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There weren't many good things Lorelei Gilmore could say about Boston. It held no particularly fond memories, no fantastic events. If anything, the city had seen a few of her more vulnerable moments, the kind that she tried to keep anyone from ever seeing. But there was one good thing about the city on which she could rely: Only Christopher knew her here.

Christopher was out of town.

She'd called and doubled checked three times.

Which meant, for all intents and purposes, she was alone and friendless in Boston, and while that might have sounded like the beginnings of some tragic country and western song, it was exactly how Lorelei Gilmore wanted it.

Tonight, she had snuck out of Stars Hollow and away from her life. Here, in Boston, she was bound and determined to do something crazy. It felt like the only way to counteract the already beyond crazy life she was leading.

Luke had a daughter. The wedding was postponed. Once everyone else found out, they would react in the same way Sooki had – blaming her.

You run out on one engagement and suddenly you're  in a Julia Roberts movie.

Except Luke wasn't Richard Gere and tonight, Lorelei wanted anything but Mr. Right. She was willing to settle for Mr. Right Now, or whomever else decided to show up.

She parked her jeep at a public garage and tucked the ticket securely into her purse. With that little bit of planning done, she executed the rest of her plan: Wander.

Wander until she found a bar, or a club, or some form of excitement that she hadn't been able to indulge in in longer than she could remember. There had been brief reprieves since Rory had been born 21 years earlier. A weekend here and there for some form of debauchery. Mild and tame compared to the life she had planned on having all those years ago, when following the Bangles around and trying to have Bono's love child were all that mattered. Being an adult had taken a toll and the cost had come in her more prurient carefree nature, channeled much more appropriately into "fun Mom" behavior.

Tonight, however, was different. Tonight she wasn't a mother, or a daughter, or a fiancé. Tonight, she was Lorelei, the Lorelei she had been forced to shut away all those long years ago, and she was on a mission to enjoy her brief moment of freedom.

The bar was upscale, nestled next to a high-rise hotel, with premium bottles lined up in front of shinning mirrors and deep mahogany wood. It wasn't the place to find raucous fun, but the comfort and ease of the patrons and the pull of good vodka lured her in the door.

One drink, she promised herself. One drink and then she would be off for her night of fun and cheap booze. Inside was warm, making her take her heavy black coat off as she walked toward the bar, in a less than seductive, but still tempting, half striptease that more than one customer noticed. It was hard not to when the outfit she was wearing underneath was revealed. Tailored black pants and a deep crimson halter like blouse accentuated curves that a lifetime of eating pure sugar had never managed to expand.

She took a seat at the end of the bar and smiled as the bartender walked toward her. Her eyes scanned the shelves expectantly until she found what she wanted.  "Wyborowa on the rocks." The bartender's eyebrows shot up in mild amusement. The woman sitting across from him was no wanna-be socialite here to order cosmos and talk about cheap sex with her girlfriends. This woman knew her vodka and was serious about ordering it. He smiled, the sexy smile only bartenders can get away with, and moved to pour her the drink, making it a double at no charge. Lorelei smiled pleasantly back, but offered nothing more than cash across the bar with a murmured, "keep it."

The first sip of vodka was divine as the cool liquid slid down her throat with a pleasant and welcome burn. She knew the physiological reaction took some time, but mentally, she felt everything in her body relax. The second was just as good, and by the third, her body had begun to hum. So much so that she was beginning to reconsider her plan to wander, and flirting with the idea of moving into the bar on a permanent basis.

A rustle of movement caught her attention. Turning, she watched as a blonde sat down two seats over, sinking into the high back bar stools with a sigh and grimace. The bartender came over, smiling the same sexy smile, but Lorelei could tell it had even less effect on the blonde beside her than it had on her.

"Connemara, neat."

Lorelei eyed the blonde curiously. Well tailored dark suit, thin, and beautiful, with a briefcase placed beside the bar stool. Everything about the other woman screamed lawyer, and yet that wasn't scaring her away. If anything, it intrigued her more, especially given her choice of drink. The finest Irish whiskey ordered without the blink of an eye.

Lorelei watched from the corner of her eye as the blonde took a long gulp of the whiskey, and then another, until it was gone, and held the glass back out for a refill. Lorelei smiled. For once, someone else was having a worse day than she was. It was horrible to think, and even worse to feel good about, but she just couldn't help herself. She also couldn't help but me impressed with the way the whiskey was so efficiently dealt with.

