Just before Rory Gilmore left to become a freshman at Yale, she learned she was pregnant. With her ex-boyfriend, Jess Mariano's baby. She had found out a day before he left for California and was going to tell him, but she never heard from him again and had no way to contact him. Being a pregnant teenager, Rory was ashamed, as most girls in that situation would be. It was everything that her mother, Lorelai didn't want for her. After a few days though, she loved the idea of having a grandchild. On the other hand, Emily and Richard weren't as happy for Rory, it was like Lorelai all over again, but they never stopped paying for Rory's tuition because they wanted her to make something of herself. As a result of her embarrassment,Rory lived in a small one-bedroom apartment just outside of Yale because she didn't want to share a room with anyone, because of the situation. Rory's best friend, Lane was skipping a year before she went to college, so she helped Rory out with babysitting after the baby arrived when Rory had classes.

Valentina Mariano was Rory's life. She decided to take Jess' last name for her little girl, because after all it was his daughter too. She had Rory's bright blue eyes but Jess' jet black hair. She was a great baby, and the only thing that stopped her from crying at night was listening Rory's Bangles CD's. Even though she was not planned, Rory never thought of Valentina as a mistake. She was Rory's motivation to keep going ay Yale, until she graduated with a major in Journalism and a minor in English Composition.

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Valentina was almost four when Rory graduated from Yale. Lorelai, her boyfriend Luke and Valentina attended Rory's graduation. It was a large ceremony at an arena in New Haven, only the best treatment for Yale Graduates.

After the ceremony, Rory eventually found her mom, Luke and Valentina waiting outside. Luke was carrying a sleeping Valentina. "We tried to get her to stay up until they announced your name, but it didn't work" Lorelai said, a little upset.

"It's okay, it will make for a good story later on" Rory chuckled, taking her daughter from Luke, who she knew hated children, but he was a grandfather figure to Valentina. She had grown to get more of Jess' attributes, from writing in the margins of her favorite books, only with pencil though, and always carrying a book around in the back pocket of her jeans that she always wore. At times it pained Rory that she was so much like Jess and he would be gone forever.

"We should probably get going if we're going to get to the party in time" Lorelai said, leading the rest of the clan to her Jeep. She was throwing one of her legendary parties for her daughters' graduation.

In less than a half an hour, they were back at Lorelai's house. Well, now it was Lorelai and Luke's house. The couple lived together but for right now had no plains to get married, they just wanted to enjoy each other. Valentina had woken up on the car ride back home, repeatedly saying "party" because she knew that they're was going to be cake. When they arrived at the house, Babette was standing outside. "Morrie! They're here!" she screamed loud enough for Morrie to hear her inside.

"Oh doll how are ya?" she asked. "My goodness, is this the baby? Morrie, come see the baby. Oh hun, we don't see enough of this beauty around here" Rory chuckled. "Well the baby isn't really the baby anymore. She'll be four in a few weeks. Valentina, can you say hi to Babette?"

Valentina smiled. "Hi Babette.." she said softly and then hid on Rory's shoulder. "She'll be okay" Rory reassured Babette and followed her inside the house, where there were people everywhere. Sookie had made the food, of course and Lorelai had planned it, they were slowing bringing back their time spent as party planners as a side job.

Valentina was a bigger hit at the party than Rory, but that was okay for Rory, she didn't need nor want the attention. Of course they had a cake with Rory's face on it, that Valentina thought was the most amazing thing in the world and they played several homemade games such as "Pin the Graduation Cap on Rory", like pin the tail on the donkey. That was Lorelai's idea but that goes without saying. The music was great, all of Rory's favorites from The Bangles to David Bowie to Metallica and a lot of dancing from Valentina.

Eventually, the party was over. Rory was going to stay with her mom and Luke for the summer, and then move to Washington D.C. to cover a presidential candidates' journey to the White House. Valentina was still up, due to the sugar rush from eating her mom's face out of icing. Rory decided to take her on a stroller ride down by the town square to see if she would fall asleep.

She walked around two sides of the square because she sees a familiar silhouette in the distance. 'It can't be' she thought to herself, but sure enough it was Jess Mariano, Valentina's father, the irresponsible teenage boy that broke Rory's heart and left her to be a single teenage mother. He was sitting on a bench, reading his favorite, Oliver Twist.

"Hasn't anyone ever told you it's no good for your eyesight to read in the dark Mariano?" Rory asked sarcastically as the neared the boy she was once in love with, the boy she still loved.

"What's with the kid Gilmore?" Jess looked up from his book, to stare at the three year old, sleeping peacefully in her stroller.

"I asked first" Rory sighed. "And if you must know, she's my daughter. She's three, her name is Valentina Lorelai."

"God what's with all the Lorelai's?" He said, clearly annoyed that his ex-girlfriend interrupted his reading.

"Well maybe if you were around you could've helped with the name. But you weren't. You left and I was never able to contact you. I've raised her perfectly for almost four years. Not a broken bone or stitches or a concussion. She's an amazing little girl. She writes in the margins of books just like her dad.." Rory pointed to the clearly marked up pages of Jess' book.

"Sorry, I didn't know.." Jess said, trying to take this all in that he had a child.

"I'm not asking for you to be involved in my life, her life, our life, but you should at least know about her. What are you even doing back here anyway?" Rory asked.

"Here for business, I had a meeting at Harvard about a new manuscript and I figured I would come back to this place. I hate it so much, but it's nice to just sit and read at night like this. I might stop by Luke's in the morning, but that's a might. You should um..get home, Valentina is asleep and there's a chill in the air tonight, I'm sure you don't want her to get sick.." He said softly and Rory nodded, knowing that she overstayed her encounter.

She started to walk away when Jess called after her. "Wait, Ror, I have to know, what's her last name? Gilmore, I'm assuming, or else she wouldn't be a true Gilmore girl." He chuckled, thinking of the Gilmore Way of doing things. Friday Night Dinners, Takeout and Movie Night, always snooping around when they want information about someone new in their lives.

Rory turned back and smiled. "Mariano." She said softly, then turned back around, heading towards her mom's house.