The rest of the semester went by in a flash. By the time finals rolled around, Frankie had packed up everything she owned, placing items in boxes to bring back to Stars Hollow, or donating to Goodwill. The only belongings she was bringing to Paris were her winter clothes and everything she needed to dance. Taking one last look around her room, she nodded and smiled sadly, closing the door behind her as she walked into the living room.
"So, you guys found someone to sublet my room, right? And you like them?" Frankie asked her roommates, struggling to hold back her emotions.
"Yes, she's very nice. She's a friend of mine from NYU, and she's really excited to live here," said Kayla, her eyes welling up with tears.
"She'll take good care of your room. I'll make sure of it." Penny's voice wavered as she wiped a tear from under her eye.
"Good. And you told her that she doesn't need to bring a mattress? I'm leaving mine. All she has to do is bring her bed linens and belongings."
"Frankie. Don't worry. She knows," Jacqueline said, cracking a small smile.
"Okay, okay. Just wanted to make sure."
The group stood in silence for a moment, not wanting their time as roommates to end.
"Oh, I'm gonna miss you so much!" Penny cried, lunging forward and enveloping Frankie in her arms. "I'm gonna come visit you as soon as I can! And I'll call you all the time, and we'll write letters, and you'll tell me all about Paris and the boys! Except, maybe leave out the sex part because boys gross me out."
Frankie laughed, tears now flowing from her eyes. "I promise I won't talk about sex with boys with you."
"Thank God," Penny breathed, pulling away from Frankie. "As much as I love hearing about your love life, I hate hearing about the sex part."
"Trust me, I'm well aware."
"Every time we even mention kissing a boy, you gag," Kayla pointed out with a grin.
"That's...totally true," Penny said with a smile. "But seriously, we'll come visit as soon as we can, and you'll have to let us know when your first performance is."
"I will, don't worry." Frankie looked around at her friends and sighed sadly, extending her arms out. "One last roommate hug for the road?"
The three girls immediately wrapped their arms around Frankie, holding onto her as if their lives depended on it.
"Am I interrupting?"
The four girls broke apart and turned towards the door where Christopher was standing.
"No, that's okay. We were just saying goodbye," Frankie said to her father.
"Hey! This is not goodbye! This is see you later, okay?" Penny exclaimed, wagging a finger in Frankie's face.
The girl held up her hands in surrender. "Sorry, sorry. We were saying see you later."
"Take your time. Just tell me which things are going to the car," said Christopher, looking down at the suitcases and boxes that were lined up by the front door.
"All of them."
"That's it? There's two boxes and two suitcases."
"I've been bringing things home periodically, and I donated a bunch of stuff," Frankie stated with a shrug.
"I'm honestly impressed. I think you take after me in the packing department. Your mother doesn't know what 'moderation' means."
Frankie chuckled. "Yeah, I know. Do you want help?"
"No, I've got these. Say see you later to your friends. I'll be in the car when you're ready."
Frankie smiled at her father, then turned back to her roommates. "I'll call. And I'll write. And I'll send lots of pictures. And I'll let you know when my first performance is."
"Even if we can't make it, we want to know everything about it," said Jacqueline, placing a hand on Frankie's shoulder, drawing her into another hug.
"I promise, I'll tell you guys everything."
"I can't believe you're leaving me," Kayla said, choking back her tears.
"I'll be back. And you'll come visit. I'm not leaving forever."
"We've always lived within a few miles of each other. We've never been this far away."
"I know. It's gonna be weird, not being able to come over to your house whenever I want, or just walk over to your room and talk all night. It will be an adjustment, but we'll make it work."
Kayla nodded, wiping her tears away. "I know. I'm just gonna miss my best friend."
"I'm gonna miss you, too."
Frankie said her final 'see you laters' as she left the apartment, closing the door behind her and letting out a heavy sigh. As she sat down in the front seat next to her father, Christopher cocked his head, gazing at his daughter.
"You okay, Frank?"
"I will be. It's just weird, you know? I've never been more than a twenty-minute train ride away from Kayla, and Penny and Jacqueline have become some of my best friends. I'm moving to a completely different continent where I'll know no one, and I'll have to make new friends, which has never been my strong suit. And I know I'm gonna get home sick."
Christopher nodded, smiling softly at Frankie. "Listen, kid. You're going to have the most amazing experience in Paris. You'll be learning and dancing with some of the best in the world. And, if you get home sick, I'm just a plane ride away. I'll be in Paris faster than you can say 'baguette.' Deal?"
