Two weeks had passed since Jess has left town. The first week, Charlotte barely left the house apart from going to school. She was devastated. She couldn't even look at the diner because it reminded her too much of Jess. However, soon her sadness turned to anger. How could he just leave without even saying goodbye? How could he just bail on her? Did she really mean that little to him?

This one morning, Charlotte and Rory were following Lorelai down the sidewalk who was taking them somewhere for breakfast. Since Jess had left, Lorelai and Rory had been careful not to go to the diner when Charlotte was with them.

"Where is this place?" Rory asked.

"It's not too far." Lorelai said.

"You've been saying that for miles." Rory pointed out.

"It has not been miles." Lorelai said.

"My feet are sore!" Rory whined. "Aren't your feet sore?" She turned to her sister but Charlotte had stopped and was looking over at the diner. "Charlie..." Rory said softly.

"Sorry what?" Charlotte said taking her gaze away from the diner.

"Are you ok?" Rory asked softly.

"I'm fine. Why?" Charlotte said.

"You were just staring at the diner. I know these past two weeks have been really hard..." Rory said.

"I'm fine. I'm over him." Charlotte said quickly.

"That's not true." Rory said. "You love him. I've never seen you this happy since you met Jess."

"Loved him." Charlotte said. "Loved. He left. He obviously doesn't care about me at all so why should I give him a second thought?"

"Why don't you try contacting him?" Rory asked cautiously.

"How?" Charlotte said. "He doesn't have a cell. He was against them. And I have no idea where he is."

"You could ask Luke? Maybe he's heard from him? Jess might have an explanation."

"Yeah if he had an explanation, he would have talked to me before leaving." Charlotte said bitterly. She sighed. "Rory, look, I know you're trying to help but just stop. Please. I can't...I just can't cope with this right now."

Rory sighed. "Ok. Sorry." She said. "Mom, where is this place?" She then groaned.

"Come on, it's not much further." Lorelai said.

"We're not heading toward any businesses of any kind." Rory said but then nearly walked straight into their mom as she stopped. "Mom!"

"We have arrived." Lorelai grinned.

"Arrived where?" Rory said.

"You have no shame." Charlotte smirked.

"Come on, let's go have breakfast!" Lorelai grinned and Charlotte and Rory followed their mom into Sookie and Jackson's house.

********************************

That evening, Lorelai was studying at the kitchen table as Rory and Charlotte walked out of their bedroom.

"How's it going?" Charlotte asked.

"I hate these books, hate them!" Lorelai exclaimed.

"So good then?" Charlotte smirked.

"Your books don't hate you." Rory said.

"Urgh, my brain is full! It has reached capacity! I can't do this anymore." Lorelai exclaimed.

"Now you're just being dramatic." Charlotte said.

"I simply can't ingest anymore information." Lorelai groaned.

"So take a break." Rory suggested.

"I don't have time." Lorelai sighed.

"Then I'll make some coffee." Charlotte said.

"I hate finals." She grumbled.

"Nobody likes finals." Rory said.

"Thank god I'm graduating and this is the last time I have to cram like this because my pursuit of higher education has led me to a very interesting discovery about myself. Do you want to know what it is?" Lorelai said.

"Sure." Rory said.

"I despise academics. Learning, knowledge, it's all worthless. I have no idea in what you two see in any of it." She said.

"Learning is fun, plus for us there's that whole 'We're minors so it's mandatory' thing." Rory said.

"That's what kills me! I brought this on myself!" Lorelai exclaimed.

"That diploma hanging on the wall is going to make this all worthwhile." Charlotte said.

"I guess..." She sighed.

"Hey, you're graduating!" Charlotte suddenly said.

"I know." Lorelai said.

"No. You're graduating! There's going to be a ceremony!" Charlotte said excitedly.

"Oh, I don't know. It's community college." Lorelai said.

"Community colleges have ceremonies." Rory commented.

"My community college doesn't even have a lawn, they won't necessarily have a ceremony."

"They must. Did you ask?" Charlotte asked.

"No. Well, now that you mention it, I think someone said something about some cheesy ceremony for my business class." Lorelai admitted.

"When is it?" Charlotte asked.

"I don't know...next Thursday or something."

"That's great! You have to do it!" Charlotte said excitedly.

"I don't know..."

"Please mom! I want to see you graduate. You worked so hard for this! Please do it!" Charlotte begged.

