Part 2 of 3

"Knock, knock?"

The door had been left unlocked so Finn guessed he was supposed to just let himself in. That was how it worked in these quaint little towns, or so he had heard. Stars Hollow was about a million miles away from the kinds of places he had always lived. He had only been there once before, more than three years ago now. It was dark then, and he was more than a little drunk before the adventure ever began. Even then, he hadn't been here, to this particular house. He never met Rory's family. Well, the mother with the incredible genes, once, but that wasn't so official. Not like today.

"Unca Finn!"

Maia's joyful voice was quickly followed by the whole of her running full pelt into the hallway. Finn grabbed her when she got close and swung her in the air.

"There's my little darling!" he declared as she giggled happily. "Photogenic as ever, of course," he said, settling her in his arms and kissing her cheek. "What is this? Vera Wang? Stella McCartney?" he asked, smoothing her pretty dress.

"Huh?" she said, looking confused. "Silly Unca Finn!" she declared then, hugging his neck with her little arms.

"She knows you so well already," said Rory, appearing from the kitchen.

"What can I say? Always do make an impression on the ladies," he said with a wink.

Rory smiled, looking more genuine in the expression than a few months ago when they first stumbled upon each other again. It was surprise enough to see her that day. Certainly, Finn had never considered the amount of time they would be spending together from then to now. Never thought for a second that he'd be here in Stars Hollow for Thanksgiving with the Gilmores.

"Honey, did you...? Oh, hi."

"Mom, do you remember Finn?" Rory asked her.

"Mrs Danes," he said, nodding politely. "Thank you so much for inviting me. You have a delightful home."

"You can tell that from the hallway?" asked Lorelai, smirking a little. "He's good," she told Rory then.

"Always," she replied, without missing a beat.

"Okay. Well, Finn, it's very nice to have you here," Lorelai told him. "If you wanna head for the living room, I'll introduce you around. Rory, honey, Lane's been blowing up your cell. I'm guessing it's her traditional Thanksgiving Day meltdown that she needs talking through?"

"Right on time," said Rory, checking her watch. "I'll be back," she promised both her mother and Finn as she disappeared into the bedroom.

Lorelai had trouble keeping her eyes off Finn. It wasn't just that he was a fine looking young man, which he totally was. It was more how Maia seemed to love him already. From what she heard, the guy had spent a reasonable amount of time with the girls in the city, but Lorelai hadn't really considered how close he had gotten with them, not even when Rory asked if it would be okay to invite him for Thanksgiving dinner.

"Er, Happy Thanksgiving," he said then, as if he read her mind or something.

"And to you," Lorelai replied. "Although I guess it's a little different for you, being from the Land Down Under?"

She attempted an Australian accent that made him wince, though honestly, she looked more disturbed by the sound than he ever could.

"Yeah, I promise never to do that again," she said, shaking her head. "Right this way."

She took Finn through to the living room, where Maia finally made it clear she wanted to get down. She ran circles around all of the furniture before throwing herself onto the couch between two people Finn had never met in his life.

"Hey, munchkin," said the male, ruffling her hair. "You get bored of bugging grandpa already?"

"Unca Finn here!" she said happily, tipping her head all the way back so she could see him again. "See, Unca Jess!"

"Hey, it's like I'm not even needed here," said Lorelai, rolling her eyes. "Finn, Jess. Jess, Finn," she said pointlessly now. "Also, this is April, Luke's daughter. Luke is in the kitchen, cooking a mountain of food for later. It's what he does best. Well, one of the things."

Jess made a face at that, whilst April fell into an 'eeew' that belonged in a much younger girl's mouth. Finn didn't comment. It seemed safer somehow.

"Anyway, you guys should get acquainted. I'm sous-chef for the day, so, yeah."

She practically ran from the room and Finn couldn't blame her. He could feel the awkward building from the second he stepped in here, and one of the major issues was Jess. The face wasn't familiar, but the name he had heard enough from Rory in the past few months. His company published the first couple of runs of Rory's book, before the major players came calling and offered to make her a real best seller. He was also the ex, before Logan, and the nephew of Luke.

"You wanna sit down?" asked April, gesturing to the armchair.

Finn glanced from Jess to her and found her grinning at him, fluttering her eyelashes, the whole works. No question she was a pretty girl, and Finn wasn't dumb enough to dislike the attention. Still, there was no way even he was low enough to make a play for Rory's step-sister. Once upon a time, he might've been that guy. The last few weeks and months, things had definitely changed.

Conversation didn't come easy, not in this crowd, not until Rory returned to the room and filled in the blanks between her nearest and dearest. Between her and Lorelai, they pretty much made everybody get along, and then as the day went on, it got to the point where it all felt more genuine, like everybody actually had found a way to communicate, to be a weird kind of friends.

