Thank you so much for all your support! I'm glad you're enjoying it. :)

Chapter 2

"Ok...I should probably...uh...go..." Rory said turning to leave.

"No wait." Jess said. "I'll go. And you two can talk." He said.

Rory watched as Jess gave Lane's arm a little squeeze before heading out. She stood there for a minute not really knowing what to say.

"We weren't hiding it." Lane said quietly.

"Except that you obviously were or you would have told me." Rory pointed out.

"We were going to tell you but...well, we figured it wasn't really something to tell you over the phone. We wanted to tell you face to face and...well, you've not been back for ages." Lane said.

"I've come for visits." Rory said.

"I know but whenever you did, Jess wasn't here. We wanted to tell you together. We owed you that much." Lane explained. She sighed. "We were going to tell you later today, I swear."

Rory was quiet for a moment.

"Are you mad?" Lane asked hesitantly.

"No...not mad. Just...really surprised." Rory admitted. "How...when...How did this even happen? When did it start?" She asked trying to get her head round it.

"Did you know that Jess lived at the diner apartment for like 6 months last year? It was when he was finishing up his book and organising the publication and tour and stuff." Lane said.

"Yeah Jess told me he was staying here." She nodded.

"Well, Jess would help out at the diner as a thank you to Luke for letting him have the apartment and well, we got talking as we worked and we...well...we made a good team." Lane said. "We found out that we actually had quite a bit in common."

"He does like the music you like." Rory said quietly, nodding.

"Exactly! And...well...he made the time go by quickly. We started talking and we had a laugh together." Lane said. "He's grown up a lot since that sulky teenager."

Rory smiled slightly at that. "I guess he has. You used to hate him."

"I didn't hate him. I just...hated how he treated you." Lane admitted. She sighed. "We weren't trying to hide it. It just...at first we wanted to make sure it was something we were both serious about. We didn't want to make a big deal out of it if it wasn't going anywhere. But..."

"It is. Going somewhere..." Rory said quietly.

"Yeah." She said quietly. "I never thought I would find someone again after Zach and I broke up. You know how upset I was when that happened. I know it was the right decision. Zach and I...well, we were just fizzling out..."

"Is it weird still being in the band with him?" Rory asked.

"Not really. We both love Hep Alien and we ended amicably so we're still friends. That was a while ago now anyway. We've both moved on." She said.

"That's nice." Rory smiled.

"I really like Jess." She admitted. "And I know this is probably all sorts of weird for you and I'm really sorry you had to find out this way. But...this isn't a spur of the moment thing."

"Ok..." She said quietly.

"Ok?" Lane said hesitantly.

Rory sighed. "Look, I'm not going to pretend that it's not weird. I never thought I'd come home and find out my best friend is dating my ex."

"I know and I'm really sorry..."

"No, you don't have to be sorry. I just...I guess I need a bit of time to get my head round this...Jess and I, we really have moved on from the past." Rory said.

"Yeah?" Lane asked hesitantly.

"I mean, yeah I loved him. Once. But so much has happened since then and I guess we were never really meant to be." Rory admitted. "Besides, we're family now basically so it would be kind of weird now." She tried to joke.

"Rory..." She said softly.

"I..uh..I should go...I think I just need some time to get my head round this."

"Ok..."

Rory headed towards the door before turning back to face her best friend. "Are you...are you happy?" She asked hesitantly.

Lane smiled slightly. "Yeah." She said softly. "Yeah, I really am."

Rory just nodded before leaving the house. She stopped outside and let out a big breath she seemed to be holding. That was not what she was expecting to find when she was looking forward to catching up with her best friend. She started walking away from the house when she saw Jess leaning against a tree across the road. She took a deep breath before slowly walking over to him. "Making sure I didn't kill her, huh?"

"Well you were very jealous of Shane back in the day." Jess smirked slightly.

"Well I can assure you that Lane is fine." Rory said.

Jess sighed and glanced at her. "We weren't trying to hide it." He said.

"That's what Lane said."

"Are you ok?" He asked.

Rory shrugged. "Just didn't expect to walk in on that. I guess it will take a while to get my head round it." She said.

