A/N: Shout out to jordana60 - I've said it before and I'll say it again, she's awesome and never fails to make me smile :)

Now, we've had the preamble, onto the reunion proper...

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Saturday 23rd April 2023

"This is kind of surreal."

Rory wasn't sure why she felt quite so strange on arriving at Chilton Prep tonight. It had been an awful lot of years since she last saw the place up-close, twenty years to be precise. From the outside it really hadn't changed much, and yet she had thought that she was a completely different person, right up until she arrived here.

"Rory?" Jess put his hand on her shoulder, a look of concern on his face when she glanced at him. "You okay?"

"Yeah. Yes, of course," she said, shaking her head. "I don't know, I just... It feels weird being here again. I've changed so much but now that I'm here? I feel like I'm fifteen again on that first day. Is that stupid? It is, isn't it?"

"Probably not."

Jess didn't know for sure what a person was supposed to feel like at a school reunion since he had never been to one and had no plans on doing so. He could imagine though, what it might be like to go back to some of the places he'd known as a teen in New York. That life seemed like a million years ago, almost as if it wasn't his life at all.

"Okay, let's do this," said Rory then, pushing open the door and stepping out of the cab.

It had been decided that leaving their own cars at home was the best idea, allowing Rory the chance of a drink to settle her nerves and Jess the opportunity to numb the pain of the event also. Somehow he had a feeling no part of this was going to be fun for him, but there was no way in hell he was not being at Rory's side when she needed him. It had never happened before, it was not starting now.

Jess had his hand wrapped around Rory's own when they reached the door and she smiled a grateful smile as they headed inside. There were two women manning a table right outside the main hall.

"Name please?" said one of them without looking up.

"Rory Mariano... Um, Gilmore," she corrected. "You would have me down as Rory Gilmore."

"Oh my God!" the woman gasped, leaping up from her seat. "Look at you. You haven't changed at all!" she enthused.

"You either... Abigail," replied Rory, with a quick glance at the name badge pinned to the other woman's ample chest.

"Oh, you're so sweet!" Abigail giggled.

Clearly she had changed or maybe Rory just had no memory of her whatsoever. Either way the hug looked awkward to Jess who was trying not to smirk and failing miserably in the attempt. Whoever Abigail was, she was thrilled to see this old school friend in particular, and started talking a mile a minute at Rory about all kinds of things whilst Jess stood by waiting, trying not to meet the eyes of the other woman at the table who was staring a little too much. Either she recognised him from his book jackets or she just liked what she saw. Either way, Jess was not interested and was very glad when he and Rory were finally allowed to go into the hall.

"Gilmore! It's about time!"

"Hey, Paris."

Rory gave a small wave as her friend came stomping over to them, Doyle on her heels. She looked to Jess as if she were dressed for a funeral rather than a reunion, wearing a long black dress and an angry expression. She certainly looked a whole lot older and less impressive than Rory, who had on a shorter and completely stunning little dark blue number that Lorelai had so proudly sewn. Jess had to bet he was the proudest guy in the room to be with her, regardless of whatever achievements any other Chilton student or their other halves might have to talk about.

"I'm gonna get a drink," he said between Paris' yelling and ranting. "You want?"

"White wine please?" said Rory in a small voice, mostly drowned out by the friend she was trying desperately to calm down.

Jess backed away towards the bar. "I'll be back."

It seemed like most people who were going to show up probably already had. A quick look around the room and Jess was sure he could see at least sixty or seventy people, mostly in small groups, all grinning and hugging. The further he could stay away from all that the better he liked it, though of course he would stand by Rory and smile appropriately if and when she needed him to. Just maybe not when Paris was there having a breakdown.

"Hey, man," said a guy next to him, downing a scotch. "I'm guessing you're one of the displaced spouses too, huh?"

"Something like that," Jess agreed, failing to see a bartender anywhere around.

When a guy did appear, the stranger caught his attention.

"Another for me please, and one for my friend."

"Actually, I'll take a beer," said Jess, "and a white wine for my wife, thanks."

The moment another scotch arrived in front of Jess' apparent new friend he swallowed it whole and sighed.

"You hating it that much?"

"Nah, it's fine," he waved away the question. "I'm just killing time 'til Lem finishes the rounds," he explained, before staring oddly at Jess. "Y'know, it's the weirdest thing, you look familiar. Did you go to Yale?"