Finn almost forgot he was the missing link in the family scene. Not that it wasn't a feeling he was used to after all these years, but these people were different. Kind, inclusive, oddly non-judgemental. Maybe there was something to be said for small town living and salt of the earth folks like these. After all, without them, Rory wouldn't be Rory, Finn realised.

After dinner, she volunteered to clean up and Jess said he would help. Though Luke insisted they didn't have to, Lorelai agreed to the plan on his behalf, telling her husband he should go sit down with her in the living room and relax a while.

Finn smiled at that, he couldn't help it. A couple their age that loved each other like that still, that held hands sometimes, stole glances across the table at each other during dinner. It made his heart ache in the best way, because it was a dream he never had for himself. Easier to enjoy the company of a string of women he would never see again, be the life and soul of the party, never stop long enough to realise what he was missing. The older he got, the tougher that became to withstand. The more time he spent with Rory and Maia, the less he wanted to be the party animal he always thought he would be. The more he wanted to be something else, something more worthwhile.

"Come play!" said Maia then, pulling on his arm.

Finn snapped out of his silent reverie to realise that the little one wanted him to play some childish board game or other with her and April. Seemed like a decent enough way to spend the afternoon, he thought, contemplating his half-drunk glass of wine on the table. This had to be the most sober he had been at a party in a very long time. Felt strangely good.

"Come on then, Little Miss," he said to Maia, allowing himself to be dragged wherever she wanted him to go.

Jess saw it happen on his way back to the kitchen with the last of the dishes. Dumping them onto the table with the rest, he watched Rory a minute while he rolled up his shirt sleeves in preparation for washing dishes. She was wrapping up the leftovers worth saving, putting those that weren't into the trash. Through all of this there was a giddy smile on her face the like of which Jess hadn't seen in years, but he recognised it all too well.

"He's not what I expected," he said without preamble. "I guess I thought he'd be too much like the blond dick from Yale."

"You're still calling him that?" asked Rory with a look.

Jess rolled his eyes and turned towards the sink to start on the dishes.

"Yale might have been a long time ago," he said eventually, "but some things don't change."

"Sometimes they do," said Rory thoughtfully, smiling all the more as she heard the joyful laughter and chatter from the next room. "Sometimes people do... and sometimes they don't."

"Very philosophical," Jess dead-panned, watching Rory wander over with the dishtowel in her hands. "So, this is the guy, right?"

"What guy?"

"C'mon, Ror," he said, handing her the first plate to dry. "Finn, he's the guy. For you."

She snorted out a laugh that was supposed to be incredulous. It didn't quite come off, and they both knew it. Still, she said nothing, just dried off one plate then a second and a third as Jess passed them over to her. Eventually, somebody had to say something.

"Look, I'm not saying you can't do it alone, just like Lorelai, but why would you want to? Why, when you have a second choice that you like better?"

Rory opened her mouth to answer that but then closed it again fast. She wasn't stupid. She knew exactly what Jess meant, it was just easier not to admit it right now.

Finn so wasn't the guy for her, he couldn't be. When she recalled the antics he got up to at Yale, and after. He was such a flirt and a womaniser and a drunk, so much of the time. He had issues, but then, Rory guessed she wasn't lacking in those herself. Besides, she couldn't judge Finn on the way he had been back then. As he was now, all the best parts of the guy she used to know, plus this other element, this whole grown-up vibe that she could respect. He loved Maia, or he seemed to anyway, and she certainly adored her Unca Finn. That had happened so easily, as had Rory's renewed friendship with an old 'mate', as Finn would say. They were closer now than they had ever been, and Rory didn't hate that, not at all.

"If I was going to fall backwards..." she said then, meeting Jess' eyes, her look very meaningful, very clear.

"That's once upon a time stuff, Ror," he told her with a wry smile.

She nodded because she knew it was true. They made their misguided attempt at rekindling a while ago now. It wasn't that they didn't love each other, that he couldn't love her daughter. It wasn't even that they wouldn't be happy in their own way, but it wasn't what either of them wanted anymore, not what they needed. They were better as best friends, maybe even family, in a weird way. Romantically, they were the past. Somebody else had to be the future.

"I don't know," said Rory eventually, contemplating the latest dish she was drying like it might hold all the answers to life, the universe, and everything in its patterned surface. "Or maybe I do know, and that's the scary part."

"Maybe," Jess agreed. "For what it's worth, I already told you he's not a dick," he said, smirking wickedly when she looked his way. "As vain, rich, Beemer-owning guys go, I've met worse."

"Me too," she said, smiling widely and leaning in to kiss his cheek. "Thanks, Jess."

"Anytime."