The troubadour was playing a song in the street outside the diner when Lorelai, Charlotte and Rory suddenly pushed past him with large backpacks on their backs.

"Coming through! Heavy packs!" Rory exclaimed.

"Out of our way, peace boy!" Lorelai said.

"No offense, we love the song. Carry on!" Charlotte said as they entered the diner and dumped the bags on the floor and sat down at a table.

"Urgh!" Lorelai groaned.

"I've never known such pain!" Rory exclaimed.

"We are so not walking around Europe with those annoying things on our backs. We will never cope!" Charlotte said.

"But we're backpacking through Europe. How are we going to do this without backpacks?" Rory pointed out.

"But all the time we've talked about backpacking, I never actually pictured us with backpacks." Lorelai sighed.

"Well, what were you picturing?" Rory asked.

"Spry, accommodating European men with neat moustaches trailing after us, carrying our luggage, hailing taxi cabs, constantly reminding us how beautiful we are." Lorelai grinned.

"No, it's just the three of us humping our backpacks around." Rory smirked.

"Well, at least my new walking shoes are all broken in. If you count broken skin, broken toes." Lorelai said going to take off her shoes as Luke walked over.

"Don't do that." He said.

"Don't do what?" Lorelai asked.

"Don't take your shoes off. This is a restaurant." Luke said.

"I don't see a 'No shirt, no shoes, no service' sign." Lorelai said.

"It's right here, don't do that." He said.

"We're in pain, Luke!" Charlotte exclaimed.

"Well itt's great that you guys are bearing it so nobly. And can you move these?" He asked gesturing to the backpacks.

"Why are you being so mean? We're in a relationship. You're meant to care!" Lorelai exclaimed dramatically.

"Can you move these?" Luke repeated smirking slightly.

"Can? No." Rory quipped.

"Would if we could? Debatable." Charlotte grinned.

Luke rolled his eyes and moved the backpacks out of the way.

"Wow look at that!" Lorelai said.

"Spry and accommodating." Rory nodded.

"Hey, would you grow a moustache and follow us around Europe?" Lorelai grinned.

"And leave Jess in charge of the diner. No chance." He smirked.

"You think he'd burn the place down?" Lorelai smirked.

"Oh yeah." Luke nodded.

"Hey! That's my boyfriend you're talking about!" Charlotte said indignantly.

"Oh we're just joking, hon." Lorelai said.

"He would totally burn it down though." Charlotte joked.

"Ok, so your graduation is Wednesday at four, correct?" Luke asked Rory and Charlotte.

"You're coming?" Charlotte asked her face lighting up.

"You know you really don't have to." Rory said.

"I want to. I feel like I've been through this whole Chilton thing with you both." Luke smiled.

"Cool!" Charlotte grinned.

"Good, we want you there." Rory smiled.

"Good. So what do you want?" He asked getting his order pad out.

"Are you hungry?" Lorelai asked her daughters.

"I'm just sore." Rory said.

"Me too." Charlotte nodded.

"Let's just go home and rest." Lorelai said getting up with them

"Hey, wait, don't leave these!" Luke said.

"Store them for us!" Charlotte grinned.

"Yeah, until we hire a flatbed truck to carry them home for us." Lorelai said giving him a quick kiss. "Please?"

"No." He said.

"Huh, sleeping with you is getting me nothing." Lorelai said.

"Eww!" Charlotte exclaimed.

"Mom!" Rory exclaimed.

"Oh come on, my feet hurt." Lorelai said leaving the diner. "Carry me?"

"No you carry us!" Charlotte said as her and Rory follow their mom out.

Luke just watched them leave, shaking his head.

"What was that about?" Jess asked appearing next to them.

"We just got had." Luke sighed. "Here, take these upstairs for me." He said handing Jess the backpacks.

At Chilton, students were standing in line to record messages for the video yearbook. One student was going on quite a bit.

"Does she need medical attention?" Charlotte smirked.

"Charlotte!" Rory shook her head.

"She's right though." Paris said standing next to them.

"It's the end of the year, people get nostalgic." Rory said.

"So, how's your valedictorian speech coming along?" Paris asked Charlotte.

"Oh...uh...it's ok. Pretty standard. Boring. No one listens to those things anyhow." Charlotte shrugged.

"Relax, I'm ok with you making valedictorian." Paris said.

"Oh...good, thanks." Charlotte said.

