A/n I have had this idea since The Revival, but honestly, haven't had the nerve to write it (you'll see why). I have no idea how this is going to work out. I have the basic plot in my head. This story has no ship or if it even needs a ship, Logan and Jess will have roles. So just enjoy. I'm still working on The Ties that Bind and I might possible rewrite Something Worth Fighting For. Some of it I love and some of it I hate. Anyway, enjoy this one. As always, reviews are coffee to the soul.

Upon the stick turning pink, Rory went into planning mode. Telling her mom was the hardest; but afterward, her mother held her and wiped her tears and assured her things would work out. A baby wasn't the end-it was, in fact, a beginning of something new. After getting over the shock, Lorelai assured Rory she would be a wonderful mother.

Rory asked her mom not to tell anyone. She wanted to get through the first trimester. To which Lorelai agreed.

"You tell people in your own time and in your own way," Lorelai put her arm around Rory.

"Except Luke," Rory insisted. "You should tell your husband."

Next, she told Logan. There had mostly been silence and a promise of support, but the support part wasn't something they would have to deal with at this moment, they had nine months. Logan assured her she had not ruined everything for him. The dynastic plan wasn't going anywhere. He confessed to her that Odette had a few affairs of her own. They had agreed they would end when they were married.

It should have bothered Rory that he was so cavalier about the affairs of the woman he was supposedly going to commit the rest of his life to, but it wasn't something she was willing to give time to be angry over. She had things she had to figure out that was bigger than the drama that was Logan Huntzberger.

Then Henry Buzfuz from the Woodbridge Times retired. His position as editor paid, so Rory applied for the job and got it. When she tried to give her notice to Taylor, he flat out refused it and Rory said she needed to be paid. After holding a town meeting to vote on bringing the matter to the town elders, who then voted and agreed on her salary. Rory threw in that she wanted to hire her own staff. Which the town elders agreed to because Charlie and Esther were both retiring and getting married to each other.

Rory hired an assistant and had a job working at the Stars Hollow Gazette making actual money. So she was back, after months of denying that she was back, she was officially moved back. But unlike the thirty-something gang, she had a job. It wasn't The New York Times, but she could support her child and that was more important.

When Sookie and Jackson put their house up for rent, Rory called Sookie while standing in front of her house and moved in the next day as the tenant of her mother's best friend.

Her time to be rootless was over.

She also was starting to have second thoughts about Headmaster Charleston's offer to teach at Chilton. People would always need teachers. She had a bachelor's degree in English and was looking seriously into a program at the nearest University of Connecticut campus. She also requested a meeting with Headmaster Charleston to see if he meant what he said. By the time she had her teaching credential, her child would be around two. But there was more to it than just the steady job, she liked the idea of being back in an academic world. She saw the look on those kids faces when she visited Chilton, they were hooked, and it wasn't a horrible feeling for Rory to cause that kind of interest.

Lorelai went with her to the first sonogram. She saw the amnio sack and heard the baby's heartbeat.

"It's a strong heartbeat," the doctor commented. Her due date was in June making her just over eight weeks. The doctor recommended a regimen of prenatal vitamins and cutting back her carb intake. "But eight ounces of coffee is okay," the doctor assured Rory. "And if you feel you need more than try to mix decaf and regular."

Walking out of the doctor's office, Rory had the overwhelming feeling that this was real and It was really happening to her. Single motherhood would be hard, but her mother did it with flair and style, how could she not do the same?

The babies heartbeat inspired her, even more, to continue writing her book. She needed to have a nest egg for her and her baby. So she contacted Jess to help her with the editing. He turned her down.

"This was your idea," she said in the voice she only used when she was on the verge of a freak-out.

"I know," he agreed. "That's exactly why I shouldn't be a part of this project, I'm way too close to it.."

She sighed, "you are," she agreed. "You're in it."

"Just a chapter, I'm sure."

"You're in more than just a chapter, and the one you're in the most is an important one, it brings the whole thing together," she paused for a moment. "I decided not to make it a memoir, I think it should be just based on me and my mom, but not necessarily be me and my mom. There are some things that I don't think the world should be privy to."

"I can't wait to read it. I want the first signed copy." He paused for a moment. "I'm not going to leave you just wondering where to begin. You need an editor and I know a few. I could introduce you. Maybe see if I can help out with a few meetings with agents."

"Thank you, Jess," she said, her eyes brimming with her pregnancy hormones. "I couldn't do this without you," she could barely choke out.

"Yes, you could. You are Rory Gilmore, and I don't want to hear that 'you could'a been a contender' or being lost. Ruts happen, and you make your way out of them."

"Yeah, they do. But usually, I don't make my way out of them without you."

"A man falls in a hole and is stuck," Jess starts. "A psychologist walks by and sees the man has fallen in the hole and he gives the man some pills and then walks away. Then the man sees an old friend who jumps into the hole with him. The man looks at his friend and says, 'What are you doing here? Now we are both stuck without a way to get out.' The friend looks at the man and says, "Yeah, but I've fallen in this hole before. I know the way out."

Rory laughed, trying not to let the weariness in her voice leak through the phone line, "Thank you, Jess."

"I have to be in Manhattan in a few weeks and I'll try and set up meetings."

"I'll have a few more chapters by then."

"Okay," he said.

They hung up the phone, Rory sat with her head in her hands in her new house. She could do this.