I meant to update this yesterday, but I didn't have a chance to. I should warn you, though, that though I'm updating this story requently, you definitely shouldn't expect me to be a super update writer in the rest of my stories. As much as I would love to be, I think my other three in-progress chapter fics (which I probably won't really get to work on until after this is done) speak for themselves. Anyway, enjoy!

P.S. Though Jess insults Logan in this chapter, that doesn't not necessarily reflect my own views: it's just that Jess doesn't like Logan, so to keep in-character, he would insult Logan. I don't agree with Jess (as Rory ends up saying also) that Logan expected Rory to give up her job and marry him; you can feel however you do about Logan, but the reality is, Rory and Logan both did love each other while they were together, though you can make your own case about whether their relationship was right (or whether they would have loved other people more) or not. I just wanted to clarify because even though this story isn't going to be Rogan, the last thing I want to do is offend any Rogan shippers who might read this story.

P.P.S. Sorry for poking fun at Twilight and Gossip Girls if you happen to be a fan (I haven't read the books/seen many episodes of Gossip Girl, so I can't comment). I just felt like for Jess especially, they'd be things he'd mock. And you can't deny that like Rory, in the first book especially, Bella was pretty lucky in love. ;)


Rory (Part 2)

Things got even stranger when they arrived home. While Rory had prepared herself for the awkwardness of Luke living in her house, she hadn't fully realized that for Luke, the Crap Shack was permanent, and Rory herself was a guest. She simply couldn't get over the fact that her home for half of her life was now home to someone else. When she stepped into her room, she found a sweater April had left during her last visit, earlier that month. She didn't mind sharing her room with her almost stepsister, but she wasn't used to sharing her space, either. Even Gigi's brief stay in her room seemed minor compared to sharing her room with a fourteen-year-old girl.


Jess takes a few moments to answer her. Even though it has been over a year since she last saw him and longer still since they saw each other on a regular basis, she can imagine his reaction upon hearing her voice. Somewhere in Philadelphia, he is probably sitting up straighter, no doubt taken aback to hear her voice after a good year and a half apart.

"Rory?"

She nods, but cannot bring herself to say anything. After a few moments of silence, Jess speaks again. "Huh, I can't say I was expecting you. When I saw your number on Caller I.D., I figured I was hallucinating or something. I thought for sure you'd be out with your mother doing that mad shopping thing that's supposed to be happening today. I have to say, I'm pretty impressed. Remind me to give you a pat on the head and a cookie next time I see you."

A smile begins to tug at the corners of her mouth. "Would it lessen your respect for me greatly if you knew that I was calling you from a bathroom stall at a Hartford mall right now?"

"That depends. Are you and dear ole Ernest still at odds with each other?"

"I might have had to choke through The Sun Also Rises, yes."

"Then you don't get your cookie. I might, however, give you a pat on the head, but only if you're very good and give A Farewell to Arms another chance."

"And if I'd prefer the cookie to the pat on the head?"

"Well, let's just say you're gonna have to do a whole lot more brushing up on your literary tastes to get that."

She smiles, momentarily forgetting the reason for calling him. A comfortable pause settles between them. This is what she loves best about talking to people she knows well; even when neither is talking, the silence never feels awkward.

"Rory?" says Jess, his tone softer. "Are you all right?"

She forces out a laugh, thinking about how "not all right" she feels. "Why do you ask that?"

"Well, even though I'm gonna be her Best Man, I have a feeling that Luke had to do a whole lot of arm twisting for dear ole Auntie Lorelai to agree. Unless Mommy dearest made you call me to cancel seeing me when you come to Philadelphia, I can't exactly see you calling me while you two are in the middle of a shopping trip."

A surge of irritation creeps into her voice. "God, why is it that no one believes I can do things without the approval of my mother? I went out with you and Logan, dammit! I even stole a Yacht and took a semester off from Yale, and everyone still sees us as the mother-daughter pair who is conjoined at the hip. Well, either that or that we're sisters, though it's my own fault that worker from Jessica McClintock thinks so."

"Geez, Rory, calm down. I know you two have separate minds, or else you would have never ran off to Philadelphia to see me in the first place." She swallows hard at the mention of the topic she and Jess have both been trying so hard to avoid. "All I meant is that if you're calling me now, your mother obviously isn't within hearing distance. Now, are you gonna tell me what happened or am I going to have to force it out of you?"

Rory's tone comes out bitter. "Well, considering I'm currently locked in a bathroom stall, after snapping at a worker at Jessica McClintock who thought my mom and I were sisters that we were only half sisters and that she had a deadbeat father, I would say that the odds that my mother is within hearing distance are pretty slim."

