting him guide her between the stands. "Share a donut with me."

"Like you would ever share," Luke snorted.

"Not Donuts. But Everything else," Lorelai repositioned her hold on his arm. His warm strong, best thing in the world arm. The place she felt safest, and loved. "What's mine is yours,"

"Apart from the closet."

"Apart from the closet." Lorelai nodded in agreement. "Oooo Churros!"

Thank you for reading xoxo