#alt end of season 5 into sesson 6 of gg

[wonderlandleighleigh]

"Pssst."

Rory whirls around, away from Logan, only to come face to face with Midge Maisel.

"Midge!?"

The dock had been empty just a moment ago, but now there's Midge, and Lenny, along with a few other people she doesn't quite recognize, except-

"Is that Shy Baldwin?!"

Logan turns around, then, looking a little caught out. "Uh...Mrs. Maisel. Hello."

"That's Mrs. Schneider to you," Midge corrects him.

"I was promised more booze and a cut throat card game on a boat," a shorter woman complain. "That hasn't happened yet, and my patience is wearing fucking thin."

The other man with them, who is neither Shy or Lenny, chuckles and hands her a flask.

"Bless you, Reggie," Lenny says. "Susie gets for cranky very easily."

"Fuck you, Bruce."

"My point stands."

"What are you two doing here?" Midge asks Rory.

"Logan's sister was having a party and we...and I..." the younger woman looks around, a little lost. "I..."

Midge nods in understanding and takes her hand. "You come with us, honey. We'll fix you a nice cocktail and you can get some air out on the water." She looks at Logan. "She'll catch up with you later."

Logan opens his mouth to argue, but Susie beats him to it.

"You heard Miriam. Get lost, you little shit."

"We will return her safe and sound," Lenny promises. "If not to you, then to her mother."

Logan looks to Rory, lips pressed into N unhappy frown. "Ace?"

She takes a breath. "It's okay. I'll call you later."

Shy waves him off as he hops onto the yacht that Logan had intended for them to steal. "All aboard the Natural Harmony."

Rory waves to Logan as she lets herself be pulled into the yacht.

*****

"So," Reggie says as he puffs on a cigar, looking at his cards. "Your boyfriend's father, who gave you an internship at one of his papers, told you you were not good enough to be a journalist."

Rory nods uncomfortably, looking away. "Yes."

"Mitchum Huntzberger, who expects his son to follow in his footsteps, including marrying a gold-digging trophy wife instead of finding a woman of substance," Lenny grumbles.

Rory frowns at him.

"Men like Mitchum do not value worldly women," Lenny goes on. "And he certainly doesn't want one for a daughter-in-law."

"Also your mother is poor," Susie adds.

"What?" Rory snaps. "No, she's-"

"By his standards she is," Susie interrupts her. "I've visited Stars Hollow. I've seen your house. In Huntzberger's world, your mother is dirt fucking poor, even if by reality's standards, she does fine."

"The point is," Shy cuts in as he parks the yacht not too far from the dock, but far enough to get some of that wonderful sea air Midge had promised. "That this man's motivations for trying to crush your self confidence have very, very little to do with your abilities, and have everything to do with the fact that he doesn't like that you are dating his son."

"Listen to Shy," Lenny says. "And if you're not willing to listen to Shy, listen to the man who has been proofreading your work for a decade." He grins at her kindly. "There is always room for improvement. Always. No one is perfect. But your work is solid. You've worked hard for that solidity. One old, coke-adled fuckwit's opinion should not be a factor in your decision-making process."

"Coke-adled?'" Rory asks, confused.

"Never you mind, my darling," Lenny assures her.

"I am making sidecars," Shy announces. "Who wants one?"

"Rory does," Midge announces, wrapping an arm around her and hugging her gently. "And so do I."

"Is there whiskey?" Susie asks.

"There is always whiskey," Shy promises.

Rory bites her lip before getting to her feet and carefully walking over to Shy. "Mr. Baldwin?"

"Yes?" He asks without looking up from his bar tending. "Did you want something different? I could make you an old fashioned, or-"

"Logan- my biyfriend...he and I were...I'm sorry. I...I just felt so out of control and I felt like I needed to do something crazy and out of control to feel in control again and today was just so awful and I...we...we were planning on stealing your yacht. I'm really sorry."

Shy looks up at her and chuckles softly. "Oh, I know." He pours a sidecar into a coup glass and hands it off to her. "Isn't this so much better?"