Jess pauses for a few moments. "Okay. Speak."

She lets out a breath and finally speaks the words she hasn't had the courage to say out loud. "I've been having a really hard time lately."

"Yeah, I imagine the joy of hopping from bus-to-bus to cheap motels in a whole lot of cities isn't something I should be jumping up and down and cheering about."

"No, seriously, it sucks. It really, really sucks. I thought that things would be different, you know, that I'd be treated like a cool reporter or something, but instead, I feel like a freshman all over again. Nobody cares about writing for an online journal, at least not when there are representatives from The New York Times running around. And then, if things aren't bad enough, the one person I actually do feel comfortable talking to basically tells me I'm an ugly pig and ditches me for my blonde-bimbo-roommate-when-the-campaign-is-too-cheap-to-pay-for-my-own-room."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. An ugly pig…Rory? Who the hell is this guy who compared you to a kind of swine?"

She looks down at her lap. "Ryan. And no, he didn't actually call me that, but I thought we had a special connection going on, and then, this Monday, I caught him making out with Amanda-she's the blonde who's sometimes my roommate. Her job isn't much better than mine is, but she at least is writing for an actual published journal and gets more attention as a result, which I can't understand, since, seriously, Paris Hilton's memoir reads better than her work. But apparently, it's pretty serious, because they've been friends for a long time before I ever came on to the campaign scene, and even after a few dates, they're practically engaged-to-be-engaged or whatever." She thinks of her mother and Luke. "I don't even know why I'm letting myself get so upset over this. Sure I liked him, but I just got off of a serious relationship with Logan, and-well, I guess the truth is, this is the first time somebody's ever really seriously rejected me. I know that that sounds really pathetic, and God knows, I probably deserve to experience some heartbreak, but there you have it. I'm just a freaking Bella Swan, used to all of the guys falling into my lap. Go ahead; mock. I know you want to."

"Well, as tempting as the mock is-and believe me, the fact that you even compared yourself the heroine of a tween vampire series deserves a mock of itself-I think I'm gonna pass on this one. So you're heartsick, huh? What did your mother say when you told her?"

"That's the thing! I haven't told her. I was going to-I mean, I'd mentioned Ryan on the phone a few times before-but seriously, every time I get close to talking about it this week, she goes off on this whole segue about how much I think she'll be showing next month, so she can plan for her wedding dress, or who should walk down the aisle with April, or God knows what else. We can't even talk at the diner or our house anymore, cause Luke's there too. Which isn't bad-I love Luke-but I'm getting seriously sick of the goo-goo eyes the two are sending each other. Do you know that this morning at the diner after Mom told Luke that she was buying some maternity outfits later, they just stood there for a good minute smiling at each other? And then when Kirk interrupted by complaining that he wanted his food, Luke just grunted and went off to get it for him, without a single protest? Luke's the absolute last person I would have pegged to act like this, and Mom and I have spent years mocking sappy couples, but now, they're unbearable. Luke actually watched a movie with us Wednesday night, and it was Moulin Rouge. And he'd already seen it a few times before, and only said, like, a total of five comments about it. If that isn't freaky, I don't know what is."

Jess laughs. "Okay, that does deserve some mocking."

"Don't get me wrong. I'm happy for Mom and Luke. I really am. After everything that happened last year, they deserve this wedding, and they deserve this baby. Mom deserves to actually have a father present, and Luke deserves to actually meet his kid before it's twelve-years-old. I just can't help thinking-what about me?" The tears come quickly. "I don't just mean the baby or anything, though God knows, I should be more jealous, with this kid actually having an involved father and everything, but I also just mean this life, this whole life Mom's carved for herself while I was gone. I have cold motel rooms and Fast food and Ramen noodles and chats by phone and Facebook and Skype to get me through my days, and she has a dog, a fiancé, and a baby coming, plus the said fiancé who not only cooks for her, but even watches movies like Moulin Rouge and Showgirls for her. Did you hear the story of their engagement?" A couple of tears run down her face. "I don't think I'll ever have that. I mean, I should have that, right? I'm twenty-three. Lane's married, and Paris and Doyle are living in Boston together, and I should have that. I just don't."

"Hey," says Jess, a little awkwardly. "For what it's worth, uh, Luke mentioned something about how you broke up with Logan. And I know this probably won't make you feel better, cause he must have had some redeeming qualities if you were willing to stay with him for that long, but I think he was a jerk, giving you an ultimatum like that. You're twenty-three-years-old, for God's sake. What did he expect, that you'd just pick up your life, give up on your career, and move to San Francisco to be with him? Did he really not know you at all?"

