Trips to Philadelphia became a regular occurrence for Rory in the New Year. While she knew that there was no real need for them, it was easier to just e-mail the latest chapters of her book, there was just something about being around the bustle of the independent publishing house that she loved. With Jess and Matt and Chris at the helm, Truncheon was a well-oiled machine, and it reminded her of what it had been like to work on the Franklin or the Yale Daily New. Rory had also found it easier to write on these trips, so she had started to make the four hour journey as often as possible.

The Truncheon team didn't seem to mind her being around, either. Rory wondered what it would be like for this to be a part of her daily routine. The more she saw of Philadelphia, the more things she found to like about it. Sure, it wasn't New York, but it was vibrant and warm and interesting. Plus, it had the Rocky statue. Both Rory and her mother had vowed they would run those steps eventually. Probably when Rory wasn't pregnant. Most likely, they'd just give up halfway.

"Hey, do you have a minute?"

Lifting her head, Rory greeted Chris with a smile as he approached the small workspace she had created for herself in an empty corner. "Of course, what's up?"

"Well…" Chris shifted from foot to foot nervously, running a hand through his hair. "You know we love having you here…"

She could sense the 'but' before it even left his lips. Forehead creasing, Rory lowered the screen of her laptop and leaned forward, "I overstayed my welcome, didn't I? I didn't mean to. I didn't even mean to keep coming back after I signed the papers, but it's noisy and busy and there aren't two practically mummified old people staring at me all the time making me feel like they might try and drink my blood if I fall asleep at my desk here. It's just easier to work."

Pausing for a second, Rory took a breath and started to gather up her things, "I'll leave."

"No, wait," Chris held up his hands, a panicked look on his face, "That's not what I meant. We've all just been talking about how maybe you'd like your own desk? Maybe take on some extra work, too."

"Like, a job? Here?" Rory blinked, taken aback a little.

"Like a job here," he laughed, taking another step towards her, "Jess' workload is getting a little heavy and we've been meaning to hire another editor. You have experience."

"As editor for a college newspaper," she pointed out, chewing on her bottom lip. It wasn't that she didn't want the job, it was just that she had never really considered it before. All of her life she had dreamed of being Christiane Amanpour, never the Ezra Pound to someone's T.S. Eliot. That had always seemed more up Jess' alley, anyway, writing notes in the margins of her books. It had never really surprised her that he had ended up in publishing. Or that he had written his own book.

"We think you can handle it."

"And the…" She trailed off, both of their eyes darting down to her growing baby bump, "I'd have to move here, wouldn't I?"

"When you're ready to," Chris nodded, "And you could work from home, for a while."

Though she had been daydreaming about this just moments before, Rory hadn't actually considered it as a reality. With the baby on the way and the apartment above the diner almost ready, she had come to terms with the fact that she was really back in Stars Hollow for the foreseeable future. Raising her baby anywhere else had never even crossed her mind from the minute she had realized she was doing this alone. "Can I think about it?"

"Give it some thought, we really would love to have you."

"What do you think?"

Rory and Jess had tucked themselves into the corner of a busy coffee shop, shrugging off their coats and settling into the small wooden chairs. They had been seeing a lot more of each other since Lorelai and Luke's wedding, with work in common now it was only natural. Still, Rory couldn't help but take note of it as being significant. Even as teens living in Stars Hollow, they had never been friends. Not really. This was something new.

Sure, they had spent time talking about books together, but there had always been something more going on between them. Even when Rory had been with Dean, there were underlying feelings there. Whether she had admitted it at the time or not. Then, they had been exes. Things were different now. They had let go of all their history and baggage, and that had opened the door for something else. Something that worked for the both of them at this juncture in their lives.

"I might be biased, but I think you should do it. I know it's not an overseas correspondent, but it is good work. I can always drive straight at you screaming in a foreign language once a week, if it'll help."

Rory laughed, remembering the first time he had suggested that exact thing, "Have you learned a foreign language since we were seventeen?"

"Do you still tutor?" With a smirk, he caught her eye and winked. It didn't surprise Rory at all that he remembered, even after all this time. Jess was a writer, too. However brief their entanglement as teenagers, it had been significant to them both. There were some things you never forgot, just as there were some things that never changed. No matter how much they both had over the years.

"Thankfully we're not in a moving car right now," Rory teased, "I think my mother would be just as appreciative of a call from the hospital as she was the first time."

Jess laughed, "And just as we finally started getting along."

"How did that happen, anyway?" There was no denying that the dynamic between Lorelai and Jess had shifted over the years. Rory knew that it was in large part due to her mother's relationship with Luke, but it was still strange to see at times, the camaraderie between the pair.

There was a wicked look of mischief in his eyes as he shook his head at her, "I'm sworn to secrecy." It was the same thing her mother had told her when Rory had asked years ago. A mystery even Luke didn't know the story behind. Jess seemed to read her mind with a chuckle, "That kills you doesn't it?"

"You have no idea." It was not lost on Rory how similar her mother and Jess were at times, and it was no surprise that they had found common ground in those similarities as adults. Of course, that didn't mean that she didn't wish that she could have been a fly on the wall during whatever had forced the two of them to begin to build a relationship after years of animosity. Especially since neither of them seemed willing to divulge that information freely. "I'm glad though, that you two get along now. For Luke."

She noticed the way Jess tilted his head and the slight furrow in his brow when she tacked on his uncle's name at the end of her sentence, but neither of them pursued the topic further. Instead, Jess sat back a little and lifted his own drink to take a sip, "Have you told her yet?"