"You work hard. You deserve it." She shrugged.

Charlotte smiled softly. "Thanks Paris."

"Sure. I actually googled the personal histories of Ivy League valedictorians going back twenty-five years and found some enlightening statistics. They don't necessarily do too well in later life, did you know that?" Paris continued.

"No." Charlotte smirked.

"Oh, yeah. A lot of business failures, crumbled marriages, suicides, obesity." Paris said.

"And there's the Paris I know." Charlotte smirked.

"A bunch died in car crashes, several did time, one suffocated when his cat fell asleep on his face." She continued.

"Ok, well, thanks again." Charlotte said.

It was soon Paris' turn to record for the yearbook so she stepped forward. Charlotte and Rory watched as she insisted she needed six minutes.

"I never thought I'd say this but I'm actually going to miss Paris." Charlotte said.

Rory laughed. "Yeah, she's definitely someone who is going to be hard to forget."

"Yeah..." Charlotte said, suddenly turning quiet.

"Are you ok?" Rory asked.

"Yeah, just thinking..."

"About?"

"We're actually going to be moving away from home, away from Stars Hollow, away from..." Charlotte said, stopping. "Well, you know, it's just going to be different."

Rory understood what she was saying. "You and Jess are going to be fine." She said softly.

"It's alright for you. Your boyfriend's following you to Yale!" She retorted.

"Charlie..." She said softly.

"Sorry." Charlotte sighed. "I just...it actually feels real now..."

"You and Jess are strong. You're going to be fine." Rory reassured her. "And we'll visit Stars Hollow and he can always visit you at Yale. You'll still see each other."

"I know...but still..." She shrugged.

Rory put her arm round her. "Hey, you'll still have me!" She said.

Charlotte smiled at her sister. "Yeah." She said softly. "Thanks Ror."

"What are sisters for eh?" Rory smiled.

That evening, Charlotte and Rory were trying on their graduation dresses for Sookie and their mom.

"Maybe we should bring them in a bit more." Sookie suggested.

"Oh sure, but first we'll have to use a medieval torture instrument to crush our ribs and flatten our spinal cord in order to accommodate your sadistic wish there." Charlotte joked.

"Don't use subtlety on us. We're slow." Lorelai said.

"I think she's saying that we don't need to bring them in anymore." Sookie laughed.

"Take them off, you're done." Lorelai said.

"Urgh I should go. I've got that stupid job interview and, well you know, I'm nervous." She said.

"Which place?" Lorelai asked.

"Harrington's in Woodbridge."

"Nice."

"They want me to be their executive chef four nights a week. God, I can't imagine working someplace else. And without my Lorelai!" Sookie sighed.

"But it's only a few months until the Dragonfly opens, right?" Rory said.

"Uh...you haven't told them yet." Sookie said feeling bad.

"Told us what?" Rory asked confused.

"Charlotte knows. Rory doesn't."

"Know what?" Rory exclaimed.

"I was waiting for the right opportunity." Lorelai sighed.

"To tell me what?" Rory repeated. "What's going on?" She turned on Charlotte.

"Oh..uh..." Charlotte said.

"Ok hon, listen. We're not buying the Dragonfly." Lorelai admitted.

"What?" Rory asked.

"It's just not the right time."

"You're crazy. It's the perfect time!"

"Not really."

"But if you wait, someone else is gonna buy it. You said so yourself." Rory said.

"I'm going to go, guys. Sorry to spill the beans." Sookie said.

"That's ok. I'll see you later." Lorelai smiled at her friend.

"Mom, why put it off? I mean, I know the Independence Inn closing is a setback." Rory said.

"Big one." Lorelai nodded.

"But we've got the rest of Grandpa's money, that's plenty to buy the Dragonfly Inn, and we'll just scrimp on everything until it's all up and running and successful." Rory said.

"It would take a lot of scrimping." She sighed.

"Well, I'm a master scrimper. I would make the Olympic scrimping team. I'm that good, boy!"

"Mom didn't get financial aid for Yale." Charlotte said.

"What?" She said surprised.

"Yeah. No scholarships, no hardship money, no money-off coupons, no gift certificates, nothing." Lorelai sighed.

"I don't understand, what happened?"

"Well with your Grandpa's money, it looks like we have money."

"Can't you explain?"

"I tried everything, I promise."

"Why didn't you tell me this? And how come Charlotte knows?" Rory exclaimed.