"Nope," Jess shook his head and took a sip of his beer, "but Rory did," he gestured with the wine glass to indicate that she was the wife he had previously mentioned.

The blond beside him looked thoughtful. "Rory? Rory Gilmore?"

"That would be her."

"Yes!" he said, snapping his fingers and pointing at Jess. "You're... Jack?"

"Jess."

"Jess, right. I have met you before," he said, grinning now. "At Richard and Emily's vow renewal. I'm Logan, Logan Huntzberger. Wow. How're things, man?" he asked Jess, reaching to shake his hand. "That kid of yours must be, what? Sixteen now?"

"Seventeen," Jess confirmed, reaching for his cell out of his back pocket, "and actually, his name is Jack. We also have a daughter, Victoria, she's fifteen."

Like any proud father would, he brought up a picture of his kids on his phone and showed it to Logan whose eyes went wide. No doubt he saw the resemblance between the kids and Rory, as well as Jess. Everybody did.

"Well, congratulations, man," he said, slapping Jess on the arm. "That is excellent. Seriously, when I met Rory in college, with the whole pregnant thing and dropping out, I honestly thought she was throwing her life away. No offence."

"None taken."

"But you guys have clearly made it work. I am very impressed," Logan toasted with his next double and then downed it fast.

Jess winced. This was not a happy person, as much as he seemed to be grinning all of the time. In his experience, that was probably the work of the booze. It was doubtful Logan's marriage was as happy and fulfilling as Jess and Rory's had always been. If he had kids himself, he would've mentioned them, Jess was sure, so that was probably a topic best left alone. Another drink went down Logan's throat. Jess had no idea what to say to this guy, which was why Rory's appearance was particularly welcome then.

"Hey."

"Hey. I've been talking to an old friend of yours."

Rory looked confused and then glanced at the guy two bar stools over.

"Logan Huntzberger!" she gasped at the sight of him. "What are you doing here?"

"The wife dragged me along," he explained, happy to accept a hug from Rory - she really hadn't changed at all as far as he could tell, unless perhaps she had gotten more beautiful. "She's right over there. Lemon Daniels? You remember her?" he said, pointing her out.

"Of course I remember Lem." Rory nodded, looking over at the woman in question, the one-time second-in-command of The Puffs. "Wow, that's so amazing."

"And it looks like I just got somebody else to talk to now you've come to reclaim your husband," said Logan then, his eyes going to the door through which a new couple had just stepped, the guy with his arm slung around the woman's shoulders. "Hey, Finn! Buddy, over here!"

"Logan!" the enthusiastic (and apparently Australian) man was quick to wave a hearty hello and make his way to the bar at speed, completely abandoning his wife.

She seemed okay about it when she turned around and smiled widely. That was what gave away her identity to Rory.

"Oh my... Madeline!"

She was off at a run and Jess moved behind her at a more sedate pace. He never met these people before, but he could tell if they had changed much from their school days by Rory's reaction. He would hazard a guess that Madeline had expanded some, since she and Louise were said to be two of the beauties of Chilton back in the day. Madeline was still pretty, you could see it in her face, but her body had given in to age way more than Rory's had.

A couple Jess actually did recognise appeared by them within a second, namely the former Louise Grant and her husband, Tony Cooper, also known as Dax's father. The two guys shared a few words whilst the girls all hugged and squealed and made a fuss about their reunion for a while.

"You dated Rory in high school?" Madeline suddenly said to Jess. "How come we never met?"

"C'mon, Madeline," said Louise, rolling her eyes. "You really think he would've been safe around us?"

Madeline's eyes moved over Rory's husband one more time and then she shook her head.

"Hmm, it's probably for the best you kept him under wraps," she told Rory who blushed at the implication.

"You should see their daughter," Louise enthused, "she is gorgeous. My step-son, Darryl, is just completely in love with her. They're adorable!"

Pictures were duly found on cell phones and flashed around, with all the appropriate oohs and aahs that were supposed to accompany that. Then Rory got curious.

"Are you a mom, Madeline?"

"Three times over," she explained, "before I realised I was taking my birth control all wrong."

Tony frowned. "How do you-?"

"Don't ask her," Louise quickly advised.