"Sure." Jess nodded.

Rory glanced at him. "Jess, I want you to be happy, ok? I've always just wanted you to be happy. And I know it's a bit weird because of the history between us but I guess if you had to date someone other than me, then Lane is the best choice. She's one of the nicest, most loyal, best friends I could ever ask for. She's one of the good people in this world." She said.

"I know." Jess said.

"Just...don't hurt her ok?" Rory said quietly. "She deserves happiness. You both do. I just...I want you to be happy."

"I am." He nodded.

Rory nodded. "So...I guess I will see you later."

"Are we ok?" Jess asked.

"We're ok." She said. "Just...give me some time to get my head round the fact you're dating my best friend ok?"

"Fair enough." He nodded.

"Just...don't tell Paris I called Lane my best friend." Rory smiled slightly.

Jess smirked slightly. "Your secret's safe with me." He said.


"Lane and Jess?"

"Yep."

"Jess and Lane?"

"Yup."

"Lane and Jess?"

"Mom!" Rory exclaimed.

"Sorry! I just...I never thought they would..." Lorelai said shocked, sitting down on the couch next to her daughter.

"Yeah, well they are. For a year now apparently." Rory sighed.

Lorelai glanced at her. "Are you ok?" She asked.

Rory shrugged. "I don't know." She admitted. "I mean, Lane's great and anyone would be lucky to have her. I just never thought it would be my ex. I mean, she hated him when we were younger."

"People can change though, hon." Lorelai said.

"I know. And I know Jess has. I do know that. And I want to be happy for them. I really do. I just...I guess it makes me miss Logan, you know." She admitted.

"What?" Lorelai said surprised. "Logan? I thought you haven't heard from him since..."

"I haven't." Rory said quickly. "I just...I saw the way they were looking at each other before they realised I was there. Lane and Jess, I mean. They were...well, I could tell it was real. I've been walking around a lot since finding out about them and I guess it just got me thinking about Logan. Silly, really."

"No, it's not silly. Logan was a bit part of your life." Lorelai said softly.

"Yeah..." She sighed. "He's married now though."

"He is? How do you know that?" She said surprised.

"Saw an invitation at Grandma's for their wedding." Rory said.

"Aw hon..."

"I'm fine." Rory assured her. "I just...I guess I never thought coming home would be like this." She sighed. She glanced at her mom. "Mom?"

"Yeah?"

"I've quit my job." She admitted quietly.

"What?" Lorelai said surprised. "But I thought you were enjoying it..."

"I was." Rory said. "I just...I don't know. I missed home. I've missed so much of Josh' life. I don't want him to forget he has a sister."

"That would never happen. He adores you." Lorelai said softly.

"I just...I wanted to be closer to home. I don't know what I'm going to do but I'm hoping I will get some inspiration coming back. Are you mad?" She asked hesitantly.

"Not mad. Just a bit...surprised." She said. "It's obviously your choice, hon. If you feel like it's time for a change, then trust your gut."

"Thanks mom." Rory smiled softly.


Luke glanced across at Jess as he filled up the coffee jugs at the diner. "So you and Lane huh?" He said.

Jess glanced at him. "Things get round fast." He said.

"So it's true?" He asked.

"Yup." Jess nodded.

"Huh." Luke said.

Jess glanced at him. "We weren't hiding it. We just...we wanted to tell Rory first. We owed her that."

"No, it's fine. I get that." Luke said. He glanced at his nephew. "You happy?" He asked.

Jess glanced at him and gave him a small smile. "Yeah." He nodded gruffly.

"Good. You deserve it." Luke said gruffly. "Go clear some tables." He said smirking slightly.

Jess smirked. "Whatever you say, Uncle Luke." He said picking up the rag to go clean the tables. He glanced back at him. "Hey Luke?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks." Jess said.

"Just don't break her heart. She's a good kid." Luke said.

"I won't." He said.

"Good." Luke said.

So I hope you liked it! Sorry it's a shorter chapter but I've got an idea for the next chapter and I felt like it would fit best in a new chapter so I promise the next one will be longer. :) Please keep reviewing as I love reading what you think! Thanks again for your support! :)