AN: I'm so glad you're all happy they are moving to New York. It was always a plan to eventually move them there. It won't happen right away though. A few things have to line up first to make the move happen, but it will happen. In a few chapters or so the Mariano's will be in New York.


Chapter 9: "Can I let you in on a little secret, Grandpa?"


Arriving back in Philadelphia a few days after New Year's, Jess and the guys got to work planning what they needed to get done to be able to open Truncheon II. Jess spoke with the realtor before leaving New York, but with the holiday, no one was able to show him the space until the middle of January. This gave the guys time to meet with their lawyers and advisors from the bank about financing for the space. Between the three of them they had more than enough for a sizable down payment, but needed to work it out with their bank in Philadelphia and arrange with a branch in New York to set up a mortgage for the space.

"You do realize we have more than enough money with my trust funds to buy the place out right?" Rory asked as she and Jess sat on the couch in the living room, her with her head in his lap enjoying the feel of his fingers combing through her hair. They were discussing Jess' trip to New York the next day to meet with a realtor to look at the building.

"I know and I did consider, but even though it is in a joint account and I can see your grandparents approving the idea, it just seems wrong," he told her, "I know I have access to it whenever I want, I just feel wrong spending it on something that I want."

"I get that. It was the same for me whenever Logan would…" Rory began, "never mind, it's not important."

"No, it's fine. I get it. Blondie's rich and liked to show it off," Jess said.

"He was very into grand gestures. Some were sweet, like the coffee cart he hired to follow me around campus when we had broken up at one point," Rory said.

"He hired you a coffee cart? The guy and all?" Jess asked and Rory nodded, "Gotta say the guy isn't entirely as dumb as I thought if he knows the key to a Gilmore's heart is a good cup of coffee."

"Yeah, that one was a good one, but most of the rest were just completely over the top and ridiculous," she said, "I'm not a grand gesture type of girl. I don't need to be showered with money and over expensive gifts."

"I know this. Why do you think we spend most of our nights eating takeout and reading books to each other," Jess said, "Yes, I admit I'm not much of a people person, but if you wanted to go out I would."

"Yeah and if you want to pay for the new bookstore on your own, that's fine. You do what you want to do. Just know the offer is always there," Rory told him.

"Thank you for understanding my reasons," Jess said, kissing her forehead.

"We're still going to use that money to find us an apartment and get all the things we need for the baby though, right?" Rory asked.

"Absolutely. I have no problem using money neither of us earned to spoil you and our little hoodlum," Jess said, running his hand along her stomach before kissing it.

"You know you're going to confuse the baby if it turns out to be a girl,"Rory said.

"It's a boy. I'm sure of it," Jess said.

"Well just a few more weeks until we find out for sure," Rory said.


While Jess was in New York meeting with the realtor and checking out the space for the bookstore, Rory went to Stars Hollow to spend the day with Lorelai.

"Oh, Lucy, I'm home," Rory said, walking into her childhood home after Jess dropped her off.

"Let me get a look at you. It's been too long since I've see you," Lorelai said, hugging Rory before taking in the sight of Rory's little bump, "15 weeks looks good on you."

"Thanks," Rory said.

"How are you feeling?" Lorelai asked.

"Good. Morning sickness is basically gone. I still can't drink coffee, only now instead of hiccups I get heartburn," Rory told her.

"And bacon?" Lorelai asked.

"The smell doesn't bother me, but I haven't tried eating it out of fear I would throw up," Rory said.

"Any other issues besides the heartburn?" Lorelai asked.

"I've never been more grateful for my crazy note taking antics than I was the other day at work," Rory said.

"Why's that?" Lorelai asked.

"I've got myself a case of pregnancy brain and almost forgot an important meeting," Rory said, "I wrote it down on my calendar at work and home because that's what I do, but I usually just remember these things, you know."

"Right so what happened?"

"I was packing up my things. All set to go home early since I had finished my article for the week and had nothing else to work on when I noticed a sticky note with a date and time on it."

"The date and time was for the meeting, I assume."

"Correct. I didn't write anything else down on it, just the date and time to remind myself that I had something to do. So, when I saw it, I blanked. I knew I had written it down for a reason, but I couldn't for the life of me remember what it was."

"Yep, definitely pregnancy brain. It happens to us all."

"It sucks. I used to remember everything. I'd skim a page in the newspaper and be able to tell you every detail of every article on that page. And now I have to ask my husband to check I've put my clothes on in the morning."

"Seriously?"

"Well, a couple of times I've almost left the house in my slippers or with my pajama bottoms still on. Please tell me it gets better?"

"Sweets, sorry to tell you, but the pregnancy brain thing isn't just going to go away. With the lack of sleep from being uncomfortable later in your pregnancy and being up with the baby after it's born, it can last awhile."