"Anyway, they're great kids, and when me and Finn need a break, we have the most awesome pair of nannies. They're twins from Sweden, the absolute best women in the world."

Jess and Tony shared a wide-eyed look as Rory and Louise did the same. Somebody should probably say something to Madeline about her au pairs, but it wasn't going to be Rory. She felt a tapping on her shoulder and turned to see who was there.

"Hello, Rory," said the handsome man behind her.

"Hi. Um, I'm sorry, I don't... Brad?" she gasped when she saw his name badge.

He looked almost nothing like she remembered. Paris was right in her guess, he had grown into his ears, and into every other part of himself as far as Rory could tell. He was genuinely good looking, with an air of confidence that nobody could have suspected he would find. The stage life must have treated him well. Rory was amazed but thrilled for him as they got to talking about how their lives had progressed since high school.

Jess knew he could insert himself into that conversation if he wanted to, or continue listening to Louise try to explain to Madeline that it was unlikely Finn appreciated the twins purely for their child rearing abilities. Neither really appealed and it was clear that Tony was feeling as much like a third wheel as he was. They ended up heading to the bar and joining a couple of other displaced husbands. The non-Chilton wives seemed keen to stick to their husbands like glue, but the guys were taking a more relaxed approach, it seemed.

"Hey, aren't you that author guy?" asked one of his fellow non-Chilton husbands then, and Jess knew there was no lying about it, he would just have to have the conversation.

Rory saw that happening on her way to the bathroom and decided to let Jess be. Honestly, as pleased as she was that he accompanied her to the reunion, it was a little easier to do the catching up thing without him, especially where some of the more enthusiastic members of her class were concerned.

Brad had certainly been a surprise, but she was very glad things had worked out for him. There had been a lot of happy familiar faces tonight, and one absence that she wasn't sorry about. Francie hadn't shown up, despite accepting the invitation, and the rumour doing the rounds was not a pretty one. Apparently her so-called fiancé was not all he seemed. Depending on who you listened to, either he was a con artist who took Francie for everything she had, or they were in it together and she was also facing jail time. Rory wanted to feel sorry for her in either case, but found it hard. Maybe karma was finally catching up to Ms Jarvis from her younger days.

Headed back from the ladies room, Rory was distracted by the halls she had known so well as a teen, and by how different everything looked, whilst also looking the same in some ways. She didn't realise there was anyone in her path until she barrelled right into him, his strong hands gripping her arms to keep her from falling down.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I wasn't... Tristan?"

The moment she looked up into his face she knew it was him, there could be no mistake. He didn't look exactly the same, not least because he was twenty years older, twenty one in fact, since he had left Chilton in Junior year, but he was unmistakably him. Just as good looking, just as knee-meltingly hot when he smiled.

"Hello, Mary," he greeted her as he used to back then, and somehow it seemed like the most natural thing in the world to reach up and hug him.

He hugged her back, probably for longer than he had ever hugged her before and she let him.

"It's been so long, I almost didn't recognise you."

"And yet you look exactly the same," he told her, smiling.

"Liar!" Rory scoffed, even though he was far from the first to tell her so this evening.

"Actually, it's true," Tristan assured her, shaking his head as he took in the sight of her. "I mean sure, you grew up from seventeen to now, but I'd know you anywhere, Rory Gilmore."

His eyes were practically hypnotising and she remembered too well how easy it was to fall under their spell when she was younger. It was different now and she knew better. She was married and deliriously happy to be so, but if she were single, Rory could imagine being easily led by this guy even now. He had that kind of smile, that kind of personality.

"So, how are you?" she asked, not even thinking to go back into the hall, just hovering by the doors with Tristan. "How's life treated you since Chilton?"

"It's had it's ups and downs," he admitted, looking awkward somehow.

"Um, are you married?" she tried, hoping he didn't take it the wrong way, but she had said it now and it was too late to take it back.

"Not currently," he told her. "There was a Mrs Dugray. Two actually, over the last few years, but I'm not the best at long-term relationships," he told her, looking so sad about it Rory almost wanted to cry for him. "You?"

"Sixteen years and counting," she admitted, showing off her rings. "Two kids. Jack is seventeen and Tori is fifteen," she explained, once again presenting a picture on her cell as evidence of her family.