Rory smiles gratefully and nods as she takes the drink.

"Do you want my opinion?" Shy asks as he pours another, and hands it off to Midge.

Rory takes a sip of her drink. "Yes, I do."

"People are always going to say and do and think what they want," he says as he opens an expensive bottle of whiskey. "No matter what you say and do and think. The only way to get what you want in this world is to believe and invest in yourself, and ignore all the bullshit."

"Here, here," Midge crows.

"Besides," Reggie comments as he wins a hand. "What's one stuffy white dude's opinion, steeped in ulterior motives, against Lenny Fucking Bruce telling you how good you are?"

The group laughs at that, including Rory.

"You know what you need?" Midge says.

"What?" Rory frowns.

"A fucking break," the older woman answers. "Tomorrow. You and me. Spa day. Nails, hair, facials, fancy lunch. You'll feel like a new woman."

Rory beams. "That sounds amazing. I mean...it really sounds great. I just..." she looks around at the water, her face crumbling a little. "I can't remember the last time I had a break."

Susie watches, eyes wide in concern. "Gimme your phone."

"What-"

"Phone," Susie repeats, holding out a hand.

Rory hands it over.

"Midge, who am I adding to the fuck off tomorrow text message?" Susie asks.

"The mother, the grandparents, Logan the boyfriend, Paris and Lane the best friends," Midge rattles off.

Susie nods and gets to work.

"I don't know how you work that shit so fast," Shy marvels. "I can't text for crap."

"That's because you're the talent," Reggie reminds him. "Us managers, we had to figure it out and fast."

"Good evening - Rory will be out of reach all day tomorrow. She'll be having a spa day with Mrs. Maisel. Unless someone has died you can kindly fuck off until Sunday.

Sincerely,

The scheduling department of Susie Myerson and Associates."

"You can't send that!" Rory cries.

"Oops, finger slipped," Susie responds, having already sent it.

"Susie!" Rory huffs. "Now all of them are going to be worried and start-"

The texts flood in after that, and the cell phone rings. Midge snatches it and answers.

"Lorelai, she's fine," Midge says automatically. "Tell everyone she's fine and she just needs a break. Because she needs a break. No, now isn't a good time, but Lenny and I have her, and we'll bring her home in a couple of hours. I'll pick her up for our spa day early tomorrow. Okay? ...okay. bye, sweetie."

Midge hangs up and hands the phone back to Rory. "They can all wait."

Rory nods, tempted to look at the texts from Logan and Paris, but winds up looking at Lane's response instead.

"Omg have so much fun. Can't wait to hear all about it! Talk to you Sunday!!!"

She smiles.

*****

She gets home and her mother is waiting for her.

"I'm worried," Lorelai tells her. "That text had me really, really worried."

Rory nods and sits next to her on the couch. "Yeah. I uh...I know. I just...i think the pressure is really getting to me. Like really, really getting to me."

"So, spa day?" Lorelai inquires.

"Spa day," Rory confirms. "No Logan. No school stuff. Just...spa day."

"You wanna fill me in on whats going on?" Lorelai presses. "You're home in one piece, dropped off by people i trust, I promise I won't be mad."

Rory takes a breath. "I almost stole a yacht tonight. Because...because I feel like I'm losing my mind. But it was Shy Baldwin's yacht, and we ran into him and Midge and Lenny and Susie and Reggie before we could, and...they chased Logan away, and...and...Mom, I think I'm just...breaking. I'm breaking."

"Oh, hon," Lorelai says sympathetically. "I'm so glad you didn't steal a yacht. But also, if you're losing it, let's...let's plan something fun for the summer. Let's get outta here. Get you away from all the stress. We can hit the beach or go to the city. We can do our rollercoaster tour early. We don't have to wait for graduation. Whatever you need."

Rory sniffles and nods, resting her head on her mother's shoulder. "Thanks."

"Thanks for telling me."

Rory nods and wipes her eyes.