Lorelai looked at her daughter's excited face. She hadn't seen Charlotte this much like her old self since everything happened with Jess. "Well, ok. I'll do it." She said.

"Yes!" Charlotte grinned.

"Cool! Who do you want to invite?" Rory said.

"I don't know, you two." Lorelai said.

"And?" Rory asked.

"That's cool with me." Lorelai shrugged.

"Sookie and Jackson?" Charlotte suggested.

"Aw yeah ok, that'll be fun." Lorelai smiled actually getting excited by it now.

"Ok. And Grandma and Grandpa?" Rory asked.

"Oh, no! No no no!" Lorelai said quickly.

"Come on, it's your graduation. They should be there." Rory said.

"Forget it." Lorelai shook her head.

"But..." Rory protested.

"They won't want to be there."

"Of course they will!" Rory said.

"Rory, I was supposed to graduate from high school. Go to Vassar. Marry a Yale man. This is nothing compared to this. They won't want to be there.

"Yeah but..." Rory said.

"Instead, I got pregnant, I didn't finish high school, I didn't marry your father and I ended up in a career that they think is beneath me. I humiliated them. The two proudest people in the world and I humiliated them. I spoiled their plans. I took their fine upbringing in a world of comfort and opportunity and I threw it in their faces. I broke their hearts and they'll never forgive me. I guess I can't expect them to." Lorelai said quietly.

"But maybe you're wrong about how they feel about all this? It was a long time ago." Rory insisted.

"Please Rory, I don't want them to go. It'll just hurt them...and me, ok?" Lorelai said.

Rory sighed. "Ok. You should get back to your studying." She said.

"Here's your coffee." Charlotte said.

"Thanks." Lorelai said.

Charlotte followed Rory into the living room. "You're so going to invite Grandma and Grandpa anyway, aren't you?" She said.

"They will want to be there. Mom's wrong. It would mean a lot to them and to mom." Rory said.

"I knew it." Charlotte smirked.

"I'm going to go ask them tomorrow morning before school. Want to come with?" Rory asked.

"Fine. For mom, why not?" Charlotte agreed.

"Great!" Rory smiled.

********************************

The following morning, Charlotte and Rory were stood outside their grandparents' house. They rang the doorbell and waited. Emily soon answered the door.

"Hi Grandma." Rory smiled.

"Rory, Charlotte!" Emily smiled.

"Thanks for seeing us on such short notice." Rory said.

"I'm thrilled to see you both on no notice. So, tell me, what's this about? You were so mysterious on the phone." Emily said as they went through to the dining room where the table was lavishly set.

"We just wanted to talk to you about something in person." Rory said as her and Charlotte sat down at the table with their grandparents.

"Firstly, how is your arm Charlotte?" Emily asked.

"Oh, it's fine thanks." Charlotte smiled politely.

"I can't believe that hoodlum did that to you. Thank god he's gone!" Emily said.

"Anyway..." Rory said seeing Charlotte's expression. "Grandma, Grandpa, we would like to propose an idea to you." She said, receiving a grateful smile from Charlotte.

"Yeah. Now, you can go for it or not, it's entirely up to you, but we would like for you to promise us that you will not get upset." Charlotte said.

"We won't get upset." Emily said.

"And that you will try to keep an open mind." Rory added.

"Alright." Emily said.

"And that you will let us finish our presentation completely before you respond." Rory continued.

Emily turned to Richard and smirked slightly. "They've been hanging around you far too much." She said.

"Rory, Charlotte, we accept your terms. Please proceed." Richard said.

"Thank you. First, let me start by saying that Mom doesn't know that we're here." Rory said. "She'd probably be pretty mad if she knew that we were, but we feel that this is important. As you know, Mom's been going to business school at the community college out here for three years now."

"I believe she's mentioned it, yes." Emily said.

"Well, she's doing very well and she's finishing up." Charlotte said. "Really well. Actually, she's graduating Thursday, and there's going to be a ceremony and I think it would mean a lot to her if you guys were there. It may not seem like it would, but it's true."

"Well, if it would mean so much to her then why didn't she invite us herself?" Emily said stiffly.

"Because she didn't think you'd want to go." Charlotte said. "And we get that, but we think it's a mistake. She's graduating and she's worked extremely hard to get to where she is now. Now, if the thought of going to Mom's graduation upsets you or makes you unhappy or uncomfortable in any way, then please, don't go because this is an important night for Mom and if you go, you should go under the right circumstances."