Trying to make up somehow for her erstwhile thought, she turned to the blonde and smiled. "Bad day?"

The blonde didn't turn, but Lorelei could see the slight wince on her face. "You could say that." Slowly, the blonde took another long drink, and then turned to face Lorelei. "You ever have one of those days where nothing goes right?" Lorelei nodded. "Imagine having one of those for weeks at a time."

"I know the feeling. Been having those kind of days myself lately."

"In that case, you need another drink." The blonde waived the bartender back over and motioned to Lorelei's drink. "Another one of those for my friend here, she needs to catch up." Lorelei's protest was waved off, and within seconds, another crystal clear splash of liquor was being poured into her glass.

"Thanks. I'm Lorelei by the way," she said, offering the other woman her hand. It was returned in a heartbeat with a half smile.

"Denise."

"Nice to meet you Denise."

"You too Lorelei."

"So, is it life or work giving you the hard time?" Lorelei asked pleasantly, sliding one seat closer to Denise.

"Life."

"Ah, of course." No one drank like that because of work. And if they did, they needed a better job. Lorelei didn't ask the follow up question, but both women knew what the next step of conversation was.

Denise took another drink, then smiled sadly. "My boyfriend went to St. Moritz."

"With another woman?"

"I wish." Denise laughed. "No, if it was that, then I would at least be able to hate him."

"Why can't you do that now?"

Denise took another long gulp of whiskey. "Because he's dying."

"Oh. Wow." Lorelei could find nothing more to say, everything sounding woefully inadequate in her mind, and so she chose to stop talking. Thankfully, Denise continued.

"He has lung cancer, and he said he was leaving to go into some cancer trial, but in truth he's going off to die alone, and there's nothing I can do about it. And the thing that is really pissing me off right now is that I let myself get this involved when I knew he was dying. And for God's sake, I feel like I'm in a bad Julia Robert's movie."

Lorelei couldn't help but laugh, the kind of mirthless, pitiful sound of those somehow still surprised by the curves of life. "Wow, and I was gonna let the Dying Young reference drop. I thought I was the only one having that kind of day." Lorelei said, cynically amused and depressed all at the same time.

"Oh yeah? What movie are you living through?" Denise asked, clearly spent of discussing her own life.

"Seems to be a mix of Runaway Bride and Stepmom." Denise's raised eyebrows bid Lorelei to continue. "My fiancé found out he has a 12 year old daughter two months ago and just told me, and because he is so overwhelmed with everything going on, we decided to post pone the wedding until things settled down."

"We?" Denise repeated, picking up easily on the strain in Lorelei's voice.

"More like he."

"Kind of figured that." Denise waved the bartender back over for another refill of their glasses. "So, what are you doing out tonight? Did you break up with him?"

"No, not at all, I just..." Lorelei trailed off, trying to find the words to explain.

"Wanted to have something for yourself for once?" Denise provided.

"Yeah."

"Because it's not that you don't understand that what they are going through is terrible and confusing, but for once, it would be nice if someone paid attention to you."

"Exactly."

Both women were silent for a long time.

Finally, it was Denise who spoke. "Do you come here often?" Coming from anyone else, any other time, it would have sounded like a pick up line, but Lorelei could see the genuine interest in the blonde's eyes. "I'm in here often enough to have not seen you before."

"No. I live in Connecticut. I own an inn there," she explained. "You're a lawyer?"

"How'd you guess?" Denise asked ruefully, casting a baleful glance down at her suit and breifcase.

"Just had a feeling," Lorelei teased.

Denise smiled, really smiled, for the first time since sitting down, and Lorelei was caught for a moment at how much the movement changed her face and lightened her entire demeanor. Still, there was a sadness, a weariness in her eyes that couldn't be covered up.

"So, Lorelei from Connecticut, what are you doing so far from home? There aren't bars in..."

"Stars Hollow," Lorelei supplied.

"There aren't bars in Stars Hollow?" Denise finished, then did a double take. "Stars Hollow?"

Lorelei nodded to reaffirm, smirking slightly at Denise's look of disbelief. "Actually, no there aren't any bars in Stars Hollow. And to answer the question you were really asking – I didn't want to be somewhere people would know me."

"Ah, well then, Boston is a pretty good place to escape to."

"It's working out well so far." Lorelei smiled. To her surprise, Denise smiled again, and this time it reached her eyes. Along with something else.

