A/N: Time for our two lovely lads to make Rory a very happy birthday girl :)

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 9

Jess and Rory had talked a lot over dinner on Sunday night. Though she had a tendency towards rambling like a crazy person, Jess didn't mind it at all, so long as she was smiling. When he got her on the topic of books or movies that she loved, her happy expression never faded, save for when she got a little mad at him for arguing with her opinions, and that was just funny. She talked a lot about her mom, her friends, even her grandparents. Jess had deliberately steered her towards the subject of birthday traditions, in the hopes of getting some ideas for this year. Unfortunately, a lot of what she told him was very specific and unachievable. A special breakfast at the local diner in Stars Hollow was out, and Jess really didn't think he wanted to substitute for Lorelai in going into Rory's room at 4.03am and talking about the moment of her birth, because that would be beyond weird! Still, he had a few ideas, and hoped that after talking to Logan they could come up with something that would give Rory a happy birthday.

"I can't do anything in the morning, my shift starts too early," Jess had told Logan. "You can handle breakfast, right?"

"I thought we were buying her dinner?" his room-mate checked.

"We are." Jess nodded

"You want me to pack her a lunch too?" asked Logan in full sarcasm mode. "I mean, does she know she's in the big brother program all of a sudden?"

Jess rolled his eyes. "She's homesick, man, and her birthday is a big deal to her. I thought maybe you'd want to keep her from crying. Again."

Logan relented then. He wasn't a monster, and he didn't want Rory to be upset. She was a nice girl and he would prefer for her to be happy. Of course, he was getting increasingly concerned about how much Jess seemed to care about their room-mate. If he didn't know any better, he would say his buddy was getting a crush. Logan hoped rather than believed that he had been right in what he said before, about Jess wanting to be a brother to Rory. That would be the best thing for everybody, even if Logan himself found it hard to remember why he wasn't supposed to entice Rory into his bed. He had a feeling she would be amazing. The seemingly quiet ones usually got pretty wild when aroused.

With plans eventually firmly settled, The Rory's Birthday Project was a go. She had no idea anything was amiss as she got up like any other day and prepared herself for work. Of course Rory checked her phone and was happy to find messages from her mom, Lane, Paris, as well as a couple of other friends. She was at least smiling as she headed in search of coffee and breakfast. The surprise came when she reached the living room and some really delicious smells assaulted her nose. Bacon was being cooked, and coffee brewed. She wandered into the kitchen mostly expecting to find Jess at the stove. It was a surprise to see Logan waiting for her, and the tiny kitchen table chock-full of wonderful things to see and to eat.

"Happy Birthday, Ace!" said Logan, arms wide as he presented her breakfast to her.

"Oh my... You did this for me?" she gasped, hands breifly over her mouth in surprise.

"Well, I wasn't expecting the Pope, so yeah, it's for you," he told her, pulling out a chair and encouraging her to sit.

The large plate of food was more than enticing, alongside her usual large cup of coffee. There was an envelope bearing her name propped up by a vase with a few flowers in it, and a box of doughnuts was waiting for attention when the bacon, eggs, and pancakes were done.

"This is amazing, thank you so much," said Rory, feeling oddly emotional. "You really didn't have to do all this for me."

"What can I say, Ace? I'm a hell of a guy," Logan told her with a grin. "But seriously, it wasn't all me, Jess pitched in. I guess you could call it a team effort. We just wanted you to have a happy birthday."

"Well, it's certainly starting really well," she said, smiling brightly as she picked up the envelope and tore it open.

Inside was a card, fairly generic in style, but both Logan and Jess had written inside wishing her a great day. Rory's attention went right back to her food then. She was hungry and it looked so good, but there only seemed to be one plate.

"You're not eating?" she asked Logan as he pulled up the chair opposite.

"It's a little early for me. Honestly, I plan on heading back to bed when you're done, at least until work needs me," he explained. "I could probably force down a doughnut though, if it makes you feel less self-conscious."

"Help yourself," she said happily, picking up her knife and fork to dig into her own breakfast.

She was smiling so much she could barely chew. Logan was surprised how much it made him happy to see it. When she started actively laughing he had to ask what was quite so funny.

"It's nothing," she said, her hand to her mouth until she had swallowed her food. "It's just... I was feeling so down about being here for my birthday, not at home with my family and friends. It's so immature, I know, but my birthday was always so special and it didn't feel like it was going to be today. Now it's turned out to be so good already, and this is just breakfast!" she said, smiling widely. "Thank you, Logan. You're very sweet," she told him, hand covering his on the table.

"No problem, Ace," he said, turning his hand over to squeeze her fingers. "You're worth the effort."

The way he said it made a shiver run through her in the best way.

"I'll bet you say that to all the girls," she said, feeling that covering with a joke was probably for the best.