Rory pulled an envelope out of her backpack. "These are the tickets. It's Thursday, 7pm. It's indoors so weather's not an issue. You can use them or not, no hard feelings, do what you feel is best. And if you don't mind, we would really appreciate it if you would keep this conversation between the four of us."

"Beatrice, the tea, please." Emily said.

Charlotte and Rory smiled at each other and proceed to tuck into some of the food on the table.

********************************

That evening, Lorelai was celebrating having finished her last final by watching some tv with Rory and Charlotte and eating lots of junk food. The phone rang as they were sat on the couch.

"I'll get it." Rory said.

"Hey, now if that's Mick Jagger, hang up and blow that whistle I gave you." Lorelai said.

Rory rolled her eyes. "Hello?" She answered.

"Hi." A familiar voice came through the phone.

Rory froze and glanced over to the couch where Charlotte was sitting joking with her mom. "Uh..hi.." She said shocked.

"Is this a bad time?"

"Uh...no...just hold on a sec." Rory said. "Uh it's Lane. She needs some friend support." She told her mom and Charlotte. "I'll be right back." She said going to their room and closing the door. "Jess..." She said into the phone.

"Hey..." He said.

"What...why...where are you?" Rory asked.

"New York." He said.

"You went back to New York?" She asked surprised.

"Had nowhere else to go." Jess said.

"You could have stayed here!" Rory exclaimed.

"I couldn't." He said.

"What do you mean you couldn't?" Rory exclaimed. "What are you even doing in New York anywhere?"

"Nothing much. Hanging out in the park." He said.

"Central Park?" Rory asked.

"Washington Square Park." Jess said.

"Oh." Rory said. She realised she was getting distracted. "Why did you leave Jess? Are you coming back?"

"I should go. This is long distance." Jess said avoiding the question.

"Jess!" Rory exclaimed.

"Bye Rory." Jess said hanging up.

"Urgh!" Rory groaned throwing the phone onto her bed. She didn't get it. Why did he leave? Why did he call the house and why didn't he mention Charlotte at all?

"Are you ok?" Charlotte asked coming in.

"What? Oh yeah, sorry. I promised Lane I would do that for her. She's annoyed with her mom." Rory said.

"When is she not?" Charlotte joked.

Rory laughed nervously. "Yeah true..."

"Are you sure you're ok?" Charlotte asked.

"I'm fine." Rory said. "Come on, let's go finish the programme." She said going back out to the living room.

"Ok..." Charlotte said confused, following her.

********************************

Charlotte, Rory and Paris were walking towards the Chilton building. Paris was going on about something that had happened with her advisor. Charlotte had zoned out but she was brought back to reality when she heard Paris speak again.

"My locker's this way." Paris said.

Charlotte turned to see that Rory had stopped walking and was obviously deliberating something. "Are you ok?" She asked.

"Yeah. I just, I just remembered something. I need to call mom quickly. I'll meet you both inside." Rory said.

"Ok." Charlotte shrugged.

Rory watched her sister follow Paris into the building before turning round and walking back out of the gates.

********************************

Lorelai was at the inn when her cell phone rang. "Hello?" She answered.

"Hey Lor, how you doing?" Chris replied.

"Chris! I'm good, I'm excited." Lorelai smiled.

"You should be, it's a big day. Did you get my present?" He smiled.

"What present?" Lorelai asked.

"A basket. You should have gotten it by now." He said.

"Hey, did a basket come for me?" Lorelai asked Michel.

"Mmm, it came, it was heavy, I felt a twinge so I dropped it for health reasons. It's probably still intact." Michel answered dryly.

"My crack staff has just informed me of its arrival. I'm going to find it." She said walking into the lobby to find a basket on the table. "Wow!" She exclaimed.

"I put it together myself." Chris said proudly.

"And it's all for me?" Lorelai grinned.

"All for you." He said.

"Chris...wow." She said starting to look through it. "Ha! A twenty-five dollar savings bond." She said.

"That's a long-term investment. Don't touch it for thirty years, you're looking at forty-five dollars." He joked.

"Ooh, a youth hostel card!"

"For the young girl who doesn't mind sharing a bathroom with fifty strangers."

"Thanks!" Lorelai laughed. "And something in a nice little velvet box." She said opening it. "Ooh, a necklace, and the pearl almost looks real."

