A/N: This is probably my favorite chapter that I've written in this fic so far. I hope you all like it. Thanks as always for reading and reviewing!

Twelve

"Let me see it, let me see it!" Lorelai exclaimed, bursting into Rory's house. Rory was on the floor with Trix. Trix was on her feet, balancing precariously while Rory held her by the hands. Rory looked up at her mom with a smile. "Not bad for 11 months old, huh?"

"Aww, my little angel is going to be walking on her own any day now." Lorelai cooed. "Let me see it!"

Rory rolled her eyes and stood, lifting Trix up with her. Trix's toddling was still new, but it wasn't what Lorelai meant. Chris had sent over the mock-up for the book jacket earlier in the day.

She led the way into the kitchen, where the mock-up sat on the table. She placed Trix in her high chair while her mother inspected the cover art for her book. She took out a pureed fruit pouch, removed the top, and gave it to Trix. Trix took it from her eagerly and started slurping her pureed strawberries and bananas.

"What do you think?" Rory asked nervously, looking over at her mom. She hadn't said anything yet.

Lorelai looked over at Rory and there were tears in her eyes. The front cover was actually a photo of a photograph. Specifically, it was a picture of the mantle in Lorelai's living room. Sitting directly in the middle of the mantle was a framed photograph of Lorelai and Rory during Rory's 16th birthday party. Rory had on her birthday crown and feather boa, and Lorelai was flanking her with a proud, beautiful smile on her face.

"Oh, kid." Lorelai said, a tear spilling over. "It's amazing."

She wrapped her daughter in a tight hug and tried to fight back more tears. "When did you take that picture?"

"Luke let us come in and stage the photograph a few weeks ago while you were at the inn. I was convinced he was going to spill the beans." Rory said, her own eyes filling with tears.

"I knew he was hiding something but I figured he was just sneaking vegetables into my dinner again."

Lorelai pulled back and held her daughter at arm's length. "The cover is amazing. The book is amazing. I am so ridiculously proud of you."

"Thanks, mom." Rory said, her lip quivering as tears fell.

"Hi!." Trix said from her high chair, causing Lorelai and Rory to start laughing.

"I take it she's still not saying anything else." Lorelai said, going over and kissing the top of Trix's head.

"Nope." Rory shook her head. "We get a lot of random syllables but that's the only actual word so far."

Lorelai smiled and said, "Just wait. It's not long from first words to first sentences to first published book."

"Don't even say that. I can't believe I'm already planning her first birthday party. Every time Sookie texts me another cake suggestion, I start to cry."

"You know those aren't suggestions, right? Trix is going to end up with at least six birthday cakes." Lorelai said, running her hand over Trix's blonde hair.

Rory smiled and said, "I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Hi!" Trix exclaimed again, following it with a giggle.

Rory smiled at her daughter. When she looked up, she saw that Lorelai was smiling down at her with tears in her eyes.

"Mom, stop!" Rory said, her own eyes filling with tears.

"Sorry, I'm sorry!" Lorelai exclaimed, pulling Rory into another hug. "I'm just so happy."

The doorbell rang and Rory pulled away from her mom. "Saved by the bell from my crazy mother."

"A temporary reprieve." Lorelai called after her as Rory went to answer the door. "But you will never truly be safe!"

Rory was laughing as she opened the front door to see Jess standing there, his messenger bag slung over his shoulder.

"Hey!" Rory exclaimed happily, moving aside to let him in the house. "I didn't know you were coming to Stars Hollow this weekend."

"I didn't know I was until this morning." Jess smiled at her as he walked past her.

Rory and Jess had kept their agreement and remained friends after their attempt to be something more had failed so spectacularly. They had gone back to the way it was before that. They texted and called, Jess stopped by and he was still wonderful with Trix but there was no pressure and no expectations, which made for a much calmer atmosphere. It wasn't seamless, and there were definitely some awkward silences in those phone calls. But Jess had become such a strong, calming presence in her life and having him as a friend was definitely better than those three weeks when they weren't talking at all.

"Well I'm glad you're here." Rory said, returning his smile.

"Yeah?" Jess asked, and the electricity between them was palpable.

"Yeah." Rory said quietly, her cheeks warming. "Chris sent over the mock-up for the book jacket. Have you seen it yet?"

"No, I haven't. I heard it's awesome though."

"It's so awesome." Rory gushed, grabbing his hand and leading him to the kitchen. "Come see."

Jess let Rory lead him to the kitchen, where Lorelai was sitting with Trix in her lap while Trix ate some dry Cheerios that Lorelai had spread onto the table.

"Hey, Jess." Lorelai said, smiling. She looked down at Rory and Jess's joined hands and raised an eyebrow. Rory's cheeks warmed again and she dropped Jess's hand. Trix looked up and saw Jess standing there. She immediately reached out to be picked up, calling to him in her nonsense syllables.

"Hey, Lorelai. Hey Trixie." Jess said, going over and picking up Trix, who immediately wrapped her little arms around his neck.

"Have you seen this yet?" Lorelai asked, handing Jess the cover art. He adjusted Trix so he was holding her with one arm and took the offered page with his other hand.

"Wow." He said, nodding his head to show his approval. "This looks fantastic. It's a perfect fit for the book."

"Just like you knew it would be." Rory said, smiling up at him. "It was Jess's idea, mom."

Jess shrugged and put the page down. "It was just a suggestion."

"Well it was a good one." Lorelai said, putting a hand on Jess's shoulder. "Who knew you could actually be useful?"