Logan laughed. "You of all people know that I don't cook breakfast for just anyone," he reminded her with a wink, getting up from his seat. "Now, since I'm pretty sure you have to run in the next ten minutes, I am going to leave you to finish your breakfast in peace. Leave the dishes, we'll get to them later."

"I can do them," Rory insisted, but Logan fixed her with a mock-stern look.

"It's your birthday, let us spoil you."

"Yes, sir," she joked, with a salute for good measure.

Logan was half way to his bedroom when he heard her call his name. He turned in time for Rory to almost run completely into him, and before he could process what was happening she had hugged him so tight.

"Thank you, Logan," she said too seriously as she finally let go. "I mean it."

"You're welcome, Rory," he told her, unable to tear his eyes away from her own for a few seconds longer than was really sensible.

She ran back to the kitchen a second later, and Logan shook his head. He needed sleep, and somehow he just knew his dreams were going to be filled with bright blue eyes and an infectious smile.


Rory did not have the greatest day at work. Several people were out sick with a bug that was going around, and her boss was in a foul mood. If one person yelled at her today, then six did, but Rory did not break. She was not going to allow her birthday to be ruined by anybody or anything.

The day had started beautifully, with her room-mates proving that after just two a half weeks of living together they had all become firm friends, and she was very much liked by Logan and Jess. Through the day she received texts with amusing emojis from her mom, a voicemail from April, and various other birthday messages from friends and family alike. Her grandparents even had a bouquet of flowers delivered to the office for her. Nothing was getting Rory Gilmore down today.

She arrived home, still smiling in spite of everything, and pretty sure she was entering an empty apartment. It was a real surprise to find Jess waiting on her arrival.

"Hey, birthday girl," he greeted her with a smile. "How's your day been so far?"

"Oh, well, breakfast was wonderful. Thank you for your part in that," she said, coming over to the couch and dumping her bag down. "The work part was akin to Dante's ninth circle, but I got through it, so all's well that ends well."

"Don't go thinking the day ends here," said Jess, shaking his head. "Logan gets home in an hour and then we're out of here."

"We? Out of here, where?" she asked, looking as bewildered as she felt.

"If I told you then it wouldn't be a birthday surprise now would it?"

Rory's eyes were wide as anything as she stared at Jess' smirking face. He was serious. The guys were taking her out tonight, after already making such an effort this morning. She was completely overwhelmed.

"You don't have to do that," she insisted. "Really, Jess, I know I got upset the other day, but I didn't expect-"

"Rory!" he cut her off before the adorable ramble turned annoying. "Would you get it into your head that we're your friends now? We want to do this, okay? No coercion, no hypnosis, we wanted to."

She let out a long breath, seemingly releasing all the potential ramble energy without the rest of the words she had been planning to say. She smiled.

"You really are so sweet, both of you," she said, just as she had told Logan this morning.

"Yeah, well, don't tell anybody. We've got reps to protect."

Rory laughed at the way he said it, then checked her watch. "You said an hour, right? I better shower and pick out clothes and shoes... You're not going to give me any hints about where we're going, are you?" she tried even as she reached the bedroom door.

The pleading look in her eyes got to Jess in a second and he relented.

"Put on shoes you can walk in, bring a coat, and do not eat before we leave," he said shortly, making it clear that was all the information she was getting.

Rory grinned before crashing into her room. She called "Thanks, Jess!" over her shoulder.

He couldn't help but smile.


Logan and Jess both cleaned up very nicely. Rory really hadn't been sure how fancy to go in her own outfit and had eventually plumped for a smart-casual black dress that would look okay in most eating establishments. She felt she looked okay when she came out into the living room and found her room-mates both in slacks, button-down shirts, and jackets. Any girl would feel pretty special on the arm of either of them. Rory grinned because she got them both for tonight. A blush rose in her cheeks and her mother's voice said 'dirty' inside her head when she realised what her thoughts could mean, a certain dream resurrecting itself in the back of her mind. Rory pushed it away and declared herself ready to leave.

The restaurant wasn't fancy, but it wasn't some two-bit diner either. Not that Rory would've minded if it had been, but it was kind of nice to go to a slightly more formal place. It was small, probably easily missed if you didn't know where to find it. Logan and Jess seemed to know the owner since there was a big deal made of him coming out to see them and shake their hands. Rory was introduced as both the room-mate and the birthday girl and from that point on was thoroughly spoiled. The meal was excellent, conversation flowed easily, and the wait staff sang happy birthday, bringing out Rory's dessert with a candle in the centre. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry. It was almost perfect.

"You guys really didn't have to go to all this trouble," she insisted.

"Honestly, Ace, we didn't even know about the celebration tiramisu," Logan told her, "but I'm glad you like it."

"We just wanted you to have a good birthday and realise that living here with us isn't so bad," said Jess.

