So we return to the beginning of this story!

A note before we continue on: I've gotten a little bit of flack for conforming my story to the AYITL timeline, and it may not make sense to some hardcore Lit fans, but I basically had to write things this way to have us circle back to the first chapter of the story. This isn't a true AU, but more of a "secret history" interpretation of what we saw in the show, and the intent is to make things turn out a lot more positively than was implied to us in that last scene.

So with that in mind, we proceed onto the next part of the story, and I hope that you enjoy it.

"What do you mean, what if he wasn't?" my mom asked me incredulously, looking at me in shock. "If Logan isn't the father, who is?"

I crossed my arms over my chest. "Look, do we really have to do this now?"

I had really screwed things up. Jess was supposed to know about the baby before anyone else did. How had I managed to let this slip out? And on my mother's wedding day. I thought I was done with making terrible spur-of-the-moment decisions.

Mom put her hand on my shoulder, the corners of her mouth turned down in an expression of concern. "Rory, do you not – "

"I know who the father is," I told her sharply. She put her hand down gently.

"Well, did you – "she began. She let out a weary sigh. "Did you see the Wookiee again?"

I chuckled grimly. "His name was Lionel," I told her. "And no, I haven't seen him again."

"What about Paul?" she asked softly.

"It's not Paul," I said, turning to look her in the eye. "I haven't seen him since January. I tried to break up with him weeks ago, actually. I guess he never got the messages I tried to send him. I was too chickenshit to meet him in person. And his other girlfriend – "

Mom raised her eyebrows. "You never told me that part," she said.

"I guess it slipped to the back of my mind like everything else concerning him," I said. "I'm thinking she pushed him to end things. But I handled it wrong. I should have gone to see him in person."

"I wouldn't worry too much about it if he wouldn't do the same for you," Mom said. "But if it's not Logan, or Paul or the Wookiee, who – "

I looked at her guiltily as I saw the realization dawning on her face.

"Rory, tell me it's not who I think it is," she said.

I remained silent.

"Jess?"

I drained the last vestiges of orange juice from my glass, wishing that I still had the ability to consume alcohol. This confession was too taxing for me to handle alone.

"You're related now," Mom said, a hint of revulsion in her voice.

I was beginning to hate being constantly reminded of that fact.

"When did it happen?" she asked, seemingly half-stunned by this revelation.

Well, this next part wasn't going to make things any better.

"It was at Grandma's," I said in a small voice.

"My mother's house?" she whispered in shock.

"We didn't plan it," I told her. "We had been spending a lot of time working on the book together, and he came by when I was there by myself, and – "I shrugged. "It just happened."

"She is never going to forgive either of us for this," Mom said as she took another long sip of champagne.

"She knows," I admitted.

Mom nearly spit out her drink. "She knows?"

"Not that I'm pregnant," I clarified. "She came by the next morning while he was still there, and she didn't freak out about it. She just told me that he wasn't allowed to sleep over there in the future. I've been visiting him since then."

Mom put down her glass. "So, it's not just a one-time thing," she said.

"No," I admitted. "Look, Mom, Jess and I were going to tell you and Luke at the reception. We didn't want anything that was going on with us to interrupt this wedding when both of you have waited for so long. But Jess and I – we're in a relationship. We have been ever since that night."

The silence lingered between us as she processed this.

"I had a feeling you were seeing somebody," Mom said softly. "You kept disappearing for a couple of days at a time, and when you told me that Paris was pregnant and had gotten back together with her husband, I figured that you weren't staying with her anymore." She took a deep breath. "I had just hoped it wasn't Logan again."

I scoffed. "I'm done with Logan," I said forcefully. "I wasn't expecting this thing with Jess to develop like it has, but he's been really good for me. Even before we were together, working with him really helped me to be focused and passionate about something again. And I needed that. And being with him, these last couple of weeks – "I paused, unable to keep my happiness from breaking out on all corners of my face. "It's been really great. I haven't felt this happy in a long time. It's different. I'm part of something solid, something real. I haven't known how good it was to feel that for a long time."

"You guys barely even looked at each other yesterday afternoon," Mom pointed out.

"We plotted that out beforehand," I said. "It was an act. Even that bit with Jess excusing himself to spend the night with his mom – we planned that. Trust me, it was all I could do to keep from telling you guys everything once you told me you were okay with the book. I was so happy, Mom. I know Jess was, too."

Mom reached out for my hand. "I guess I'll have to get used to this, then," she said. "I'm glad you're happy, Rory. I really am."

