As Good A Time As Any
By: Amber Waldner
Summary: right where season 2 ended… Lore and Rory walking down the aisle!
Paring: Rory/Jess- Rory/Dean
Spoilers: bits and pieces from season 2, mainly the finally.

Rory and Lorelai walk down the aisle and then stand off to the side and wait for Sookie and Jackson to say their vows. Lorelai tapped Rory lightly on the shoulder.

"What?" Rory whispered, annoyed. "Can't you see we are at a wedding?"

"Ya… ya, I… uh I just need to tell you something…" Lorelai whispered back.

"Can't it wait, we are missing Sookie and Jackson's vows!"

"No… I need to get this off my system now… its HUGE and you need to know!"

"Huge?"

"It has the potential to change our life!"

"Well what is it? Hurry up!"

"Okay… but you have to stay calm… remember. Sookie and Jackson are saying their vows and this is a wedding… so if I tell you, you have to keep it to yourself!"

"Okay, okay now spill it!"

"Your dad left…"

"Huh…" Rory gasped as she eyed the crowd for Christopher.

"Babe, he isn't out there, he went back to Hartford… Sherry's pregnant!"

"Oh, okay!"

"That's it? Just oh, okay?"

"Ya, remember, this is a wedding."

"Oh, right!" They both look up at Sookie and Jackson.

"And do you Sookie St. James take Jackson as your husband, to love and to hold from this day forth, until death do you part?"

"I do." Sookie said without hesitation.

"I now announce you husband and wife, you may kiss the bride!" And they did.

Later that day, at the party, Rory sat down for a while to read. She felt a shadow over her and looked up. "Jess!"

"That's my name!"

"Right… um, what are you doing here…"

"Well I went back to Luke's and thought about it and I am not sorry about what happened!"

"What happened… oh… right."

"Ya, and I would like to try again…" Jess hesitated, "If that's okay with you!" Suddenly Jess turned around and walked away.

"Rory, there you are…" Rory turned around dazed only to see Dean.

"Dean… and Sherry… and babies and kissing and… people oh so many people and Jess and Sookie and Jackson…" She just kept saying as she started to walk home.

"Lorelai… I think you better find Rory… she was babbling about just about everything under the sun and then she started heading to her house!" Dean said worried!

"Uh… okay, I'll head home then, tell Sookie that I will be back in about 15minutes, okay?" Lorelai informed him. Then she headed home, but since Rory was babbling around and walking really, really slow, and Lorelai was hurrying to find her, just in case something was really seriously wrong, they met up about a block away from the wedding. "Rory thank god!"

"… oh and Grandma, and Grandpa, and Jess and Luke, and Mom, and Dean and Jess, and fighting, and Paris, and oh great, my head hurts…" Rory continued to babble pointlessly.

"Honey are you okay?" Lorelai asked.

"Everything is fine, everything will be fine, everything has been fine! Oh, except for Jess and Dean and fighting and Mom and coffee, and daisies, lots and lots of daisies and people and vows and Sherry and Dad and promises, oh broken promises…." She wondered off into her alternate universe again!

"Rory… is everything alright?" Lorelai asked, more worried than ever.

"Mom, I have something important to tell you!" Rory was semi- back to normal.

"What sweetie, what is it?" Lorelai asked, still worried to death.

"I, I don't love Dean anymore, and I think we should break up!" Rory said, still in shock.

"Baby, are you sure?" Lorelai wanted to verify.

"Yes, but you have to do it!" Rory added.

"What, why me?" Lorelai was confused.

"Because I can't break his heart, he cares for me too much." Rory was nearly to tears.

"Rory honey, what is this about?" Lorelai wanted the truth.

"I kissed Jess, and I love Jess, and he loves me!" Rory explained.

"You what?" Lorelai said in shock.

"I kissed Jess, about an hour ago, right before we went down the aisle!" Rory explained.

"Oh baby," Lorelai said in a sympathetic way.

"Oh, no Jess!" Rory suddenly realized.

"What?" Lorelai was confused… again.

"I got to go, I'll meet you back at the party!" Rory said and she ran off.

"Ok…. Well I will be, there," She was hardly able to get out. Rory ran and ran and ran. She ran all the way to the bridge….

"Jess!" She said and she sat down next to him, "Jess, I love you." And at that Jess looked up and kissed Rory, and she kissed him back, and he looked into her eyes.

"I love you too." he said simply, and kissed her again.

Back at the party Lorelai was looking for Dean to tell him the bad news. "Dean!"

"Ya Lorelai?" Dean said. "Is Rory ok?"

"Ya. Rory is, but you may not be in a minute.." Lorelai started.

"Why… what's going on?" Dean suddenly looked worried.

"Oh Dean, Dean, Dean, Dean… I don't know how to tell you," Lorelai paused.

"Right I got it, don't bother, I know what's going on," he started to cry, "I got to go!"

"Dean wait…" But she was too late. Dean knew just where Rory was! He ran over to the bridge and there they were kissing up a storm.

"Rory, how could you," he whispered.

"Dean…" Rory said and stopped and looked up.

"Forget it, you have made the message very clear, we are over!" and he walked away. A week went by and no word from Dean. Jess was over all the time now, not something that Lorelai was the biggest fan of by the way. He was in and out, and he got Rory's car repaired for her!

"So, how's life treating you, my sweet?" Jess asked sweetly.

"It's better now!" Rory answered and kissed Jess on the nose.

"Ok, don't ever do that…!" Jess looked her in the eyes.

"Sorry…" Rory said and kissed him sweetly for a moment.

"I got you something!" Jess said.

"You did, what?" Rory asked.

"This!" He said and then pulled out a copy of The Portable Dorothy Parker.

"Oh…" she paused.

"I mean I know you read it, but you said it was your favorite, so I thought you might like your own copy!

"It's great!" Rory said, but honestly, it wasn't great, because memories of the book brought back memories of Dean and when life was simple, and that made Rory angry, she started to cry.

"Are you alright?"

"Ya, everything is great," but it wasn't. Now all she could think of was Dean… and when she was with Dean she was safe! But when she was with Jess she felt wild and spontaneous! Like she could jump off a bridge, or skip class… she liked both, yet she hated both at the same time. Although the decision was made, she still wasn't sure if it was the right way to go!