Hey guys. Thanks so much for the reviews: monkey-monkey-underpants07, Curley-Q, Ghostwriter, Jeremy Shane, Djux, lillitgirlx2, krymsunkiss52, I-luv-Jess-Mariano (nice name there, btw), and everybody else who doesn't appear on my first page of reviews! They really help to keep me motivated, and I appreciate them so much! Yeah, I'm pretty much having a really intense flow of creative writing energy right now, plus, I have a lot of free time, so I've posted a few chapters in quick succession. Good to know that y'all like them, and please keep reading and reviewing. Thanks again!!

The alarm went off, and Jess punched the top of the clock angrily, groaning. He and Rory had gotten back to her dorm room only a few hours earlier, because they had been out to dinner with Lorelai and Luke. The four of them had had a semi-reunion. Well, more like Lorelai and Rory had a semi-reunion; Jess and Luke didn't really say much, they just watched their Gilmore Girls. When Jess finally managed to find the snooze button after a few misplaced punches, he closed his eyes, falling back asleep. Little did he know that Rory's snooze was only set for a minute. The alarm went off again, just as Jess was about to succumb to his dream world. His eyes shot open.

"God!" he shouted, reaching over to the alarm clock, fumbling around for the off button. After about 2 minutes, he finally found it, and shut it off quickly and angrily. He lied back down behind Rory and put his arm around her again, not knowing that the alarm had woken her up. He moved closer to her and she turned around to face him: she wasn't that tired, a couple cups of coffee could fix that. Jess, however, had passed out again. When he felt Rory turn, his head automatically nestled into her neck as he pulled her close. Rory smiled when she felt his stubble tickle her. His breathing became slow and even, and Rory listened, closing her eyes. The rhythm of his breathing calmed her, and she too fell asleep, into another world.

Jess' POV

Jess sat at the kitchen table in nothing but his boxers sipping a cup of coffee. He always woke up before the sun; he loved to watch it rise. He looked around the kitchen, admiring the homey feel. He rubbed his hands over his face to wake himself up, smiling when he felt the cold metal on his third left finger. He sat in silence, knowing that she wouldn't be up anytime soon. She. Rory, his Rory, his wife, wouldn't be up anytime soon, because she slept like a log. Jess smiled to himself and took up the well-worn novel in front of him. 'The Old Man and the Sea'. "Ah, Ernest," Jess said quietly. "Good morning to you." He opened the book and found his place amongst the water-softened pages and began to read. Jess became so absorbed that he didn't hear the tiny footsteps approaching the table.

"Daddy?"

Jess looked up from his book calmly, smiling at the young girl in front of him. She had dark, thick hair like Jess but piercing blue eyes like Rory. Jess thought his daughter was beautiful, but he thought her eyes were the most amazing part.

"Hey, sweetheart," Jess murmured quietly, smiling.

His daughter took a few steps closer to him. "What are you doing awake?"

"Oh, nothing. I just wanted to watch the sun rise. But, what are you doing awake? Three-year-olds shouldn't be up at this time in the morning," Jess teased her, his smile growing with every word.

"Well, if you're awake, then why can't I be?" the child answered, looking up at him with the Gilmore Puppy Dog Eyes. She took another step closer.

"That sounds reasonable enough," Jess laughed.

The girl smiled, showing the front teeth she was missing.

"Would you like to join me?" Jess asked, opening his arms. She nodded vigorously and ran to him, jumping into his lap. Jess kissed the top of her head, and she snuggled into him. "Do you know what today is?" he asked.

Her head snapped up. "My birthday!" she squealed excitedly.

"Yes, it is your birthday today!" Jess answered, matching her excitement. "And how old are you today?"

She held up four of her tiny fingers. "Four," she answered brightly.

"That's right! And you know what your first present today is going to be?" Jess quizzed.

"No, what?" the youngster asked, looking up at him expectantly.

Jess motioned towards the large window in the back of the kitchen, the window they were facing. The first rays of the sun were barely starting to become visible. "You get to watch your first sunrise with me," he said quietly, pulling her in close.

"Oh," she muttered quietly, mesmerized by the huge ball of solar energy. "Thanks, Daddy."

"You're welcome, Lori," he said quietly as he hugged her tightly, a huge smile on his face.

The alarm went off again, and Rory heard it first. She reached over Jess' sleeping form to turn it off quickly, not wanting to wake him again. She smiled when his position didn't change. But, she had to get up: it was her graduation day. She slowly extricated herself from Jess' warm embrace, and he groaned, pulling her closer.

"Jess," she whispered. "Time to get up."

"Nuh uh," he moaned sleepily.

"Mmhmm," Rory answered as she tried to free herself again. Jess pulled her back again.

"No." Jess answered quickly, slowly starting to wake up. He nestled back into the crook of her neck, not wanting to leave the comfort of sleep and his dream. The dream about their daughter.

Rory laughed and leaned in to him, leaving a slow trail of kisses up to his ear before whispering, "If you get up, I'll make it worth your while..."

Jess' eyes snapped open and Rory laughed loudly at his sudden urgency.

"Ok, I'm awake now." Jess said. "How are you going to make this worth my while?"

"Ah, well, you see, I was thinking that maybe after I graduate today, you could take me out to dinner." Rory retorted as she stood up, stretching.

"How does me taking you out to dinner make up for you waking me up this early?" Jess asked, confused.

"Well, I didn't tell you what we were going to do after dinner," Rory purred seductively as she walked toward the kitchen for a cup of coffee, running her fingers lightly along his bare shoulder as she passed.

