richard takes the girls on a trip to yale, where he has secretly set up an interview for rory. lorelai is incensed, especially when rory makes yale one of her backup applications, but they both realise it is where rory really wants to go. richard gives lorelai $75,000 from an investment he made when she was born and she uses it to pay her parents back for rory's school fees. emily interprets this as her cutting ties with them and they fall out. the windfall results in rory being refused financial aid. the independence inn is gutted by a fire and lorelai, sookie and michel struggle to keep it open as a b&b. lorelai and sookie renew plans to buy the dragonfly inn after fran dies. sookie discovers she is pregnant.