"I'm moving to Philadelphia," I said, unable to keep the rest of my news from spilling out. "I'm going to work at the book press a little and finish the book." I chuckled. "I guess there wasn't an easy way to break that part of it to you, is there?"

"Wow, Rory, that's – "Mom sighed. "That's three and a half hours away from here."

"It's closer than London," I pointed out.

"It is," Mom conceded. "And everything else aside, even I have to admit that Jess is much better boyfriend material than someone who's engaged to someone else is. But don't you think you're moving a little too fast?"

"I can't stay with you and Luke forever," I told her. "Queens was a good idea when it was just me writing this book in solitude. But I don't have a life planned there. I've got a job in Philadelphia and a relationship and something that could become an actual career. It's right, Mom. I need to move on. I know it's early, but I wasn't planning to live with Jess right away. I was going to get an apartment of my own and see how things went." I sighed. "I don't know practical that is going to be given this latest development, though."

"Jess doesn't know about the baby yet, does he?" Mom asked.

"No," I admitted, trying to push my fears back down to a place where they wouldn't overwhelm me. "He doesn't. I don't know what he's going to think."

"What do you think, Rory?" Mom asked me gently.

"I want to keep the baby," I told her.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Yes," I said with conviction. "I know it's crazy, and impractical, and I'm not completely ready to be a mother. I even sat down and wrote down a list of all the ways it's not a good idea. But as soon as I found out I just knew. I knew I wanted this baby right away and that I was going to find a way to make this work."

Mom gave me a small smile of encouragement, and I let myself continue. "I don't think it would have been the same if it wasn't with Jess. If I hadn't been with him like I have and I didn't feel confident that I could do this with him, I'd probably be feeling a lot differently about it. I feel sure of him, Mom. I know he's going to be good at this. I just don't know if he's going to be happy about it."

"Is that the main thing that's scaring you?" Mom asked. "You seemed so torn up about it when you first told me."

I nodded. "I don't know if he's going to be happy. I don't know how this is going to affect our relationship. It doesn't scare me away from wanting it or doubting him, but I really don't know what he's going to say. And I really, really don't want to have that conversation where he asks me if it's his."

Mom cringed. "Are you – are you absolutely certain about that part of it, Rory?"

Oh, wow. If she didn't even believe me, how would anyone else? I felt my insecurities start to bubble up again.

"I'm sure," I said, and I could feel my voice cracking. "I went to the doctor and had that really uncomfortable ultrasound done so they could tell me exactly how far along I was. They said it was seven weeks. It lines up right when Jess and I first got together, at the end of September. The last time I was with Logan was at the beginning of August."

I looked up at her, and I only saw trust and understanding in her eyes. "I don't know if Jess is going to believe me on that part," I confessed.

"Did Jess ever give you any indication he wouldn't take this well? Or that he didn't trust you?"

"No," I admitted. "But I just don't know what's going to happen." I stopped and turned to her, hesitant to poke at this particular wound, but needing to know anyway. "Was it the same for you? How did Dad react when you told him?"

Mom looked off into the distance. "I think he reacted the same way any 15-year-old boy would when he learns he's going to become a father," she said after a moment. She took another long sip of champagne.

"Was it – was it what you were expecting from him?"

"No," Mom said softly, with a touch of bitterness in her voice. "I expected a lot more than what I got from him."

We were both in agreement on that topic.

Mom put her glass down and turned to me. "I was never sure about your father after that," she told me. "But I was sure about you. I knew from the first minute, exactly like you did. It didn't make sense, but I knew, too."

"I'm not really scared that Jess isn't going to support the two of us," I explained. "In a lot of ways, I think he's probably more prepared for this than I am."

"And that's something I can't really relate to," Mom said, and I could see that long-buried sadness in her eyes. "I think you might be right, though. But even if you're not, or if it doesn't work out later, I want you to know that you can always come back home to us. Luke and I are never going to make you feel that you did any of this wrong. You understand that, right?"

"I do," I said. I wrapped my arms around myself again. "I'm going to tell him at the reception. I had this set plan in my mind that I'd tell him this afternoon and we'd tell you and Luke tomorrow. Which screws with the plan that Jess and I originally had, and he doesn't know why I want to change it, and I didn't mean – "I turned to look at her, once again unable to keep the words from spilling out. "I'm sorry, Mom. Jess and I should have dealt with this first ourselves. I wanted to tell him first. I didn't intend to unload all of this on you today. I haven't done any of this right."