"I didn't want to put anymore stress on you. You were freaking about your finals." Lorelai explained.

"And I caught mom on the phone to Yale. That's how I found out." Charlotte said.

"But Grandpa's money..." Rory said.

"Is paying for Yale." Lorelai said.

"No! No way!" Rory said.

"Rory..."

"We'll take a student loan out from the bank. That's what banks are for!"

"Honey, I don't want you to be buried by loans the day you graduate from college."

"There has to be another way!"

"I've looked. There's nothing."

"This is so not fair to you!" Rory exclaimed.

"I agree." Charlotte said.

"I'll have my own inn one day, I promise. But Yale comes first." Lorelai said.

"This sucks!" Rory exclaimed getting up and going to her room.

"What are you going to do now?" Lorelai asked.

"Rail at god for a while!"

"Tell her I said hi." Lorelai sighed.

"I'll go." Charlotte said, getting up and following Rory. She went into their room. "Hey.." She said softly.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Rory asked.

"I promised mom I wouldn't." She sighed.

"This isn't fair on her!"

"I know."

"Could have fooled me! You didn't seem that bothered in there." Rory muttered.

"Because I have an idea but I would prefer mom not hear about it until we try it." Charlotte said.

Rory looked up at her sister. "What plan?" She asked.

The following morning, the day of the graduation, the doorbell at the Gilmore Mansion rang. Emily and Richard walked towards the door.

"Who is it, Emily?" Richard asked.

"I don't know, Richard. My x-ray vision isn't working at the moment." She said dryly.

"I was just wondering if you were expecting somebody."

"I wasn't expecting anybody." Emily said opening the door. They were surprised to see Rory and Charlotte on the porch. "Rory, Charlotte!" She said surprised.

"Hey Grandma, hey Grandpa." Charlotte smiled.

"What brings you here on this busy day?" Emily asked.

"We have sort of a time-sensitive issue we need to talk to you about." Rory said.

"Time sensitive? Well, come in, come in." Richard said, letting them in and leading them into the living room.

"We were just getting ready for your ceremony." Emily said.

"And I was just retying my tie for the third time. No matter how many times I tie a tie, there's always room for error." Richard said.

"It's not an exact science, is it?" Charlotte smirked.

"Nor an art form. It's pretty much nothing." Richard nodded.

Charlotte grinned. "Anyway...uh...do you want to sit?" She said.

"Ok." Richard said sitting down on the couch.

"Alright. Should we be nervous?" Emily asked joining Richard.

"No, you shouldn't be. We are a little." Rory said sitting down on the opposite couch with Charlotte.

"Well, what is it?" Emily asked.

"We need money." Rory admitted.

"You need money..." Richard repeated.

"For Yale." Charlotte explained.

"You need money for Yale." Richard repeated.

"Stop repeating everything they say!" Emily said.

"I'm sorry, I'm processing." Richard said.

"Look, it's a long story." Charlotte said. "But no other financing came through and all of the other options that Mom and we have are just...well, not good enough. So here's the offer, we would like for you to loan us the money for four years at Yale and in return we will get a part time job and pay you in installments." She said.

"Yeah and we will continue this payment schedule after graduation increasing the payment amounts in proportion to our income. Plus, we will reinstate Friday night dinners with us. Every Friday night, we will be here, seven o'clock on the dot." Rory said.

"Well, how wonderful." Emily smiled.

"We've missed you both." Richard admitted.

"We've missed you, too. So this should work out for everyone, right?" Charlotte asked.

"Absolutely. We're happy to do it." Emily nodded.

"Not so fast." Richard said.

"Richard!" Emily exclaimed.

"Oh, I'm happy to pay for Yale but I don't want it to be a loan." Richard said.

"No, we don't want that. We want it to be a loan because otherwise it's too easy." Charlotte said.

"Well, then here's my counteroffer. Let's make it a loan but I insist that you not start paying it back until at least five years after you graduate. Seven years if you go for your Master's." He said.

"That sounds fair but we should pay interest." Rory said.

"No."

"Grandpa..."

"You are not going to pay me interest on this money, no way. That's a deal breaker." He said firmly.

Rory exchanged a glance with Charlotte and then turned back to their grandfather. "Ok."

"Good." Richard smiled.

"Wonderful!" Emily exclaimed.

"We have a deal. Listen, if journalism doesn't work out, you might consider working for me after you graduate. You've got good deal-making skills. Eye of the tiger." Richard joked.