"I'm going to remind you of that the next time Luke wants help cleaning out the basement." Jess retorted. Trix took that opportunity to put her hand on Jess's cheek, and he responded with a smile and a kiss on her forehead. Rory's heart constricted at the sight, even though she wished it wouldn't.

"You don't fight fair." Lorelai said with a pout. Jess smirked and made a face at her. Rory laughed. She loved watching their good-natured bickering.

"So what brings you to Stars Hollow today, bane of my existence?" Lorelai asked, reaching out and taking Trix from Jess's arms.

"Well, since it's a day for exciting book news…" Jess smiled and put his messenger bag on the table. "I've got the final copy for you to review before we take it to print."

"That's amazing!" Rory exclaimed, snatching the manuscript from his hands. "Including the last round of edits?"

"Yeah." Jess said. "And it's been proofed twice. Just needs your final ok and we're good to go."

"Wow, big day!" Lorelai exclaimed, her eyes filling with tears again.

"Mom, not again." Rory chastised, but only because she could feel her own tears forming.

"Alright, if you're over a year old, I'm going to need you to not start crying." Jess said, taking a step back from the two emotional Gilmore girls.

"You're right, you're right. Leave the crying to the baby." Lorelai said, kissing Trix and making her laugh. "How about I take Trix over with my house for some grandma time and you two book nerds can talk shop?"

Rory furrowed her brow, knowing that her mother was just trying to meddle. She had firmly told Rory on multiple occasions that she thought Jess and Rory were being ridiculous about this whole thing.

"Thanks, Lorelai." Jess said, before Rory could protest. Lorelai smiled triumphantly at her daughter before getting Trix ready and hurrying out of the house with her.

"Thanks for bringing this over, Jess." Rory said, settling down on the couch after her mother had left. "You could've just e-mailed it."

"And miss the look on your face seeing you hold the actual manuscript in your hand? Never." Jess said. He sat down in the armchair across from her. He never sat next to her anymore. It was one of the biggest differences now that they were 'just friends.'

""I can't believe this is happening." Rory said. "I can't believe it's real."

"It's real." Jess said. "Matt has been in a frenzy getting all our contacts to stock your book. It's going pretty well."

"I know." Rory said, excited. "I've been going to bookstores around here myself, and doing Skype and Facetime meetings with some others. The leads you and Matt gave me have been really helpful. And Chris has been making a lot of introductions for me on his own time."

"We believe in you." Jess said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I know." Rory said reverently. "But you've been so busy with my book, when are you working on yours?"

Jess looked at her suspiciously. "Who squealed, Matt or Chris? Matt, right? Of course it was Matt."

"It was totally Matt." Rory said, laughing. "Jess, why didn't you tell me?"

Jess shrugged. "There's not much to tell yet. I'm still putting together the first draft. I'll send it to you when it's passable."

"What's it about?" Rory asked. "Do I at least get to know that much?"

"Life. Loss. Redemption. The usual. It probably sucks."

Rory shook her head vehemently. "No. That's not even possible. Everything you write is amazing."

"Put away the pom-poms, Courtney." Jess teased with a soft smile.

Rory laughed loudly and said, "Sorry, pal, that reference doesn't make sense anymore. You're way less Kurt Cobain-y than you used to be."

"Keep that to yourself. I have a reputation to maintain."

"Jess, I'm serious. Do you really not know how good you are?" Rory asked, dumbfounded by the possibility.

"Rory, stop." Jess said dismissively. "I don't want to talk about this."

"I will not stop." Rory said insistently, putting on her most determined face. She stood up and stalked to Trix's room, where she snatched a book from the shelves and walked back to the living room.

"What's that?" Jess asked skeptically.

Rory didn't answer. She was thumbing through the pages to find the passage she was looking for, the passage she had underlined and reread a thousand times. She glared at Jess before reading out loud:

"So here's the thing about being alone- sometimes you go days, weeks, months without realizing that you are. You walk through your days and think that everything's going your way. Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. But the point is that you don't go around chanting 'something's missing, something's missing, something's missing.' It's just a feeling that comes over you suddenly, sometimes for no reason at all. A moment when you realize that whatever burden it is that you bear, you're carrying it alone. But it's actually kind of funny. No matter how heavy that feeling gets, no matter how easy it is to get stuck in your own head and truly believe it's you versus the world, here's the other thing about being alone- you're not. I promise you, you're not."

Rory looked to Jess solemnly. She closed the book, her worn copy of Brittle Broken Bones, Jess's second novel. She threw it at him and said, "The next time you want to doubt yourself, mister, remember that those words got me through some of the hardest times in my life."

Jess silently picked up his book and quietly flipped through it, and Rory knew he was looking at the notes she'd made all over it. He closed the book and stood, handing it back to her. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." Rory said quietly, cheeks warming under Jess's intense gaze. "No one else writes like you, Jess-."

Jess reached out and clapped a hand over Rory's mouth before she could finish her sentence.

"OK, official moratorium on the pom-poms. I get it." Jess said, smiling at her. He gently moved his hand from Rory's mouth to her cheek. He left his hand there for just a moment, the heat of him feeling like it was going to scorch her skin.

"I promise you'll be the first person to see the draft when it's ready." Jess said, slowly dropping his hand from her face.

"Thank you. And if you stop with the self-deprecation about your writing, I'll stop with the pom-poms. Deal?"

"To be fair, I wasn't really being-."

"Do you want me to read another passage?" Rory asked, making a show of opening the book again.

Jess put a hand over hers to stop her from doing so and let his fingers linger over hers as he said, "Fine. You've got a deal."

"Good." Rory said. "Coffee?"

"Coffee." Jess agreed, dropping his hand from hers as they both moved towards the kitchen.