"It's okay," Mom said, stroking my arm, and again I felt hopelessly inadequate for rising up to the role that had been thrust on me overnight. How was I going to live up to such an impossible standard?

"I think you needed to tell somebody," Mom continued. "You've been carrying a lot of secrets around with you, kid. But you can't predict what's going to come next, and you've just got to deal with it one step at a time. That's the only way you're going to get through it."

"I ruined your wedding day, though," I protested.

"You didn't," Mom assured me. "My day isn't ruined, Rory. It's just getting started, and I fully intend for my next wedding to be just as glorious as the first one. We're going to focus on getting me through the next couple of hours, and then you can focus on telling Jess the truth about what's been going on. And I'm really going to need you for the first part."

"So I guess we both need to put this topic on ice, then?" I suggested.

"We do," Mom told me. "Possible morning sickness aside, I intend for the next couple of hours to revolve entirely around me. We've got the afternoon and the rest of your life for you. Agreed?"

"Agreed," I replied, chuckling to myself. I could already feel my nervousness start to ebb away.

It would do me a lot of good to be focused on something else for the next few hours, anyway.

Mom and Luke's second wedding turned out to be just as beautiful as the first one was.

Kirk's fairy tale decorations looked entirely different in the light of day. Instead of just being a secret shared between Luke, Mom, and me, it ushered in a different kind of magic in the town square. This magic was something better seen in the light of day, under the glare of glittering sunlight and the whisperings of fall. It seemed to speak of the culmination of the relationship that the entire town had cherished, celebrated, fought over, and encouraged at every turn.

And now the happily ever after had come true, and we were all there to celebrate.

Sookie and I had been enlisted as dual maids of honor in olive green dresses, while Lulu and Lane served as bridesmaids in gorgeous seafoam dresses of their own You wouldn't have thought they would match with the pink decorations plastered over every available surface and the nearby trees exploding in yellows and browns and reds, but they did. Doula served as flower girl and spread a trail of dahlia leaves on the path leading to the chuppah, where Jess and I stood on opposite sides as we waited for Mom and Luke to meet under that archway crafted by a lovesick Luke so long ago.

I knew that it probably wasn't appropriate for the maid of honor and the best man to be having the amount of eye sex that were engaged in, but I couldn't help it. We were definitely looking at each other in that way again.

Sookie cried throughout the ceremony, creating a cascading effect. Both Luke and Mom were blubbering by the time they finished their vows.

And then it was done. They were married. Finally.

I'd never seen two people look as ecstatic as they did.

I could only hope my future echoed theirs in its own way.

Hours later, after the toasts had been given and the dance floor had been opened to the entirety of Stars Hollow, Jess took my hand and graciously spun me around the dance floor. It was just him and me, him staring at me with that limpid brown gaze, intoxicating me through every pore in a way that the Founders Day Punch I wasn't allowed to drink anymore had never been able to.

I couldn't look away. I didn't want to. And I didn't care who else knew this part of our secret at this point.

"I know it's a little too late, but I kind of hope this makes up for prom," Jess drawled sulkily, and I took in a deep intake of breath.

"You could never have been this charming at prom," I told him as he leaned in for a kiss.

It felt good to be drowned in him in that way, his hand on the small of my back, his lips and tongue almost swallowing mine as I clutched him closer to me.

When we parted, I saw Mom leading Luke away out of the corner of my eye, and I knew I had to stop delaying the inevitable.

"Jess, we have to talk," I told him softly. I saw those eyes start to cloud over, and I immediately felt chagrined. He nodded and ran his fingers through his hair.

I walked over to retrieve my purse, the well-worn envelope with my sonogram stashed safely in the outside pocket. We walked over to a stone bench tucked away from where the rest of the town was congregated, and he sat down next to me, tremulously running his fingers over his pants leg.

I wondered what he thought I was going to tell him.

"This isn't about telling Luke and Lorelai, is it?" he asked, and I could sense a raw hurt emanating from him.

I bit my lip and gathered what remained of my courage.

"No, it isn't, Jess," I told him. "There's been something on my mind the past couple of days, and I've delayed telling you about it. I've run it through my head dozens of times, but the harder I think about it, the more – "I let out a deep breath, and forced my eyes to meet his. "There's no way to say this other than just to say it. I'm pregnant, Jess."

He was silent for about half a minute, and I felt that sense of hope that I'd allowed to balloon this afternoon start to deflate.

Maybe I really had ruined everything.

"Oh, wow," Jess said. "Wow. Rory, wow. That is not what I thought you were going to tell me."

"Jess, what did you – "I began.