"Seems like it." It took Lorelei a moment to identify the look on Denise's face, to trace it through her memory to a similar occurrence, but when it finally clicked, it made her blush, not only from the reason, but her corresponding response of desire. Denise still hadn't looked away, and if anything, Lorelei's blush had only made her stare harder. Denise had the distinct feeling that the brunette was not someone who flustered like this easily. "So, what are the rest of your plans for the night? You're not planning on driving all the way back to Stars Hollow this late are you?"

Lorelei waited until Denise turned back to her drink before answering. "I didn't have a plan, really. I was just going to wander."

"Would you like to wander some place a little more comfortable?"

And there it was.

Lorelei sat, openly considering Denise's offer and all it implied. She had come to Boston looking to do something crazy, and the opportunity had more than presented itself. Something in Denise pulled at her, whispering promises that tonight, just one night, it was okay to let go of reality. Really let go.

"I'd love to."

* * * * *

Lorelei imagined that if she ever got the chance to relive her life again, this would have been moved up to the top of her list of things to definitely do over. And over. And Over.

Why the hell she had waited so long to do it before now she couldn't imagine.

Roughly, Denise pressed her against the back of the hotel room door, both of them falling slightly as the door shut firmly into place, but neither noticing. Denise's hands shoved the coat off Lorelei's shoulder, as they continued to kiss, their mouths warring for some form of domination. It wasn't until Lorelei pushed Denise's hands away just enough to reach up and undo the clasp keeping her halter top up that the blonde realized it wasn't a war. It was a conquest.

"Have you ever-" Denise faltered.

"Don't ask that." Lorelei answered quickly with a shake of her head. "Don't make me think about what I'm doing. I don't want to think."

"Are you sure?" Lorelei didn't speak. She simply took Denise's hand and pressed it between her thighs. The heat Denise found there, and the corresponding look in Lorelei's eyes was enough confirmation. With a nearly feral groan, Denise pulled the other woman toward her, before stumbling further into the room toward the bed.

Lorelei let the blonde take control, in fact, yearned for her to take control, and to take her. Every once in a while it was nice to give up control to someone else, to not have to take responsibility for everything. To ease the world from her shoulders. Spinning them both, she turned to press Denise back against the wall, shoving the suit jacket and blouse from her shoulders, heedless of the buttons she could hear popping in the distance of her mind. "Clothes. Off. Now," she managed to mutter between kisses, her hands pushing at any loose material between their bodies.

Denise willingly complied. Fisting her hands in Lorelei's dark locks, she pulled the brunette toward her into a fiery kiss before breaking away long enough to push Lorelei back onto the bed. In seconds the rest of her suit was tossed to the floor, hopelessly forgotten and certain to wrinkle. With a few well placed tugs, Denise had the rest of Lorelei's clothes off as well.

Lorelei looked up expectantly from the bed as Denise loomed over her, waiting, but the blonde made no move to join her. Instead, she seemed to be surveying Lorelei's body, mapping, memorizing each plane and dip, each cord of muscle. Beneath her appraising stare, Lorelei felt herself blush, deep crimson, and shifted uncomfortably, but Denise made no move to stop the examination. Second by second ticked away until Lorelei felt the burn of embarrassment fade to a flush of desire. Anticipation built with each second as Denise held her gaze, taking in every inch of her, until Lorelei felt her fingers begin to clutch at the bedspread, dangerously close to calling out and begging Denise to touch her. The moment she knew she was about to snap Denise took pity, or maybe an evil satisfaction, and dropped to her knees, tugging Lorelei's legs over the edge of the bed before lowering her mouth to feast on the other woman.

Lorelei couldn't remember the last time someone had made her come so hard, or so loudly, in such a short amount of time, but she did know that the sound of her voice reverberating off the hotel room walls would stay with her, haunt her, for years to come. Despite having a self-professed boyfriend, and at least some heterosexual leaning, Denise worked her mouth over Lorelei like an expert accustomed to bringing women pleasure. Every flick of her tongue, every movement of her fingers, brought Lorelei closer and closer to the edge before backing off, only to restart the process once again. When she finally brought Lorelei over the edge it was with a smile and sly scrape of her teeth in just the right way.