"I'm pretty sure he didn't expect me to just give up his career for him. I think he figured I'd just do both. And I don't know about that-about me being too young, that is. Mom and I were just in this bridal shop, and this one bride looked really close in age to me. Besides, Lane and Zach are married, and as far as I know, they're doing great."

"Yeah, but those other girls aren't you. You're Rory Gilmore, and even if you might jump on the bandwagon and do something like Black Friday shopping, you're definitely not like most girls. You're gonna become the next Christine Amanpour, not the next, I don't know, whoever the hell that girl who writes all those blogs in Gossip Girl is."

"You're mocking me for comparing myself to Bella Swan? You just made a comparison to Gossip Girl!"

"Hey, I just happened to get a glimpse of it while I was channeling surfing the other night. It's not like I actually sat down and watched it or anything. Don't tell me you've never seen any of it, either."

"Yeah, but I'm a girl. I can get away with watching things like Gossip Girl. You can't."

"So you admit you've seen it too?"

"Get your facts straight. I read the back cover of one of the books in a bookstore."

"I know it's a book series. I'm a published writer, for God's sake. What I didn't know is that you read them."

"Are we seriously about to get into a debate over whether it's more pathetic to have seen an episode of Gossip Girl or read one of the books? Because it looks to me that's the road we're headed on."

"Oh, so you did read one of the books? Besides the back cover, I mean."

"Jess…"

"Okay, okay. My point is that if Logan knew you at all, he would have known that there's no way you would just pack up your life to San Francisco to get married at twenty-three. And fyi, the whole mother-starting-over-with-baby thing? I know what it's like. So if you still are processing things by, say, the time you come to Philadelphia, we can talk."

She puts on a tone of mock shock. "Why, Jess Mariano, are you seriously scheduling a time to have a heart-to-heart conversation with me? I'm touched." When Jess doesn't respond for a few moments, she lowers her voice. "Seriously, though. You don't mind talking about it?" Although she knows Jess has matured a lot in the five years since they dated, she can't remember him ever admitting his feelings to her about such a personal subject before.

"Hey, I figure I might as well do my part in the world and pass on my knowledge to those younger than I am," says Jess, making a jab at how he is a few months older than she is. "As long as we're on the topic, I will, however, leave you with a parting thought: Doula. The spawn of T.J. and Liz."

In spite of herself, Rory can't help laughing. "Oh, God, that is a bit frightening."

"Yeah, so though we both know that nothing's even gonna come close to that particular mixing of DNA, think of it this way. If you want to believe the whole nurture versus nature thing, then at least with our fathers not being around much, we didn't have a chance to inherit all of their crazy on top of our mother's. I mean, think about it. A flannel wearing coffee addict who will probably be both a maniac rambler and ranter? Minor compared to Liz and T.J.'s offspring, but still pretty frightening."

"Wow, that fact didn't even occur to me."

"See, when you think of things like that, it makes the whole thing a lot easier."

There is a knock on the bathroom stall, and Rory sighs. "I'd better go," she tells Jess regretfully. "It's been really busy here at the mall today, and I don't want to hog the bathroom anymore than I already have. I'll call you tomorrow about a plan for us to meet up or something." She smiles. "I'm looking forward to more commiserating."

"Hey, Rory," Jess says, before she can put down the phone. "About what you were saying earlier-about worrying about someone never being there for you, like your mom and Luke? You'll get that someday. Maybe it won't be Logan, but it will be someone."

Rory's heart beats a little quicker. She is touched. No other guy, especially one who has seen her mess up as many times as Jess have, has ever said anything so sweet to her before. Coming from Jess especially, it is a major compliment. Still, a surge of skepticism creeps in. "What gives you the authority?" she says softly. "I mean, Christine Amanpour didn't marry her husband until she was forty or something. How do you know I won't just be a career woman? How do you know I'll have it?"

"I just do, okay?" says Jess, a little awkwardly. "Hell, if Paris could find somebody to put up with her quirks, then believe me, you definitely can, too. Now go get out of the bathroom stall. I'm sure there's some woman with a heavy bladder just dying for you to get out."

She has so much she wants to say then, but instead, she settles on the thing she knows she needs to say the most. "Uh, Jess? About what happened the last time we saw each other? The thing is-I'm sorry. I had no right to use you like that, and I don't really have anything else to say that you deserved better, and-I'm sorry."

She hears Jess take in a breath. "S'okay. It's time to let things go, anyhow. We're practically family, anyhow. Wouldn't want a silly thing like a kiss to become between us, would we?"