"We'll keep that in mind. Well, we should go." Charlotte said getting up with Rory.

"Does your mother know you're here?" Emily asked.

"No. This is our thing. We'll see you at the ceremony." Charlotte smiled before leaving with Rory.

At Chilton, Lorelai, Luke, Sookie and Jackson had found some seats for the ceremony just as Lorelai's pager went off.

"Who's paging you?" Sookie asked.

"Uh...maybe there's a special surprise party for the valedictorian's mom backstage before the ceremony." Lorelai grinned.

"I bet there is." Sookie laughed.

"I'll be right back." She said getting up and heading towards the building. She went inside and Charlotte and Rory immediately walked up to her.

"Mom!" Charlotte smiled. "We've got good news we want to tell you real quick. Come here." She said leading her into the hallway. "Ok, you ready?"

"I hope so, ready for what?" Lorelai asked.

"You're getting your inn." Charlotte grinned.

"What?" Lorelai asked confused.

"Go put in the bid on the Dragonfly. You've got the money now, Grandpa's money." Charlotte said.

"What are you talking about? How do I have money?"

"Grandma and Grandpa are paying for Yale." Rory explained.

"Now wait a minute..."

"We explained the situation, they totally understand, and they're loaning us the money for Yale." Charlotte said.

"When did they approach you about this?" Lorelai asked.

"They didn't. We approached them." Charlotte said.

"No." Lorelai said.

"We just left them now. It's a done deal, so go make the call, put in the bid, before someone else does." Charlotte smiled.

"Girls, do you understand the Gilmores do nothing altruistically? Strings are attached to everything." Lorelai said.

"There are no strings." Rory said.

"No strings?"

"No. We just have to pay them back starting five years after we graduate and we have to start going back for Friday night dinners." Rory said.

"Uh...hello, Pinocchio, those are strings!"

"But it was our idea to resume the dinners and we obligated just us. You are in no way apart of it." Charlotte said. "Mom you've worked so hard your whole life. You deserve to open this inn with Sookie. Please! We want you to. Please, just put in a bid. For us?"

Lorelai sighed. "I can't believe you did this..."

"Go buy your inn." Charlotte smiled.

"Please?" Rory said.

"Fine." Lorelai sighed. She looked at her daughters and had to smile. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Now go!" Charlotte grinned.

"See you out there." Lorelai smiled and left.

"We did it." Charlotte grinned at Rory.

"Yep!" She grinned back.

"Hey there Valedictorian." A familiar voice said.

Charlotte turned round and smiled when she saw Jess stood there.

"I'll see you out there." Rory smiled leaving them to it.

"Hey! How did you get in here?" Charlotte smiled at Jess.

"Pretended I go here." Jess shrugged.

"And they believed you?" She laughed.

"Are you saying I wouldn't fit in here?" He smirked.

"Well..." Charlotte shrugged but grinned and gave him a kiss. "I'm glad you came." She said softly.

"Wouldn't have missed it." He smiled.

"You should get out there. The ceremony is going to start soon." Charlotte said.

"See you after?" He said.

"Definitely." She smiled giving him another kiss and then watching him leave.

Outside, after managing to assure her parents that she had saved seats for them, Lorelai lead them over to the others. "Mom, Dad, you've met everyone here. Sookie, Jackson, Luke and Jess." She smiled seeing that Jess had joined them.

"Hello." Richard smiled at them. "No...uh...no Christopher?" He asked cautiously.

"Uh...no, he's out of town but he's having us tons of pictures and order him the official video and we may even come back and reenact the whole thing when he gets home. Now sit, relax." Lorelai said wanting to get the subject off Christopher. "Sookie, long story short, and a partially painful story at that and hang onto your hat, but we can now put a bid in on the Dragonfly." She whispered to Sookie.

"What? Are you kidding?" Sookie asked excitedly.

"No."

"How? What happened?"

"I can't go into it now." Lorelai said.

"Ok, I've got to tell you, even with the champagne and the Herb Albert, I've been depressed for days." Sookie admitted.

"Well, that's all changed now." Lorelai said.

"I'll go call the attorney. You sit back and relax and enjoy the graduation." Sookie smiled getting up.

Just then the students started to file out of the school and take their seats. Lorelai spotted Charlotte and Rory sitting down next to Tristan and Paris and smiled at how grown up her daughters look.