Exhausted, Lorelei lay as still as possible, her chest rising rapidly with gulping intakes of air, her arms flung haphazardly over her face shielding her from the light of the room. Everything suddenly seemed too bright, too delicate, to see completely. Grinning, mostly to herself, Denise crawled up on the bed, collapsing next to Lorelei in a somewhat graceful heap. "God, I needed that."

"Mhm..." was the only form of a response Lorelei managed for several more minutes as her breathing finally slowed to a suitable pace. With her slowed breathing came the chill of the room air on her sweat soaked skin. With a mumble, she tugged on Denise's hand enough to draw the other woman's attention to the scattered pillows on the bed and mussed covers, before directing them both under the sheets.

Minutes later, Lorelei felt Denise shift, and rest on her side, looking imperiously down at the brunette. "That was your first time." The words came out as a statement, despite the hint of disbelief in Denise's eyes.

Lorelei nodded. "Yes and no."

"Yes and no?"

"First time I've ever gone that far. Not the first time I've tried."

A hint of a smile quirked at Denise's lips. "Do tell."

"Let's just say that girls at Connecticut prep schools aren't waiting for college to experiment with anything anymore, and haven't for some time."

"Prep school huh?"

"Don't hold it against me; it was completely against my will."

"The girl-on-girl action?"

Lorelei snickered. "The mandatory school attendance. If I'd had my way I would have spent most of the 1980s as a Bon Jovi roadie." Denise couldn't help but laugh. "You hungry?" Something flashed in Denise's eyes, making Lorelei blush. "I meant for food."

"I could eat," Denise said, her pitch lowering just enough to have heat crawl its way through Lorelei's body. Denise leaned down, intent on tasting a patch of skin on Lorelei's shoulder she had somehow missed before, but Lorelei turned and ducked away, snagging the phone in one fell swoop. Before Denise could protest, Lorelei had dialed room service and was already across the room leafing through the menu.

"Yeah, hi, can I get a... bacon cheeseburger, hold the onions, fries, potato skins, an order of pancakes, and a hot fudge sundae?" Lorelei looked at Denise. "Do you want anything?"

The bark of laughter that came from the blonde's mouth reverberated around the room. If Denise hadn't known her own ability to pack away food she never would have guessed Lorelei was capable of the same thing. "Um, yeah... make it two."

"Ok, make that two," Lorelei instructed over the phone. "And a bottle of tequila."

Lorelei hung up the phone then crawled back into the bed, smiling. "How long do you think it's going to take them?"

"Half an hour at least?" Denise offered, rolling beneath Lorelei's body to look up at the brunette.

"Hmm... not sure if that's enough time," Lorelei smirked. The heat in Lorelei's voice and eyes seriously undermined the amused look on her face.

Denise felt her throat close up just enough to only let out a small squeak as she asked, "For what?" The question was redundant. She could see in the brunette's eyes exactly what the other woman had in mind.

"You're a smart girl. I bet you can figure it out."

* * * * *

Sunlight crept into the room in slithery lines, falling in uneven patterns through the mostly closed curtains to spread across the irreparably mussed covers of the bed. In the silence of the morning, only the rhythmic breathing of the room's occupants could be heard somewhere under the mass of covers and the tangle of limbs and body parts.

The silence lasted only a moment more, however, before the shrill ring of a cell phone cut through the room at an ear piercing level.

Denise's arm shot out, smacking the hotel alarm clock violently, but the sound didn't end. Confused, and – god help her – hung over, she tried to extricate herself from Lorelei's body. Lorelei groaned softly, but barely moved.

Bleary eyed and naked, Denise pawed at the floor, trying to find the source of the noise. Grabbing at the first object to fit the description of her cell phone, she flipped it open and barked into the receiver. "What could you possibly want right now?"

"Mom?"

"What?"

"Mom, is that you?" Denise could hear the confusion in the caller's voice, and couldn't for the life of her understand why the caller was more confused than she was. This was her phone wasn't it? "Mom, is that you?" Wasn’t it?

"Uh, no... I think... um..." Denise fumbled with the phone, nearly dropping it. It took a moment to realize that the phone was a similar shape to her own, but had been decorated with a pink face plate, that in all dignity, a female lawyer just couldn't get away with. "You have the wrong number." Denise finally managed to get out.

She could hear rustling over the line – probably the caller checking the number display – and cringed when the voice came back. "I'm trying to reach Lorelei Gilmore. This is her number."

