Nostalgia
"Jordan!"
There was no answer.
Rory Mariano tried again, "Jordan! Come down here, please!"
She heard stampeding footsteps coming down the stairs. A few seconds later, a boy of about five was standing in front of her, an all too innocent expression on his face.
"Yes, Mommy?"
Rory bit her lip, trying to stay firm, "How come I got a call from your teacher today?"
"I dunno," he shrugged.
She sighed and bent down on her knees so that she was face-to-face with him.
"Ms. Curtis said that you got into a fight with Jake today."
"Maybe."
"Jordan," she warned.
He pouted. "It was his fault. I was reading a really good book yesterday and I didn't get to finish it, so I stuck in my cubby. When I got to school today, Jake had it and wouldn't let me read it, so I told him to give it back. He said no and started laughing at me, and then he called me a Fathead."
Rory had to stifle a laugh as he continued with his story. "So then I pushed him and tried to grab the book, but he's taller than me and held it above my head. I got mad so I punched him."
"Jordan, why didn't you just tell Ms. Curtis that Jake wasn't sharing?"
"Because then everyone would have called me a tattle-tail," he said simply.
Rory rolled her eyes, "Of course."
"Oh, and Daddy said that I shouldn't let people pick on me, so I didn't."
"I don't think Daddy meant you were supposed to hit him, though," Rory explained. She sat down on the floor and pulled her son into her lap.
"Yeah he did." Jordan said, "He's the one who taught me how to punch good."
"Well," Rory corrected absently. "And when did Daddy teach you how to hit?"
Jordan frowned, "Ever since Jake's been making fun of me, so I guess a few weeks."
"Why didn't you tell me someone was being mean to you?" Rory asked, concerned.
He shrugged again, "I dunno. Daddy helped me, anyway."
"I see." She sighed and brushed a curl of dark brown hair form his brow. "Why don't you go up to your room and read for a little bit so I can talk to Daddy?"
He nodded. "Okay."
Jordan smiled at his mom before scrambling out of her lap and darting up the stairs and into his room, already planning on what book he was going to pick out.
Rory on the other hand, got up a little more slowly. She was five months pregnant and the extra weight was already doing a number on her. She gently walked over towards the study where Jess was typing.
Opening the door, she peeked her head in. "Hey."
Jess flipped the laptop down and swiveled in his chair, a smile playing on his face. "Hey." He stood up, "What's wrong?"
Rory got right to the point. "Why are you teaching our kid to fight?"
He gave her mock confused look, "I have no idea what you're talking about. I would never do that."
"Jess."
He sighed, "He was being picked on. It's not like he's really gonna hurt anyone."
"Then why did I get a call from his teacher telling me that the boy he fought with has a broken nose?"
Jess' eyes widened as he whistled, "Whoa. That's pretty good for a five-year-old."
"Jess."
"Sorry," he apologized indifferently. "But why did he hit him in the first place?" he asked, sitting back down in his chair.
"Apparently this kid stole Jordan's book."
"Well at least there was a good reason for it." Jess smirked.
Rory groaned and walked over to her husband. "Yes, and that makes everything all right."
He shrugged, and Rory plopped down in his lap, arms circling his neck. He held her by the waist, while she buried her head in the crook of his neck. She said something, but he couldn't make out what it was.
"I said- when did we get so old?" She pulled away and looked at his face, letting her hand brush down his cheek.
He was the same bad-boy she remembered from her teens, but he had acquired a few age lines around the eyes and mouth. He still had is ubiquitous smirk and the eyes that just seemed to change every time she looked into them. Brown, gold, hazel, russet…
He had lost the leather jacket and band tees for a more practical wardrobe of sport jackets and casual shirts. He let his hair grow out a little, and it was more appropriate for "Daddy-Wear."
At 37, they were both a little old to be having kids, but with her job as a foreign correspondent and his as a writer of both books and for magazines; their jobs took front and center, while having a family was placed on the backburner. After almost fifteen years each of work, they'd decided to settle down into a small home in Stars Hollow (after much grumbling from Jess) and start to think about having kids. They'd made enough money over the years therefore Rory could take off a few years, and Jess could write whenever he had time.
"What makes you say that we're old?" he asked placing a gentle kiss on the top of her head. She had sunk back into his chest after her reverie.
"Our entire day consists of Jordan and the little one here." She pointed to her stomach as best she could from her position lying against him. "Whether it be if Jordan's eaten enough, done his homework, not gotten into fights (She glared at him playfully) or is overall a happy kid, our life revolves around them."
He nodded in agreement, "But, I don't think that's a bad thing."
"Me neither. I couldn't ask for a better life." She paused and pulled back, tilting her head. "When's the last time we've gone out? Me and you?"
He frowned in thought. "I don't know. Years ago, I guess. Why?"
"Maybe we can ask Mom and Luke to watch them for a few hours tonight. We can go to dinner, see a movie. Do something where I won't get spit on by a two year old."
He chuckled, "That sounds nice."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. I'm gonna write for a little longer, and you can go call Lorelai. How about you be ready by six o'clock?"
"Where are going?" she asked, smiling.
Jess tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, "Surprise."
"Like when we where younger? That was fun." She giggled, thinking back to a few interesting date memories.
"Yup."
She grunted as she got up off of him, "We've got three hours. Be ready."
"It takes me ten minutes to your hour and a half; I'll be fine. Now, go call your mom to make sure she can take Jordan for the night."
She cocked her head, "All night?"
"Yeah, let's make it a full-on date."
"I like the sound of that. Okay, I'm off."
He nodded.
She was almost out of the door before she turned around, "You know, we never really talked about you teaching our son to fight."
He let his head drop to the desk, "I almost made it."
"Oh, don't worry. We have all night to talk about it," she said easily.
Jess groaned, "I'm looking forward to it."
Rory smiled one last time before shutting the door behind her. "I knew you would be," she said to the empty hall. She smirked, and headed into the kitchen, grabbing the phone along the way.
She popped a few grapes into her mouth and dialed the familiar number.
"Hey, Mom. Jess and I were wondering if you and Luke would…"
A/N: I officially have no idea how my brain works. One second I was sitting down, ready to write the new chapter of Third Season: The Better Way (I think that's the name, I don't pay attention to that kinda stuff) Any, this came out instead. I might CONTINUE if you want me to, but that depends on the response and feedback I get.
Oh, and since FF has been down, not letting you review...please make sure you review my other stories if ya get a chance. Okay? Okay. Wow, that sounded really preppy. Whatever. I'm gonna take a few deep breaths and post this, and I really wanna hear whatchoo think.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything except maybe Jordan, but he's named after a Hemingway character. (Now, why would Rory let Jess do that? If ya wanna know, tell me and I'll do another chapter) Okay, enough with the hinting. I'm done. So, review! Andread, first, but if you're down here, you probably have. Read the story, I mean. Anyway, I probably won't get a chance to update any of my stories til next week 'cos I have AP Exams and Finals and EOCTs and all that stupid stuff. (Look, an alliteration!) So... Buh-bye!