"Oh, joy. So I'm stuck with momnesia forever."

"Not forever. It's different for everyone, but once your hormones settle back down you should be fine," Lorelai told her.

"Really?" Rory asked.

"Really, and if you're worried about it you can always talk to your doctor about it, but until then just continue to write notes for yourself and have Jess be sure you're not leaving the house in your pajamas," Lorelai said.

"Thanks, Mom," Rory said.

"Anytime, kid," Lorelai said, "So are you up for some shopping?"

"Absolutely," Rory said.


After meeting with the realtor in New York, Jess joined Rory, Lorelai, Luke, and Hunter at the Gilmore's for dinner before they went back to Philly. It had been a month since Rory and Jess had been able to attend a dinner with her grandparents.

"Oh, look at you, Rory, you're gorgeous," Emily said.

"Thanks, Grandma," Rory said, greeting her with a kiss before going to hug her grandfather, "Hey, Grandpa."

"Wonderful to see you," Richard said, "Jess."

"Richard, good to see you," Jess said, shaking his hand before taking his seat next to Rory.

"I just can't get over how beautiful you look. Pregnancy really suits you, Rory. You're positively glowing," Emily said.

"I know, right. I told her the same thing this morning," Lorelai said.

"So is everything going okay with your pregnancy?" Emily asked.

"Perfect. My doctor said everything looks good. I'm on target with my weight gain, though I don't know how since I spend most meals snacking on raw vegetables," Rory said.

"Yuck. Vegetables," Lorelai said.

"Not yuck, you spent your whole pregnancy eating fruit," Rory said.

"Yeah, at least fruit tastes good in addition to that whole good for you thing," Lorelai said.

"Well, it tastes good to me and I can't help it that the baby loves fresh carrots and peppers," Rory said.

"The minute Little Lorelai is old enough for solid foods, she is getting ice cream and French fries," Lorelai said.

"What makes you think we're going to name our daughter Lorelai?" Rory asked.

"Why not? I did," Lorelai said.

"I didn't know you were having a girl, you should have told us Rory," Emily said.

"It's not a girl," Jess told her.

"So, it's a boy then," Richard said.

"No, grandpa. We don't know yet. I have my next ultrasound in a few weeks and we should be able to find out then," Rory said, "Mom just insists that the baby is a girl."

"And she is completely wrong because I know it's a boy," Jess said.

"Yeah, yeah, you'll eat those words Mariano," Lorelai told him, "Mom had a girl, my first child was a girl, you're getting a girl."

"We'll see," Jess said.

"So, is dinner ready. I'm starved," Rory said.

Halfway through dinner, Hunter was getting tired so Luke took him upstairs to Lorelai's old bedroom to lay him down until they left. When he returned Rory and Jess were discussing Jess' trip to New York.

"So, you're really moving to New York?" Lorelai asked.

"Yeah, we're really doing it," Jess said, "I looked at the space today and it's in pretty good shape. It needs some cleaning and I'd like to get new bookshelves put in and new paint on the walls, but other than that it's good to go."

"And the price is good? The lease?" Richard asked.

"Everything's good. We're actually aiming to buy the building entirely instead of just leasing the space. That way we'll have more freedom to make changes to the store as we see fit," Jess said.

"Not a bad business idea," Richard said, "Have you signed anything yet for this place?"

"No, I just met with the realtor today and gave it a look. I want to have my own inspection done and have all the guys come up and see it before we make a final decision," Jess said, "I'll be running it, but since it will be under the Truncheon name, I feel we should all be in agreement. Plus Rory hasn't seen the inside yet."

"You haven't?" Emily asked, "If you're planning to move to the city, you should be part of this decision to Rory."

"And I will be. I just didn't go today because we didn't know what shape the building was in," Rory told her.

"Yeah, everything I read online and heard from the realtor was great, but just in case there were any health risks we didn't want Rory there," Jess said, "There weren't so we're going to go back up there tomorrow so Rory can have a look at the inside."

"Well, good," Emily said, "Have you two looked at apartments are were you planning to find a house somewhere and commute into the city?"

"I've done some looking online. We've considered buying so we don't have to pay rent every month, but every place I've seen for sale with what we want just isn't going to work for us," Rory said.

"Yeah, we want to have at least four bedrooms. Ours, one for the baby, a guest room, and the last could be a study if there isn't space elsewhere for it or it will also give us a room if we have more kids so we can still keep our guest room," Jess said.

"And everything I've looked at to buy in the city is multiple floors with the bedrooms spread out between floors," Rory said, "And in the case of multiple children that just won't work. We'd like to be on the same floor as our kids."

"That makes sense and if you can get a place now that will work for the future you don't have to worry about moving," Richard said, "Have you considered looking outside the city?"