"Um, yeah." Denise looked guiltily over at the drunken lump that was Lorelei under the covers. It didn't take much to remember the food, the booze, and dear lord, Lorelei's fingers touching her in just the right way for the better part of the night and early morning. "She's uh, unavailable at the moment."

"Who is this?"

"Who is this?" Denise shot back.

"Her daughter, Rory. Who are you?"

Well, fuck.

"Hold on, I'll, uh, get your Mom." Denise looked over at the woman still passed out and oblivious to the world. How someone who looked so young could have a daughter capable of using the tone of voice Rory just had, Denise couldn't comprehend. There was only one thing left to do.

None too gently, Denise shoved at Lorelei's shoulder. "Wake up." When Lorelei didn't move, Denise shoved again, harder. "Get up. Your kid is on the phone."

That did it. Blinking, Lorelei opened her eyes, the look on her face changing from confusion to sheer pain as the light and hangover hit her. "Oh god-"

"You can't throw up yet, you have to talk to your daughter."

"Rory?" Lorelei creaked out. Denise nodded, keeping her hand over the receiver and hoping that Rory wouldn’t be able to hear through her fingers.

"I picked up by mistake. You gotta come up with something quick."

Lorelei nodded blankly then took the phone and took a deep breath. "Hey, kiddo."

"Mom, what's going on? Are you alright? Who was that?"

"I'm fine. That was Denise. I went to Boston for the night."

"Are you hung over?"

"Very much so, yes." Lorelei managed to get out, swallowing down the threat of bile.

"Why'd you go to Boston?"

"Why'd you steal a yacht?" Lorelei countered.

"Seemed like the thing to do at the time." Rory supplied quickly.

"Yeah, well, me too."

It wasn't much of an answer, but it Rory understood completely. Sometimes you just had to do something. "Do you need me to come get you?"

"No! No, I'm fine, just a little sick. I can drive back no problem."

"Are you sure?" Rory pressed.

"Positive. I'll call back when you get out of class and we'll have a long talk."

"Ok, but you better call me back."

"I promise," Lorelei vowed with a cringe. This was gonna be one hell of a talk. Slowly she closed the phone then fell back on the bed, arm flung over her face. When she finally had the strength to sit up again, Denise was dressed and pulling on the last of her heels.

Uncomfortably, the blonde shifted back and forth on her feet. "I'm sorry. I thought it was my cell." Defensively, she held up her own cell phone, the same make as Lorelei's, but with the standard black cover. "So, you uh, have a daughter?" They hadn't really gotten to discussing the finer aspects of their personal lives. For the most part, the only thing Denise was certain of was that Lorelei enjoyed dunking fries in chocolate syrup and ketchup.

"Yeah. She's at Yale. We got in the habit of calling in the mornings while were on our way to work or school. I forgot she would call."

"Yale huh? But wouldn't that make you-"

"Long story," Lorelei said quickly, cutting off Denise's train of math. "I started early. Let's leave it at that."

Awkwardness stretched between them in a way it hadn't managed to the night before; not when they were drinking, not when they were tearing clothes off, and certainly not when Lorelei had made Denise cry out to god. But it was here now, and unfortunately for both women, neither one had enough experience with one night stands to know what to do next.

"I should go," Denise finally mumbled out.

Lorelei nodded. "I should write you a check, or something for last night-" At the sharp look of Denise gave her, Lorelei quickly continued. "For the food... and booze. Not for, uh, services rendered or anything. I think that would be taking the Julia Roberts movie theme a step too far."

"Don't worry about it," Denise brushed off, finally understanding.

"No, you paid for everything and I should-"

"Lorelei." Denise said her name so softly, Lorelei didn't know how she heard it, but somehow she knew to stop arguing. "You needed somebody to take care of you last night. To take the weight of the world that you normally carry so gracefully, and let you play hooky for a little while. I'm glad I could do that for you."

"What about you?" Lorelei asked sincerely. "Did you get what you needed last night?"

The same sad, haunted look came over Denise's face, the same one that had drawn Lorelei to her in the first place. "I needed you to need me."

"If you're ever in Connecticut-"

"-I'll look you up." Denise slipped on her coat and picked up her briefcase, giving Lorelei one long, last look. "Be good to yourself, Lorelei."

With the hint of a wink, Denise turned and strode out of the hotel room, never looking back.

Lorelei watched the door shut slowly, waiting until it slipped shut before whispering, "You too."

END