A/N: I was inspired by Knowhere to start writing again. I had a little idea and ran with it. Lately, I've only wanted to write Hart of Dixie stories, but Literati always has my heart first and foremost. One day, I promise, I will finish all of my stories. I need inspiration to hit. I fully promise to finish this story.

This is just set ten years after the finale, with my own depiction of what could happen. Everything happened the way it did in the series and I just wrote what happened ten years down the line.

Disclaimer: I own Bo Diddley and Will.

Chapter Rating: PG-13/R (for language)


It only took him an hour and a half to get to Stars Hollow, usually. It was a trip he made almost every other weekend. It took him almost two years after his divorce to bring himself around that town again, but he eventually made it a habit. He parked in the dead grass, next to the SUVs with baseball and honor-roll decals plastered on the back glass. Shielding his eyes from the sun, he walked to the middle-aged blondes taking up entrance fees with their matching visors and "Mom" jerseys. After handing them a crumpled five dollar bill from his pocket, he looked around for his family.

"Jess!" He heard from the left side of the stands and spotted his uncle's wife waving him down with a big grin.

He made his way up to her and smiled, giving her a hug before reaching down and scratching Bo Diddley's ears. "Did I miss anything?" He asked, turning to look out onto the field of ten year old boys in uniforms that looked almost too big for their small frames.

"Nope, this is the top of the first inning and Will hasn't batted yet," she said, smiling as she looked over at first base where Luke was yelling out encouragement to one of his players up to bat.

"Look at you, Lorelai, learning baseball lingo," Jess grinned, taking a seat next to her Cocker Spaniel mix that Luke got for her two Christmases ago after Paul Anka passed away.

Lorelai laughed and took a sit on the other side of Bo Diddley, resting her hand on his back. "I know, it is sickening," she said, shaking her head. "I almost wish Will was a nerd so I could have a closer bond than Luke does."

"Ah," Jess said, shaking his head. "That wouldn't be fair. Luke has never had an athlete in his family. I played one game of T-Ball and quit because it was too hot." He took in Lorelai's appearance and couldn't help but chuckle at her cliché jersey with "Will's Mom" plastered on the back of it. That was definitely not the Lorelai he met when he was a troubled teenager fresh to Stars Hollow.

"You're right, I'm glad he finally got his baseball player," Lorelai said, smiling over in the dugout as her son leaned up against the fence with his bat in hand. "So are you in for pizza with a bunch of hyper little boys after the game?"

"I'm down," Jess smiled, glancing over at Lorelai. "You guys have me for the whole weekend. I have to go to Doula's recital tomorrow night, but other than that, I'm up for anything."

"Oh good, the town is having one of our crazy festivals this weekend and your uncle is so excited," she said, laughing as the words came out of her mouth. Jess smirked and looked out at the field and over to Luke, he knew better than that. Even having kids hadn't softened him up that much. Luke called him, bitching, every couple of weeks, because of something Taylor Doosey had cooked up.

Will walked up to the plate and Lorelai stood up, clapping and cheering like an embarrassing sports mom should. Jess stood up and squinted to see his little cousin swing and miss on the first pitch only to knock the second pitch to center field. As he rounded the bases, he stopped on second and grinned over at his dad, throwing him a thumbs-up as he leaned towards third, ready to run as soon as the next hitter made contact with the bat.

As soon as Jess finished cheering, he sat back down and caught glimpse of a familiar brunette making her way across the other side of the field and towards them. He glanced over at Lorelai, who still had her eyes on her son. He cleared his throat and nudged her before nodding in the other woman's direction. "Will has another fan joining us," he said, trying to keep his voice calm and collected.

Lorelai glanced at Jess before looking up to see her daughter walking towards them. She grinned and bounded down the steps, running over to envelop her in a tight hug. "Fruit of my loins! I had no idea you were coming!" She shrieked, tears forming in her eyes.

"I know," she said, smiling as she breathed in her mother's familiar scent. "I wanted to surprise you all. I got assigned to a project in New Haven. One I have been dying to get and it took me eight months to secure it."

Lorelai leaned back from the hug and just smiled at her, trying to keep from crying. It had been at least a year since she had seen her first born. "I am so happy to see your face, Rory" she said, rubbing her arms. "But, I must warn you, Jess is here for the weekend."

She waved her hand and shook her head with a smile. "I expected he would be," Rory replied, smiling back at her mom. "I prepared myself. It is very cordial between us now, I promise."

"Okay," Lorelai said, pulling her in for another hug. "Good because I can't tell him to leave, and as much as I love him, you know I would for you."

With a laugh, that was extremely forced, Rory shook her head. "No way," she said, "there is absolutely no need for that. I really just came to see my little brother play ball, you know I very rarely attend sporting events, but I can't miss out on seeing a Gilmore as an athlete."

"He definitely gets it from the Danes side," Lorelai replied, wrapping an arm around Rory's shoulders as she led her back to the stands. "I even tried playing catch with them and cried when Luke's pitch hit my glove too hard. I still swear he broke it, my pinky hasn't been cooperating since."