Frankie grinned and nodded. "Deal."
Because Rory was in London visiting Logan for Christmas, the Gilmore-Hayden house was devoid of celebration until she returned. However, Frankie had to leave three days after Rory got home, so as soon as Rory was back, the family began decorating.
After setting up the Christmas trees and putting up the stockings and decorations, Frankie walked around Stars Hollow, taking in her hometown one last time. She sat in the gazebo and watched as Ms. Patty taught a ballet lesson to a group of little girls, smiling as she remembered her first lessons with the woman who became a second mother to her. She watched Kirk and Luke argue in the diner, which resulted in Kirk getting thrown out. She watched as Lane and Zach walked down the street, Lane's baby bump on full display, arguing about something as they headed home.
Frankie sat in the gazebo until the sun set, casting beautiful shades of pink and purple across the sky. Deciding it was time to head home, she walked slowly through the town, waving at her neighbors as they passed by on the sidewalk.
"Hey, kiddo, where you been?" Christopher asked as Frankie entered the kitchen.
"I was taking in Stars Hollow one more time."
"You're not leaving forever, Frank. You'll be back."
"I know," Frankie said with a sigh, sitting down at the table and leaning her head on her hand. "But I don't know when I'll be back. This place was my home for a long time. As weird and crazy as Stars Hollow is, it'll always have a special place in my heart, so I just wanted to give it a proper send off."
"Fair enough." Christopher turned back to the sink, finishing his task. "You want something to eat?"
"No, I'm okay."
"You ready to head out in a couple days?"
"Kind of. I mean, I'm packed, but I'm nervous."
"You're gonna be amazing, Frankie. And you're going to have the adventure of a lifetime."
The following afternoon, Frankie met up with Lorelai and Rory at the mall to do some Christmas shopping.
"Why can't they make books out of something lighter?" Rory asked, struggling to hold up the bags in her hands.
"Lighter than paper?" Lorelai said.
"I'm being punished for being generous."
"That's what you get for having so many smart friends. So, I think we're doing well." Lorelai peered into one of the bags as the girls stepped off the escalator.
"Yeah, I think we're done," Frankie agreed.
"Oh, wait, Babette. Do we have something for Babette?" said Rory.
"The needlepoint pillow with the sassy saying," Lorelai confirmed, holding up the bag with the present.
"Oh, yeah!"
"I love when pillows say something dirty," said Frankie with a chuckle.
"And I got some cologne for Michel and the same cologne for my mother," Lorelai stated with a grin.
"Weird," the twins said in unison.
"Well, they'll both hate whatever I give them, so I figured, why spend time picking out doomed gifts? Then I have whatever William-Sonoma sold me for Sookie – a butter slicer, a bread warmer/wine maker."
"Well, I'm sure she'll love her butter slicer," Rory said, somewhat confused.
"If that's even what it is. I swear, they could attach a stone to a piece of string and call it a poultry pounder, and I'd shell out 35 bucks."
The last person they needed to buy a gift for was Christopher. They had a sweater and a book, and Frankie had bought him a vinyl of The Police's 'Synchronicity' album, but Lorelai wanted to get him something special.
Rory spotted a telescope, and dragged her mother and sister into the store. Frankie was looking around when she spotted Luke in line.
"Oh, uh, it's Luke," she said, nodding over to where he was standing.
"Oh, well, I guess we should..." Lorelai stated, walking over to him and April, the twins trailing behind.
"Hey. Hey, girls," said Luke as they approached.
"Hey, Luke. Hey, April," Rory said with a wave.
"Hi," Frankie greeted awkwardly.
They went back and forth with the greetings for a moment, then they all stood in awkward silence, not sure what to say.
"April showed up at the diner today out of the blue."
"You make it sound like Pearl Harbor or something," April said, slightly offended.
"N-no, I mean it was a surprise – a nice surprise. So, how's it going?"
"It's – I'm almost done," said Lorelai.
"Done?" Luke asked quickly.
"Uh, you're not talking about the letter. You're just asking in general."
"I meant, how's it going?"
"Good. I'm good. We're good."
"Hey, so, I like your sweaters. They're very festive," April said, breaking the tension.
"Oh, thank you. It's Christmas for us," Rory stated with a grin.
