Kirk branches out from dog sitting for Lulu into a new canine-centered career; Paris goes into germ-phobic overdrive when Rory gets a cold; Lane gets an apartment with Zach and Brian and faces a frigid reception from her aunt and mother, and an overly-eager, non-stop-talking cousin when she packs up her things and moves out; when they realize that their relationship is increasingly being conducted over email and the phone, Lorelai and Rory decide to play hooky and go window shopping in the mall, where they run into Emily in the middle of a shopping binge meltdown; Luke lends Lorelai the thirty thousand dollars she needs to finish construction on the Inn; after Emily confesses that the shopping binge and bickering with Richard stems from her anger at being ignored, neglected, and made to feel useless by her husband, Lorelai reassures her of how much she's accomplished and urges her to talk to Richard, but Emily can't seem to make the connection with her husband she so desperately desires; Rory and Luke get a peek into Dean's life as a married man, and Luke gets an inkling that something is amiss when he catches Dean's wistful looks towards Rory as Dean unsuccessfully tries to paint a happy picture of life with Lindsay and her parents.

Rory, Paris, Janet and Glenn escape a Dickensianly cold winter in Connecticut and head to Florida, where they run into Madeline and Louise, who show them the spring break ropes; Jason gives Lorelai the key to his apartment as a symbol of his commitment to their relationship; Lorelai bails Luke out of jail after he's arrested for beating up the car belonging to the man he suspects is having an affair with Nicole; Lorelai and Rory get the dubious honor of the first ride in Kirk's latest venture, the Stars Hollow pedi-cab.