"You poor thing," Rory cooed, examining the pinky that Lorelai threw out there with her bottom lip poking out. As they got closer to the stands, Rory prepared herself to speak to Jess. As she climbed up after her mom, she smiled, politely, at the man in front of her.

"Hi Rory," Jess said, nodding his head to her with the same smile. "How are you?"

"I'm wonderful," she replied, emphasizing the last word with her reporter smile that was eloquently mastered in the past few years. "How are you? I heard you started teaching a few Creative Writing courses at Boston U."

"I did. It's great. Very different than what I expected, but great. And you spent the last six months in Costa Rica, right? That's what Luke said, at least. I bet that was amazing."

"It was. I got a good tan and stayed with some really interesting people. It was definitely an adventure."

"That's good," he said, looking back up at the field. He didn't really know what else to say to her, so he left it at that. Lorelai watched the awkward exchange with a pained expression. She smiled when it was over and placed herself between the two, watching as Will ran to third base and rounded the corner all the way to home plate.


Jess sat on the front porch with a beer in his hand, rocking in one of the two chairs that Luke built as a gift for he and Lorelai's wedding anniversary. April was rocking next to him; her head leaned back as she looked up at the sky.

"So, Rory's back," she said, glancing over at her cousin and interrupting the silence that had fallen between them for a solid ten minutes.

"Yeah," he replied, taking a long swig of his Dos Equis. "Not for long, though. She's just here for some assignment."

"You alright?" April asked him, glancing over at him for just a moment to read his expression. She was a little surprised at the smug smile that plastered his face accompanied by a chuckle that sounded way too bitter to be sincere.

"I'm absolutely fine," Jess replied, shaking his head after another sip. "Why does no one expect me to be? We are cordial, we decided to be cordial a year ago and no one believes that I can hold up my end of that."

"Yes I do," April defended herself, rolling her eyes at his statement. "I just wanted to check on you. I just care."

"I know you do."

"Speak of the devil," April mumbled as Rory stepped out onto the porch, smiling at both of them. "Hey Ror," she said, smiling as she stood up to hug her. "You need to come around more often. I have missed you way too much."

Rory hugged her step-sister and smiled, leaning back to take a look at her. "I know, I have missed you too. You look so grown, I hate it," she replied, laughing. "It reminds me that I'm in my thirties."

"And still beautiful," April commented, before glancing back to Jess. "I'm going to head inside and see if it is my turn to play Will in Battleship."

"Good luck," Jess said with a chuckle, watching her walk inside before looking up at Rory. "Have a seat," he said, gesturing to the rocker beside him.

Rory slid into the rocker and leaned back, kicking off her heels and looking out at the front yard she grew up in. She stayed silent, but it was far from comfortable, at least for her anyway. She rocked her chair, pushing off the ground with her toes.

He was bitter. He may be attempting to be cordial with her, but he was bitter and she knew it. He didn't miss a beat when she opened her mouth to start small talk. He interrupted instead and starting with a more controversial topic. "I hear you got back in touch with Logan. Good for you."

She felt like she had been slapped in the face. His tone was anything, but nice, and he looked at her to wait for a reply. He knew the answer to that, but he wanted her to say it. She stayed quiet for a moment and took a deep breath, glancing over at him. "Yeah, we reconnected. I don't see him much. We Skype sometimes and meet up very sporadically. It's very casual."

"You don't have to explain yourself," Jess said, holding up his hands in defense. "Certainly not my problem anymore."

"It's not a problem at all," Rory bit back, and then closed her eyes, calming herself down. She refused to fight with him. She was done with that and they both agreed to be friendly when they were home. He just knew exactly what to say to push her buttons.

"Well, I'm glad you're in a good place," he stated.

His sincerity was questionable, but Rory left it at that, looking down at her feet. "Was it that necessary to make the conversation vicious?"

"What the hell did you think you would accomplish by coming out here?" Jess asked her, confused at her actions. "We aren't friends, Rory. Last Christmas was a mistake and we both know it. We aren't going to be chums now. I'll say hi and you'll say hi, we will eat dinner at the same table, we will go to family events, but that is where it ends. No meaningful conversations, no chit-chat about the weather."

"Screw you, Jess, why don't you be an adult and have a mature conversation with me?"

"Are you fucking kidding me, Rory? About what?" Jess snapped, looking over at her. "What is there to talk about? We have rehashed everything more times than I can count and I'm not doing it again. I don't want a conversation with you. I just want to keep our distance."

"We can't do that, Jess. We have the same family," Rory said, looking back at him before shaking her head. "Keeping our distance would be unsuccessful, so why not try?"

"Why do you want to try, Rory?" Jess pressed, standing up to leave after he said his peace. "Most people in our position never attempt to be friends, because they all know it is a stupid idea. The point of a divorce is not to go back to how everything was before we got married. The point is to completely sever ties. I know it is difficult in our circumstances, but let's stick to the generic greetings and don't go further than that." Without waiting for her response, he turned and walked down the porch steps.


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