Rory smiled. "I never thought it was so bad," she assured them both. "But if I had been at all worried, you definitely put my mind at rest. I could never think that living in New York with the two of you was a mistake."

"So, I guess that just leaves one birthday tradition to go," said Logan, reaching into his back pocket and producing a box with a bow on it. "Happy Birthday, Ace."

Rory's spoon stilled half way to her mouth when she realised he had just presented her with a gift. It was a box that almost certainly contained jewellery and she shifted awkwardly at the implication. Men bought jewellery for women they were dating or married to, or potentially a relative like a daughter or a mother. She and Logan were friends and room-mates, that was all, and they had only known each other such a short time.

"You gonna open it or just stare all night?" he asked when she waited too long.

"Oh." Rory shook her head, and carefully laid down her spoon. "Um, I'm opening it. Thank you," she said, picking up the box and prising open the lid.

A beautiful sparkling pendant lay inside, a tiny pink stone set in a gold heart-shaped locket that was engraved with a butterfly design. It was gorgeous.

"And before you start complaining that I blew too much money on you, as much as it pains me to say this, it really wasn't so expensive," said Logan with a sigh. "One day, I plan to be in a place where I can shower women with diamonds again, but for now..."

"Oh no, Logan. Don't say that. This is... It's perfect" she assured him, taking the necklace carefully from the box. "Would you mind..?" she asked, handing it to him and moving her hair aside so he could assist.

"With pleasure, Ace," said Logan, leaning in just as close as he could to fasten the chain around her neck.

Jess felt awkward watching the scene and weirdly annoyed by the closeness between his roommates. This meant nothing, he knew it didn't, but for some reason the bubbling rage in his gut wasn't listening, at least not until Logan moved away. Before Rory could get back to her dessert, Jess produced his gift and laid it on the table by Rory's dish. She smiled on noticing it too had a familiar shape beneath the brown paper wrapping, though it was clearly not jewellery. It was the only thing that could thrill Rory more than something sparkly - a book.

"Jess, thank you," she said, picking it up.

"Wait and see if you like it before you thank me," he told her, watching as she carefully tore away the wrapping.

Rory's eyes went wider than when she had saw the necklace. In all honesty, Jess thought he saw tears welling up too.

"Oh my... Jess, this is... How did you...?"

"You said you wanted a copy, I had a copy." he shrugged like it was no big deal, but they both knew that wasn't he case.

"It's impossible to find this in any store, even online. The two copies I did find I couldn't afford."

"I don't plan on reading it again so it's yours. Happy Birthday."

Rory wasn't sure what she was thinking, if she was even thinking at all, as she got up from her seat and pretty much launched herself at Jess, hugging him just about as tight as she could. He hugged her back, even if he had been surprised by the sudden movement. He would've been a fool not to make the most of such a moment.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she said, like an excited kid, kissing his cheek as she pulled away. "This is amazing!"

"You're welcome." Jess smiled, unable to help it, though the look faltered a little when he saw the way Logan was scowling.

"Both of you, thank you so much for everything today, it's been incredible," said Rory, putting the smile back on Logan's face in a second when she glanced his way and beamed.

"Only the best for Miss Gilmore," he said, though his eyes were fixed on Jess who was in turn staring at Rory.

The moment was over as fast as it had begun. Rory resumed eating dessert and then when the meal was done, the guys insisted they were splitting the bill, Rory wasn't to spend a dime. They walked her home, Logan catching her once when she tripped on a rock that wasn't there. It was fast becoming clear that Rory Gilmore did not hold her liquor so well. She had the giggles ever since she finished off that last glass of wine, but at least she was happy.

"When you go to work with headache in the morning, don't come crying to us," Logan warned her.

"I'm not drunk!" she insisted, laughing still. "Just a little tipsy. My mom says so long as you drink plenty of water before you go to sleep, you'll always be fine."

"Smart woman," Jess noted as they headed into the apartment one behind the other.

He went straight to the kitchen and returned with a bottle of water from the fridge, placing it in Rory's free hand, the one that didn't have a death-grip on the book he had given her tonight.

"Thank you," she said. "For tonight, thank you, both of you," she smiled, looking between them. "You're the best room-mates a girl could ask for," she declared, throwing one arm around each of their necks and hugging them awkwardly.

"Get some sleep, Ace," Logan urged her.

"I will," she promised, grinning still as she let go of them at last and headed for her room. "Good night!" she called as she disappeared from their sight.

"Good night," the guys replied in unison, watching her until she was out of sight, then turning towards each other.

The silly grins they had been wearing disappeared instantly they met each other's gaze.

"We had a deal," said Jess definitely.

"I don't need a reminder," replied Logan.

"Okay then."

They both nodded once, before each of them headed to their own room and closed the door. Somehow they knew it wasn't quite that simple anymore.

To Be Continued...