"Well it better look very real, because it is." Chris said.

"That's not funny." She said.

"This is not a funny gift." He said.

"Christopher, this is extremely not funny. This is totally humorless. It's...it's beautiful." She said softly.

"I think you're awesome, Lor." He said softly. "With everything you do and raising Rory and Charlotte the way you did. You're superwoman."

"Wow." Lorelai said softly. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Chris smiled. "Talking of our kids, how's Charlotte? Still no word from Jess?" He asked.

"Nope, no word from Jess." Lorelai sighed. "Oh Chris, you should have seen her the first week. She was devastated. It was like her life was over. She wouldn't leave the house." She said.

"Really?" Chris asked.

"Yeah. It was...horrible to watch. I just don't know why Jess did that to her. No one blamed him for that accident, I was really starting to warm to him and now I hate him again for bailing on Charlotte. She didn't deserve this." Lorelai said.

"No she didn't." Chris said. "Well, maybe she's better off without him right?"

"Maybe." Lorelai sighed.

"Give her a hug from me. And Rory too of course." Chris said. "Have a great day. I wish I could be there. Take lots of pictures for me."

"Urgh, the camera! I forgot the camera!" Lorelai groaned.

"Look in the basket."

Lorelai looked in the basket and pulled out a disposable camera. "Oh, you thought of everything." She grinned.

"Have a great night." Chris smiled.

"Thanks, you too." Lorelai smiled. "Bye Chris." She said softly.

"Bye Lor." He smiled before hanging up.

********************************

Rory walked through Washington Square Park and spotted Jess sat on a bench reading. She took a deep breath before walking up to him. "Hi." She said. Jess looked up and was surprised to see Rory. He suddenly panicked and started looking around. "She's not here." Rory said quickly.

Jess relaxed a bit. "What are you doing here?" He asked.

"I'm here for answers. You can't avoid my questions when I'm right here next to you." She said.

"Rory..." Jess sighed.

"I'm serious! Why did you leave Jess?" She exclaimed.

"Are you hungry?" Jess asked.

"What?" Rory said confused.

"I know a place. Are you hungry?" He repeated.

"Starved." She admitted.

"Good, let's go then." He said getting up.

"Jess!" Rory exclaimed.

"Look, you want answers? I need food first." Jess said.

"Fine." Rory relented and started following him.

A while later, they were walking down the street towards wherever Jess was taking them.

"I feel very urban today." Rory joked.

"Oh yeah, the plaid just screams urban." Jess joked, glad that Rory was trying to ease some of the tension. He had to admit, he was surprised Rory didn't hate him.

"I think I look like a native." Rory said.

"How well do you know Manhattan?" Jess raised his eyebrows.

"I've been here a few times. We saw The Bangles here." Rory grinned.

"When was that, twenty years ago?" He smirked.

"It was a reunion and they were great." Rory grinned.

"Yeah, they're ok." Jess said.

"And a couple years ago Mom drove us to shop here, and she couldn't find a good parking place and all of the parking lots were a total rip-off, so she kept making U-turns and cutting off taxis and we were being screamed at in so many different languages that we just turned around and drove home." Rory said.

"How very adventurous." He smirked.

"I'm just saying I'm no stranger to the Big Apple." Rory joked.

"You are if you're calling it the Big Apple."

"So I don't have the lingo down yet, but at least I have the attitude."

"You do, huh?"

"Oh yeah!" She nodded. "When I was getting a locker for my backpack at the bus stop, there was this guy and he was just standing there staring at me and instead of ignoring him I just fixed him with a really withering stare."

"That I've got to see." Jess chuckled.

"No." Rory said.

"Oh come on, let me see your withering stare." He smirked.

"It's dangerous. I could hurt you." Rory said.

"I've been hurt before." Jess said but stopped when he realised what he had said. "So here's our lunch place." He said quickly.

"A hot dog stand?" Rory asked.

"Hey, I eat here everyday. It's nothing fancy, but..." He said.

"No, I love it. It's perfect." Rory smiled.

"Good." He said. He turned to the hot dog vendor. "One with everything on it, please." He said.

"Make that two, please." Rory said.

They then went and sat down on a bench back in the park. "So...uh...how's...?" He started asking but then stopped.

"Charlotte?" Rory asked.

"Luke..." Jess bottled out.

"Oh." Rory said. "He's ok. I think." She said starting to frown.