Rory smiles. "Bye, Jess."

"By cous. Tell me how the talk with your mother goes."

She smiles again at how well he knows her; that, although she has not mentioned it, there will inevitably be a talk between she and her mother before the day is through. "Will do. I'll talk to you later. Look forward to telling me whatever it is you're writing when we meet up."

"Ah, geez, am I really? Whatever happened to not cursing things by having the writer talk about his book, before it's out of his pen?"

"Hey, you told me you couldn't have done the last book without me! The least I deserve is a little sneak peak in exchange. And be careful with your comparisons, there. I'm sure Ernest wrote with a pen and ink, but we live in the computer age, my friend. Anyone who isn't a typer and who is willing to subject themselves to the painful process of crossing things out by hand and then proceeding to type everything up when it's done has a serious death wish."

"Well, you'll just have to wait and see for yourself what I've written part of my manuscript with, won't you?"

"Looking forward to it."

She ends the call and grasps the phone tightly. It is a good few moments before she finds her footing and is able to get out of the bathroom stall.

"I'm out," says Rory, without glancing at the woman in front of her. She gasps when the woman takes her by the shoulders, and Rory finds herself looking into the face of her mother. Her heart skips a beat. "H-how did you find me?"

Lorelai gives her a wry smile. "Well, let's just say my little girl has a taste in fashion, because I was able to follow her red sweater all the way through the crowds to where we're standing right now."

"But…how much did you heard?"

"Oh, you know. Little snippets."

"So basically everything?"

"Basically everything starting from the Hemingway titles onwards, yes."

Rory's shoulders fall. Though she supposes she should feel more horrified that her mother (and half of the women in Harford) overheard her conversation, the truth is, she is too exhausted to summon up any more feelings. Her mother puts her arm around her and leads out of the rest room until they reach a fountain. Once they are sitting on the fountain's edge, Lorelai turns to her daughter and speaks.

"So, your first heartbreak, huh?"

Rory shrugs. "I've broken up with guys before, so I wouldn't say first, but the first time my heart broke before it even started, yeah." She reconsiders it. "Well, not counting crushes on celebrities or fictional characters or my crush on Kevin Wilson in ninth grade, but it was definitely my first since I entered the dating world."

Lorelai studies her for a long time. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Rory just shrugs again. Overcome by emotion (and perhaps pregnancy hormones, as talking to Jess always makes Rory a bit more cynical), Lorelai engulfs her in a hug. "Oh, sweets," she says softly. "I'm so, so sorry."

"It's not your fault," Rory says, patting her back. "I'm the one who didn't want to spoil your mood."

"Yes, but I should have sensed that you needed to talk. I've just been so preoccupied, and-I don't know what's gotten into me lately." She laughs. "What you said about me and Luke being like the couples we used to mock? You're totally right. We've gotten a little…silly lately, and I'm sorry if we've made you feel uncomfortable. It's just that you know how I am when I want to avoid thinking about things. I think part of the reason I have been so focused on the baby and the wedding is because I can't bear to think that you'll be gone, in just a few days again. This is the first time I've seen you since you left. I mean, I've seen April more than you. April, the same girl whose lack of role in my life is part of what broke Luke and me up last time! I love her too, but she's not you. I wasn't even there for your birthday. Even two years ago, when you were staying at your grandparents', we were at least were together for that." Her lip quivers slightly. "That's part of the reason I've been waking you up to talk about the wedding. The biggest thing in twenty three years is happening to me, and it's just so wrong that you're not there to experience it with me."

"Twenty three years?" says Rory softly.

"Well, since the Bangles' first album came out, of course!" says Lorelai, rolling her eyes, and they both laugh.

"It'll get better, sweets," says Lorelai, once they have calmed down. "You know, I have complete faith that you can do this, but if you do want to quit to find a more permanent job, nothing's stopping you. As for Luke and me, I'm so sorry if you've ever felt like a stranger in your own house. You might be not be permanent there, but trust me, even if I have a thousand other babies, and you're off to Timbuktu or Fez or whatever, I'll always see you as a permanent resident."

"Yeah, I know," says Rory. "It's just-if it is a girl, can you promise me you won't name her Lorelai or anything?"

"Pinkie swear," says Lorelai, holding out her left pinkie. "You're my best friend and eldest, and nothing is going to change that. Though if my instincts are right-and trust me, I was right about you last time-it's Luke who's going to worry about his name being reused, not us. But as long as we're on that topic, can I ask you something?"

"Uh, sure," says Rory.