"About the job offer? No."

With a knowing look, Jess leaned toward her across the table again. His voice was low, serious. "You know, you wouldn't be alone. Everyone at Truncheon, they're a family. It'd be a little less like Pleasantville, but Stars Hollow isn't that far away either. You could go back and visit all the time."

"And you?"

There was a moment's hesitation before he nodded his head, "I'd be here, too."

For a moment, the pair sat in silence letting the weight and implications of his words settle. An appreciative smile spread on Rory's face, a quiet thank you passing between them as eyes locked. It wasn't much, but it was hope for the future. That maybe despite everywhere she had gone wrong in her life, there was still time to get back on course with just a little help from her friends.

"You still get to choose your path," Jess added after a minute. "Stars Hollow was your mom's story. It doesn't need to be yours, too. Whatever decision you make, do it for you."

He was right, she knew that. Just because she was having a baby, it didn't mean that she couldn't still have it all. Plenty of people had a career and kids. Many did it alone, too. Besides, Rory knew that she wouldn't be completely on her own. Her mom, Luke, Lane, even Jess, would be there for her.

"You're right." Writing her book, Rory had gotten so caught up in her and her mother's story, that she hadn't realized that she was starting a whole new story. It was time to forge her own path, make a new start.

Now she just had to tell Lorelai, which was more stressful than moving to Philadelphia or starting a new job.

"It's another Lorelai Gilmore!"

Swinging the door open and sweeping her arms wide in a dramatic fashion, Lorelai Gilmore made the loud declaration to a half-empty Luke's Diner. Following just a few steps behind her, Rory shook her head and quietly corrected her mother, "That's not her name."

They had just gotten back from Rory's latest doctor's appointment in Hartford. After the disappointment of not being able to find out the baby's gender the previous month, she had insisted on keeping her legs crossed, both were excited to finally get confirmation it was a girl. Of course it was, her mother insisted, they were Gilmores. Rory wondered briefly what would have happened if the baby had been a boy, neither of them had prepared for that possibility.

"What else are you going to name her? It's a family name!"

"So is Emily."

Lorelai gasped, "You wouldn't dare!"

"But think about how happy it would make Grandma," Rory pointed out, sliding into her seat at their usual table, ignoring the feigned look of shock on her mother's face as Lorelai took her own place.

"It wouldn't make her happy, it would make her smug."

"Can I at least make it her middle name? Grandma deserves a namesake, too."

Her mother seemed to consider it a second before finally nodding, "Fine, it can be her middle name."

Luke joined them at their table then, a steaming pot of coffee in his hands, backwards baseball cap in place on his head. "A girl, huh? Congratulations," he said quietly as he filled their cups.

"What do you think, Luke, about a name for the baby?" Rory asked, tilting her head up thoughtfully towards her step-father.

"You could do worse than naming her after you and your mother," Luke shrugged, tucking his pen behind his ear, "You're both two of the strongest, most incredible women I know. It's a fine legacy to carry on. Might get a bit confusing though, with three of you."

Her mother smiled approvingly, "And I didn't even have to bribe him."

It had been a good day so far and as Rory watched her mother from across the table, she decided that this was as good a time as any to tell her about Philadelphia. She didn't know why she was so nervous anyway, her mother would be happy for her. Rory drew in a deep breath, "So, I got a job offer."

"You did?" Lorelai's entire face lit up, "That's amazing, hon! What is it?"

"It's working for Truncheon actually, as an editor."

A line of worry creased her mother's forehead, "Truncheon, in Philadelphia? Where Jess works?"

"That's the one," she nodded.

"No. No way," her mother shook head, "You can't just give up your career, your goals, to chase after some guy. This isn't you. This isn't what you want. You're a journalist, that's always been the dream."

"Jess and I are just friends." Rory drew a line in the air with her hands to accentuate her point. "It's a good job and I really like it there. This isn't about him. This is about me making my own way, finding my own place in the world."

"You can do that here where you have a job doing what you love."

"I'm doing it for free," Rory reminded her, "That's not a job."

"Then just ask Taylor to pay you."

"I can't do that," she sighed, "This is what I want, this is what I need. Just like you needed to leave Grandma and Grandpa's when you had me. Stars Hollow is your story, it's time I write my own."

"You're making a mistake." Lorelai's words were cold and decisive as she pushed back from the table and stormed out of the diner, leaving a shell-shocked Rory watching after her.

Ever since she had found out that she was pregnant, Rory had been waiting for the other shoe to drop, so afraid of disappointing her mother. Lorelai had been so supportive though from the start, excited even, so this had blindsided Rory. She tried not to cry, ignoring the stares from the other diner patrons.

A heavy hand fell on shoulder, Luke stood above her with a somber look on his face. "Your mom will come around," Luke insisted, "She's just scared that if you move away, she's going to lose you. That she'll miss out on things with the baby, the way her parents did."

"That would never happen, I need her."

"I know, kid." Luke shrugged his shoulders, "Lorelai's as stubborn as they get. It'll be okay."

With a sigh, she gave Luke a tight, forced smile. "Thank you, Luke." Then, glancing back towards the stairs behind him she added, "Can I stay here a couple of nights?"

"Knock yourself out, the place is yours now."

Even though the apartment above the diner was nearly fully furnished, Rory hadn't had the heart to move out of her mother's house yet. As she climbed the steps now, she knew it was finally time. She had to grow up and move on. At least now it was a short waddle to Luke's.