"Wow, I didn't... You started early," Tristan said eventually, the mental math not taking much to do.

Rory blushed in spite of herself.

"Yeah, and not deliberately," she admitted, shoving her cell back into her purse, "but I don't regret it, not for a second. I may never have been the next Christianne Amanpour, but I'm the first Rory Mariano and just as proud of that. I've written and edited a lot of online publications and some printed stuff too. Jess, my husband, he's a published author of a whole mess of novels, and we part own the diner in Stars Hollow," she explained all in a rush. "It's a good life, I'm happy."

"Sounds amazing," said Tristan, looking as honest in his words as Rory had ever known him, "and I'm glad you're happy, Rory. You deserve it."

"You're not happy," she said, more of a statement than a question because it was as plain as the nose on your face that Tristan was a sad man, but then, she had always seen a little of that sadness, behind his blue eyes.

He shrugged broad shoulders and shook his head.

"What is happy?" he asked, quirking a half a smile. "I have a pretty decent career in the military. Lieutenant-Colonel Dugray, at your service," he told her with the matching stance and salute.

"Wow!"

Rory was surprised by that, and yet not at the same time. It certainly was hard not to picture him in uniform inside her mind's eye. She had a feeling he looked damn good in it too.

"It's a shame I'm not so good with family as I am with work," Tristan told her, reaching into his pocket. "One good thing came out of marriage number two at least - that's Charlotte," he explained, showing her a picture on his cell, much as she had moments before. "She's eleven, into a new thing every time I see her, which isn't as often as I'd like, but what can you do?"

"She's beautiful," Rory noted, not needing to lie or even embellish as she had previously this evening looking at pictures of some other people's children.

Tristan was just putting his phone away and opening his mouth to speak again when Jess appeared through the doors.

"Hey. I wondered where you got to," he told Rory, moving up close to her.

"Hi." Rory smiled, leaning into him, knowing how wary and territorial he could still be in front of other guys sometimes. "Jess, this is Tristan Dugray. Tristan, my husband, Jess Mariano," she introduced.

They shook hands though neither looked impressed at the sight of the other. Rory could well understand why. It was that whole testosterone thing that men got going on, two alphas in the herd or whatever. Rory was just about to make a break for it when Tristan made the move for her.

"Anyway, I should make the rounds, I guess," he said, jerking his thumb back towards the main hall. "It was good to see you again... Mary."

"You too, Tristan," she told him with a girlish giggle she seemed to have no control over. "Take care of yourself, soldier."

Jess was frowning when she turned to look at him.

"That's the ass that nick-named you Mary?"

"He wasn't so bad," she told him, reaching for his hand and taking a tight hold.

"So, we headed back in?" he asked.

Rory looked thoughtful and then shook her head. "No, let's go home."

"Already?" said Jess, though he wasn't sorry about the suggestion.

"Yeah, I've seen everyone I wanted to see, I've faced them all and shown them I'm proud of myself and very happy with how my life turned out." Rory smiled. "It's all I really wanted to do."

"Okay," Jess agreed.

He pulled out his cell to call for the cab to come get them and Rory watched for a few minutes through the glass panels in the doors to the hall. As Paris started to call order, presumably to make a speech or something, Rory pulled Jess away. She didn't want to be dragged back into all of that. She really had come here and done what she set out to do. There was no-one else she was keen to see, no point left to make, no more mingling that she felt the need to do. She had better plans for the rest of her night than hanging out here.

"Thank you for being so great tonight," she told Jess, swinging their joined hands between them as if they were the kids they had been when she was last here at Chilton.

"I didn't do much."

"You did plenty, trust me."

She leaned in to kiss him as they reached the doors and saw the cab pulling up outside. Rory led the way out and hopped into the back seat with her husband at her side. Leaning over to the driver she gave him the name of a hotel that had Jess confused.

"I thought we were headed home?"

"Not immediately," Rory told him, stealing a good long kiss that made her intentions very clear.

Jess was smirking again when they parted. "Y'know, taking someone to the school dance and booking a hotel room for after is traditionally a guy's trick."

Rory laughed. "Since when have we been traditional?" she asked, her hand running south from his chest. "Besides, are you complaining?"

"Nope," he told her happily, as the car pulled out of the gates and left Chilton behind.

To Be Continued...