"Rory was in London at the end of December, so we waited to do Christmas together." Lorelai smiled at her oldest, then glanced at Frankie, who hadn't said much.
"Of course you did," said Luke.
Just then, the man at the register called for the next customer, and Luke stepped up to return an item. Rory then asked April about her Christmas, and the two began chatting. Frankie looked around the store, as if to find an escape route.
"You okay?" Lorelai whispered to her daughter.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"Frankie, come on."
The girl let out a sigh, turning to face her mother. "Just anxious, that's all."
Lorelai was unconvinced, but decided to drop the subject.
Luke finished up at the counter, then handed April a bag.
"Oh, thanks," she said gratefully.
"What'd you get?" Lorelai asked.
"Well, my dad got me the greatest present ever – a rock-polishing kit – but I had kind of already gotten it from my grandma, who's very into Christmas. So we exchanged it for this microscope, which is also the greatest present."
"Good."
"Wow, that's great," Rory agreed.
Frankie smiled and nodded. "Very cool."
"My dad's always been a great gift giver."
"I guess I don't know if I was always considered so good at picking out presents, right, girls?" Luke said, giving the twins a pointed look.
"Oh, no, you've always been great," Rory said politely.
"Towels?"
"Oh, man, I forgot about those," Frankie chuckled.
"What towels?" April asked.
"You meant well," said Rory.
"You gave them towels?"
"For our birthday," Frankie stated with a grin.
"I had them monogrammed. I thought it was cool," said Luke, shifting uncomfortably on his feet.
"Yes, you went through quite the monogramming phase," Rory said, remembering all the gifts that had been monogrammed from Luke.
"I believe you girls received monogrammed pencils, a monogrammed mug, a monogrammed backpack, and a monogrammed belt."
"On the bright side, our belts were never stolen," said Frankie with a grin and a shrug.
"And those were my favorite towels. I still have the washcloth," Rory stated.
After saying goodbye to Luke and April, the Gilmore girls finished their shopping, then went home, decorated Christmas cookies, and went to bed. The following morning, Gigi woke everyone up bright and early, and they opened presents, listened to Christmas carols, and had a very lovely day filled with cheer and family.
Frankie couldn't help feeling like she was abandoning her family as she watched them from her spot in the living room. Gigi was playing with her new toys, Rory was reading, Christopher had put the 'Synchronicity' album on the record player, and Lorelai was admiring her new dress that Frankie had bought her. They were all such important people in her life. How am I going to leave this all behind?
The next morning, the whole family piled into the car as Christopher drove to the airport.
"You have everything, right? Passport, driver's license, suitcase, work visa, all the information about where you're staying?" Lorelai asked, anxiously wringing her hands.
"I have it all, mom, don't worry."
"Okay. Good."
Christopher pulled into the parking garage and parked, pulling Frankie's suitcases out of the trunk as the rest of the family got out of the car. They all walked silently into the airport, not knowing how to say goodbye. Frankie walked over to the counter and checked her bags, then the group made their way to security.
"Call as soon as you land, okay?" said Lorelai, holding back tears as they reached the checkpoint.
"I will. I promise."
"Even if it's, like, three in the morning. Call."
"I promise, mom. I'll call."
"Okay." Lorelai let out a small sob, wrapping her arms around her daughter. "I'm gonna miss you, kid."
"I'm gonna miss you, too, mom." Frankie did her best to blink back the tears, but it was no use. They began cascading down her cheeks as soon as she pulled away from her mother.
"Alright, my turn." Rory gently pushed Lorelai out of the way, enveloping Frankie in a warm embrace. "Keep me posted. And go visit Logan when you have a chance. I think he's kind of lonely."
Frankie chuckled and nodded. "I can do that."
"I'm gonna miss you," Rory whispered. "And I'm really proud of you."
"Thank you."
As Rory stepped back, Gigi wrapped her little arms around Frankie's legs.
"Bye bye, Frankie!"
"Bye bye, Gigi." Frankie smiled down at her little sister, picking her up so she could get a proper hug. "I'm gonna miss you. But, I'll see you soon, okay?"
"Okay!"
Frankie placed the little girl back on the ground, then turned to her father.
Christopher wiped a stray tear from his cheek, walking up to his daughter. "Go be great, Frankie."
"I love you, dad."
"I love you, too."
With a smile, she waved at her family and walked through security, saying goodbye to her life in the states, and beginning the first chapter of the rest of her life.