"Well, if something does happen on the Jess front-and you know, Hemingway titles aside, I could tell by the way you were talking to him that it was him, before you said his name-even if it's just a friend thing, you'll tell me, right? I may not have been waving a flag as the biggest Rory/Jess supporter, and I think you deserve to be in your twenties and not get weighed down by a serious relationship yet, but I don't want you to hold anything back from me." She grins a little. "Don't you dare tell Jess I said this, but as his aunt, I have the right to point out that he's grown up a little."

"Sure," says Rory, a little surprised. "So, you're okay with this?"

"Well, I still don't think I'll be getting out my Rory/Jess flag, even if it's just the friendship one, anytime soon, but I am also the picky bride, and I have the right to not want any drama on my wedding day. If this talking to Jess thing will help my Maid of Honor and Best Man be courteous towards each other, then I am definitely for it."

Rory laughs, thinking of the many particular brides, who had weddings at the Dragonfly and Independence over the years. It is hard to imagine her mother becoming like one of them-harder still to imagine her mother finally having a wedding, after all these years. Her elopement really didn't count. "Thanks, Mom."

"Anytime, hun."

As a silence falls over them-a silence that, just like Rory's silence with Jess, feels completely natural-Rory places her head on her mother's shoulder. Lorelai, in turn, puts her head over Rory's shoulder, so that both of their heads are tilted sideways in opposite directions. It is a gesture they have done since Rory was a little girl and have perfected over the years. Although so much has changed, the gesture still feels as comforting as ever. Rory feels herself smiling, aware that in spite of Luke, this baby, and any other children who might follow, this will never change.

"So, I have an idea," says Lorelai, sitting up and giving Rory's hand a squeeze. "Why don't we cut the food court idea and have lunch at Al's? I know we were both looking forward to it, but I'm really not looking forward to more Hartford traffic, and you're in a serious need of getting your Star Hollow fix while you're here. I need a few moments to regain myself before I make more disturbing goo-goo eyes at Luke anyway, so one of his rants about Al's after we finds out we were there just might do the trick. Then, after lunch, we can have a movie marathon with all the best movies with Thanksgiving scenes. It can be our prelude to our typical Christmas one next month."

"Okay, but if we're watching Scent of a Woman, then Al Pacino's going to make me want to watch at least one Godfather movie tomorrow."

"Any chance we can see Sofia's death scene?"

"But the third Godfather is the worst one!"

"Yes, but it's the only one Luke-" Lorelai stops, realizing what she has said. "The only one Luke hasn't seen yet," she finally mutters.

Rory hesitates. "Hey, Mom?"

"Yeah, hun?"

"Luke can be part of our movie night tomorrow, if you really want. I mean, you might be my best friend, but I love Luke, too."

"You sure?" says Lorelai. When Rory nods, her face softens. "Thanks, sweets. That really means a lot. I don't know if I'll be able to convince Luke to watch the third Godfather, since he's listened to me mock it many times, and he actually did really enjoy the first two, but I'll try. Now, what movie should we start our Thanksgiving marathon with tonight?"

"Well, we're going to need at least one musical, so Holiday Inn is a must. I don't know if we should watch that first, though; what do you think?"

"True. Well, there's always Home for the Holidays, which given you being here and the whole parents scene, seems pretty fitting. I might as well watch at least one movie about a single mother while I still can. I'm thinking The Ice Storm too, but we should probably also get in some Woody Allen by watching Hannah and Her Sisters, and if we're going to watch Scent of a Woman per your request, that's three dramas right there."

"Yeah, what is up with all these movies with Thanksgiving scenes being dramatic? I mean, yeah, I guess Thanksgiving is a depressing holiday when you consider that so many of the pilgrims died in that first winter, and we basically stole everything from the Indians, but Hollywood tends to ignore that part of it."

"A true curiosity," says Lorelai thoughtfully. They are beginning to make their way to the mall's exit. "It's too bad that a Hollywood producer wasn't there during our conversation about musicals and dictators last night. I'm telling you, a movie with Patti LuPone as Eva Mussolini or Emily Gilmore belting out 'Don't Cry For Me, Argentina' would make a fortune."

"Yeah, cause everybody would understand our random joke about why Mussolini's wife should be named Eva, instead of Rachele."

"Don't mock the way our minds work! I'm sure if we told other people, they would be stunned at our cleverness."

Mother and daughter smile eat each other. True, a lot has changed between them in the last couple of years, but they are also slowly finding their rhythm with each other-a rhythm that might have changed, but will certainly remain in-tact throughout the years to come. It takes them a few minutes to realize that outside, it has begun to snow.