"Yes, but neither one of us wants to have to deal with the commute," Jess said, "We're trying to find someplace that's close to both the bookstore and any paper Rory would be working at."

"Well, seems like you have things handled pretty well. You know what you're looking for and not looking for," Richard said, "But if you should need any help, please don't hesitate to call."

"We will, Grandpa," Rory said.

After dinner Luke and Lorelai excused themselves to get Hunter back home while Rory and Jess decided to stick around for a bit to spend a little more time with Richard and Emily. After answering all of Emily's questions about the baby, Rory joined Richard and Jess in the study while Emily went to the kitchen to check that all the dishes had been taken care of.

"What are we talking about?" Rory asked, joining Jess on the couch while Richard searched the shelves for a book.

"Oh, I was just telling Jess about an old copy of Atlas Shrugged I came across the other day," Richard said, "He didn't seem to impressed, but I recall you enjoying the works of Ayn Rand."

"Absolutely," Rory said, taking the book from her grandfather after he found it.

"I'm going to go get a glass of water," Jess said, "Do either of you need anything?"

"I'm good," Rory said.

"I'm fine, Jess, thank you," Richard said, taking Jess' place on the couch next to Rory, "You know your grandmother and I are so very proud of you."

"Thanks, Grandpa," she said.

"And getting our first great-grandchild. Why, I don't believe I've seen your grandmother this happy since the first time she held you after you were born," Richard said.

"Really?" Rory asked, wiping away a few tears.

"There's no need to cry, dear," Richard said.

"Hormones," she laughed, "Can't help it."

"Right, of course," Richard said.

"Can I let you in on a little secret, Grandpa?" Rory asked.

"Sure, everything's alright, isn't it?" he asked.

"Yes, it's just, I have this feeling that Jess is right about the baby," Rory told him, rubbing her hand along her stomach, "Mom's not going to like it, but I'm sure this little one is a boy."

"A great-grandson," Richard said, "Well, that's wonderful."

"We still won't know for sure until my doctor does the ultrasound, but I don't know, I just have this feeling," Rory said, "Is that crazy?"

"No, I think most mothers feel that way. Back in the day couples had to wait until the baby was born to find out if the baby was a boy or girl, but that didn't stop your grandmother from insisting from day one that she was carrying a girl," Richard said.

"Really, Grandma knew Mom was a girl, right from the beginning," Rory said.

"Yes, from the moment the doctor confirmed her pregnancy she wanted to go out and buy everything pink we could find because she was sure she was carrying a girl," Richard said.

"That's so sweet," Rory told him, "I haven't gone that far yet. We've bought a few things, unisex though in greens and yellows. I'm sure I'm right and Jess seems sure, but I just want to know for absolute sure before I go buying every blue item I can get my hands on."


The next day Rory and Jess stopped back in New York on there way back to Philadelphia so Rory could see the space that would become Truncheon II. Immediately, she loved it just as much as Jess, loving the old bookstore feel it still had, she was excited to see it filled with all the books Truncheon has to offer and other secondhand books Jess filled it with.

"We should start thinking of names," Rory said as they got closer to Philly.

"For the baby?" Jess asked.

"Yeah," she said.

"Don't you want to wait for the ultrasound so we know what list to choose from?" he asked.

"I thought you were sure it was a boy," Rory said.

"I am, but I thought you'd like to know for absolute sure before settling on a name," Jess said.

"I would if I didn't agree with you," she said.

"What?" he asked.

"I agree with you," she said, "I don't understand it, but I've had this feeling for awhile, and even more recently that we've got a little boy in here."

"You're serious?" Jess asked.

"Serious enough to tell Grandpa I was sure," Rory said.

"Really? Okay, well, do you have any ideas?" he asked.

"We could always call him Dodger," Rory suggested.

"No, but we could call him Jack," Jess said.

"True, that's a thought, but I was actually thinking about naming him after my grandpa," Rory said.

"You want to name him Richard?" Jess asked.

"Maybe. I don't know if I want it for a first name or a middle name, though," Rory said.

"If we use it for a first name, we don't have to call him Richard," Jess said, "We could call him, Rick or Rich or…"

"Richie!" Rory said.

"Richie, I like it," Jess said.

"Richie Mariano. What do you think, little guy?" Rory asked, rubbing her hand on her stomach.

"I don't think he'll answer Rory," Jess said.

"I know. I was just trying it out," she said.

"And?" he asked.

"I like it," she said, "I like it a lot."

"Me too," he said, taking her hand in his, kissing her knuckles before placing their interlocked hands on her stomach, "Now he just needs middle name."

"I'll leave that one to you," Rory said, "I chose the first name so you pick the middle name."

"Okay, I'll think about it," Jess said, "But should we have girl's name just in case?"

"No, we can always go with Lorelai at the last minute if need be," Rory said.