Later that evening, after the festivities were starting to die down, Jess sat on the staircase landing, bouncing his knee at a pretty rapid pace. He'd been racking his brain the entire night about what his uncle had told him. How could he convince Rory? It was too soon to do anything to drastic, he thought. Or was it?
Emily and Richard were saying their goodbyes to everyone for the night, praising Sookie for the wonderful meal that she had provided, and given Luke a few thanks as well in typical Gilmore fashion.
"Now, Lorelei," Emily slid her arms into the fur coat Richard was holding up. "Don't forget to call me tomorrow. We still need to plan the baby shower."
"Mom," Lorelei whined. "You really don't need to do anything,"
Sookie pipped up, pigtails bouncing as she jumped in between the two. "Tell you what, Emily," she squeaked. "How about you and I get together next week and plan something? I bet these two would like a surprise shower," she nodded toward Lorelei and Luke, who was standing behind his wife.
"Yeah, Mom, that's a great idea!" Lorelei grinned. "You two just go all out! Spare no expense!"
"Are you sure about that?" Luke muttered.
"Reverse psychology." Lorelei responded quietly, but Jess caught it and he snorted.
"That sounds like a lovely idea," Emily agreed. "Would you be able to come to the club for a lunch?"
"I'll be there with bells on!" Sookie promised, then hurried off to finish cleaning up the kitchen.
The Gilmore's said goodbye to Rory, and the others then headed out toward their car. Before the door shut behind them they caught Emily asking "she was kidding about that bell thing, wasn't she?"
Sookie, and Lane left soon after, then it was just the four of them left in the house. It had stayed pretty much the same since they'd redone it several years ago when they were first engaged. Jess sat in the corner of the couch, a soda in his hand. He would have much rather had an alcoholic beverage, but since he was still on pain meds, Rory had vetoed that. She was sitting next to him, his arm wrapped around her on the back of the couch. Luke and Lorelei were seated across from them, and they were just talking back and forth, spending the evening laughing and talking about the baby.
"That reminds me," Lorelei looked a little uncomfortable, and Luke instantly grabbed her hand. That made Jess think for a minute. Those two had been through a lot. Ups and downs that Jess honestly couldn't keep straight. But it was interesting to watch them together now. It was like they were on the same wavelength. Luke knew when Lorelei needed a hand (literally), and vice versa. Jess wondered if he and Rory would ever be like that. Or if they already were.
"What's up, Mom?" Rory sat up a little straighter.
"We were wondering," she paused and licked her lips. "Would you be willing to let us change your old room into a nursery?"
Rory let out a breath. "Oh, God." She glanced at Jess, then looked back at them. "Don't do that to me! I thought something was really wrong."
"Well, we just don't want you to feel like we're stealing it from you," Luke smiled softly at her.
"Guys. I have my own apartment. Use it!" She nodded. "Seriously. I would love if you used my room for the baby."
Lorelei sat back and sighed, looking relived. "Thanks, kid."
Before they left, Jess used the bathroom quickly, then wandered into the kitchen looking for Rory. Luke was drying the dishes, and Lorelei was sitting on the counter next to the sink, talking quietly to him. Jess eyed them, and Lorelei looked up. "She's in there." She nodded toward Rory's room. Jess stuck his hands in his pockets, and nodded.
"Hey, Jess," Luke said, turning away from the sink, looking at his nephew.
Jess didn't respond.
"Just, think about what I said. Okay?"
"Affirmative." He responded. Then knocked several times on Rory's door.
"Come in," her voice was muffled from the other side. He turned the knob, and heard Lorelei asking what Luke had said to him.
Jess was hit with a bit of nostalgia stepping into Rory's room. It honestly hadn't changed much over the years. Of course it was missing things that now resided in Rory's apartment, but it still had the same charm it always had. Rory was sitting at her desk, and she turned to him as he shut the door behind himself, looking much like she had the first night Luke had dragged him over here.
"Sad?" Jess asked, leaning against the door.
Rory made a face and shrugged. "Not sad. I mean, Mom and Dad wanted to use this room for Gigi before. It's not the first time a half sibling has almost stolen it from me." She grinned.
Jess nodded. "This is true. But still."
"Yeah," she stood and slid her hands down the front of her pants, letting out a breath. "I'm gonna miss this place."
Jess pushed off from the door and walked over to her window. He touched the glass with his thumb. "You don't know how many times I wanted to break into this thing when I was a kid."
"But that, dear sir, would have been destruction of private property," Rory grinned, tugging Jess toward her by his jacket. He moved effortlessly toward her, and placed his hands on her waist, their foreheads instantly going together. Their noses brushed against each other, and Rory let out a soft sigh.
"Let's go home," Jess whispered against her cheek, and she nodded, reaching down and grabbing his hand.
*Hiiiiiii. Yeah I know. BUT I HAVE MADE MYSELF WRITE THE NEXT TWO CHAPTERS TO THIS BEFORE UPLOADING. So I will be posting in the next WEEK. Promise *heart*