"I thought you were going to break up with me," he said, turning his gaze to me. I could see the shock start to disappear from his face, and I felt that sense of hope start to bubble up again.

"I thought you had changed your mind about me, about us, about everything," he said. "I thought that's why you were stalling about letting the parental units know. Now it all – it all makes sense."

"I definitely haven't changed my mind about us," I reassured him. "Quite the opposite."

"How long have you known?" he asked me.

"About a week," I replied. "I got – I got a sonogram three days ago. The baby's healthy."

"Is that why you didn't want to spend the night with me earlier this week?" Jess asked, and I could sense a note of caution begin to creep into his voice.

"It is," I admitted, feeling immensely guilty for everything I had kept hidden from him. "Jess, I wanted – I wanted to be sure."

"You wanted to be sure," he repeated. "Rory, is it – "He stopped and started again. "Rory, I don't know how to – "

There it was. The question I had been terrified of. The conversation I hadn't wanted to have for a week.

"It's yours," I told him. "The thing is, Jess, I did this all wrong. I should have told you when I first found out. But I knew you'd have questions, and we haven't been involved that long, and I wanted to assure you – "I sighed. "I knew it was yours right away. But I wanted proof. So I went to the doctor, and had them do the sonogram they usually don't do that early, so they could tell me exactly when it happened, and they said I was seven weeks along."

"Seven weeks," Jess repeated. He nodded in acknowledgement. "You got – you got your period the week before we got together?"

"That's right," I said, wondering how he knew so much about this sort of thing.

"You didn't have to put yourself through that, Rory," Jess said. He reached for my hand. "I trust you. And we didn't really protect ourselves that night. That was all the information I really needed to have about it."

I felt a rush of love for him start to rise inside of me, and I wondered what it was I had done to earn that kind of trust from him. And yet I hadn't trusted him enough not to expect worse from him.

Why hadn't I expected more? After all, this was Jess. He had always believed in me, even when I hadn't come close to believing in myself.

"I should have told you earlier," I said to him, squeezing his hand. "I'm sorry, Jess."

"Does anyone else know?" he asked softly.

"I told my mom this morning," I admitted. "I didn't mean to, Jess. I wanted to tell you first. I was just afraid, and I'd been keeping so many secrets from her – it just spilled out."

"Okay," Jess said, nodding. "I guess I can understand that, though, Rory." He ran his thumb over my finger. "I'm not mad about that part of it. Or that you waited a couple of days. Really."

I smiled back at him and reached with my other hand for the outside of my purse.

"That's the sonogram?" Jess asked.

I nodded as I continued to unzip my purse.

Jess let go of my hand.

"Look, Rory, before you – "he started. He took a deep breath and then began again. "Before I see it, I just – "He ran his hands through his hair. "I'm not saying this right."

His brown gaze bored into mine, seemingly pleading for mercy. "I don't really want to see that picture until I know how you feel about this," he said.

Oh.

"I want the baby," I told him, and I could see the fear and worry start to retreat from his expression.

This was the opposite of what I had expected from him. Once again, I internally cursed myself.

How could I have anticipated so little from him?

"I want to keep this baby," I continued. "I want to keep it and raise it with you. I didn't expect that I would want this so much, but I do. I knew it right away, Jess. As soon as I found out."

Jess's eyes lit up with joy, and his grin easily spread from one corner of his face to the other.

"Show me the picture, Rory," he said, his voice taking on a hint of devilish glee.

I finished unzipping my purse, and opened the well-worn envelope with the first picture of our baby inside of it. I handed it to Jess as he reverently held onto it for the first time.

"So that's – "he began, pointing to the tiny white blob in the center of the picture.

"Wow, Rory," he said, his voice struck with wonder. "Wow."

"You're happy then?" I asked him.

He reluctantly tore his eyes away from the sonogram to meet mine. "Ecstatic," he confirmed.

"Our life together is going to be a lot different now," I said, reluctantly reaching for the sonogram and carefully placing it back inside of the envelope as I returned it to its nesting place inside of my purse. I reached for his hand again.

"Do you still want to get a place of your own?" Jess asked softly.

"I don't," I confirmed. "You might have to sacrifice that home gym of yours, though."

"It's a welcome sacrifice, "Jess told me. 'Does this mean that you're willing to call me your boyfriend now? That we can stop wallowing around in relationship limbo?"

"I think we've sailed way past that point," I told him. "And yes."

Jess bent his head to mine and met me for a kiss, the last rays of the setting sun warming our bodies.

I was more than content to let myself drown in it.