Jess' mouth went dry as he watched her walk into the small adjoining room, her hips swaying ever so slightly. She had now gotten into the habit of wearing his pajamas to bed. Not that he minded, of course; he loved the look of her in his clothes, it was a complete turn-on. Rory turned after pouring herself a cup of coffee and smiled at Jess suggestively. "Oh, geez, I need some more cold water," he thought to himself as she winked at him.

"So, do you accept my offer?" Rory asked as she sat down at the table, opening the newspaper.

"Um, yeah," Jess stammered, his voice cracking. Rory looked over her shoulder and saw Jess hide his face quickly. "Did I really just make Jess Mariano blush?" she thought to herself confidently. She searched through the current events page, tossing the Sports and Weather sections across the table. Jess was finally able to stand, and he walked over to the waiting coffee pot, smirking as he saw Rory check out his bare chest. Since she had gotten into the habit of wearing his clothes, that meant that he didn't have any, so he had to sleep in his boxers. At least, that was Jess' argument. He sat down next to her and took a long sip, loving the feeling of warmth that spread throughout his body. He glanced at Rory: she was absorbed in whatever she was reading, not even noticing that he was there. Jess smiled and grabbed the Sports page. He wasn't really one to care about scores, but he needed something to do to keep him from staring. He reached over and put his hand on Rory's knee, and she gasped, not expecting the gesture. He started to rub small circles there, but kept reading. Rory sighed contentedly, now completely distracted from reading. When Jess didn't get the hint, she sighed again, more loudly this time.

He looked up, amused. "Yes?"

Rory looked at him, not saying a word.

A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as he tried to keep from laughing. Rory was squirming, and he loved it. He kept rubbing circles, noticing the goosebumps forming on the skin of her forearms.

"Je-ess," Rory whined, looking at him with wide eyes.

"Hmm?" he asked as he looked back to the Sports section.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Reading." He answered shortly, knowing she hated it when he didn't use complete sentences.

"You know what I mean," Rory whined again.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Jess teased, loving how riled up she was becoming.

"You know, with your hand, and my knee, and the rubbing..." Rory trailed off.

Jess looked at her blankly.

"Come on," Rory whined. She was getting really flustered now, and Jess loved it. He knew how she hated trying to explain awkward situations. She looked at his hand pointedly, making his gaze go there as well.

"Oh. How did that get there?" Jess questioned, removing his hand with a 'shocked' expression on his face.

Rory let out an agitated breath.

"Well, Rory, if you must know, I was just hoping that I would distract you. Did I succeed?" Jess queried, smirking. He leaned forward ever so slightly, his gaze going to her lips.

Rory was soon absorbed in Jess' scent. The smell of his after shave mixed with the minty coffee-like smell of his breath was making her head spin. She couldn't even begin to form a rational sentence. "Hmm?" she asked distractedly.

Jess' face was a mere half-centimeter from hers. "Ah, so I did achieve my overall purpose."

"Yeah," Rory breathed quietly. Jess took that as his signal, and leaned forward to kiss her lovingly and deeply. Rory sighed into the kiss, and Jess pulled his chair closer to hers, needing less of a distance to be between them. He finally pulled away after a minute or so, and opened his eyes to see Rory's eyes still closed, a dreamy look on her face.

"Hey, Ror?" Jess asked, bringing her out of the trance.

"What?" she asked, her eyes snapping open. "Stupid Jess, making me all flustered. God, I love it when he does that," Rory thought to herself.

"I think it's time for you to start getting ready." Jess said as he stood up and took his mug over to the sink, pouring out its remaining contents. Rory looked at him, shocked, and he just laughed under his breath before walking into the 'living room' to read.

"Oh," Rory said to the empty room. "Right." She walked up and put her mug in the sink as Jess had done, and then walked over to the bathroom, still a little dazed from his kisses. "Here we go," she thought as she turned on the water.

Jess put on his brown dress shirt, taking out the cream-colored tie that Lorelai had given him at dinner. "It's real Spanish silk!" Lorelai had said. When Jess had asked her if Spain even produced silk, she had changed the subject. He tied the thing quickly and looked over his outfit in the mirror.

"I look like a cup of coffee," he muttered to himself, not noticing Rory walk out of the bathroom.

"Good thing I love coffee," Rory said, as she finished putting in her earring. Jess turned quickly, his breath catching in his chest when he caught sight of her appearance, the same way it always did when he saw her. She looked beautiful, as always. She had on a cream-colored dress that an inch or two above her knees ("Which, ironically, matches my outfit," Jess thought), and her hair was pulled into a side bun like it had been at the wedding, with curls framing her face. Everything she was wearing complimented the dress, as well as Jess' outfit: her make-up was applied in brownish hues, her shoes were a dark brown to match his shirt, and all of her accessories were made out of a dark-colored wood that almost matched the color of her hair. Jess smiled at her, finally.

Rory let out a nervous breath. "So, how do I look?"

"Beautiful." Jess said quietly as he walked toward her.

"Really?"

"Yes, really," Jess answered as he came to her side. "What a shame that you have to put on a stupid robe over that. But, then again, it wouldn't really be fair to the other graduates if you looked like this in front of them, the guys would want you and the girls would want to hurt you."

Rory laughed, then blushed. She grabbed her robe and put it on carefully, not wanting to ruin any of the hard work that she had just done. After she zipped it up, she put on her cap and turned to face Jess, who had been watching her.

"Are you ready?" he asked her, giving her an encouraging smile.

"Yeah," she said more confidently than she felt. "Let's go."

Jess held out his hand to her, and she took it. They left the room quickly and walked to the area where Rory was about to graduate, the main courtyard of Yale. There were a few hundred people bustling about, mostly families of graduates. Rory looked around for Lorelai, finally spotting her and walking over quickly, dragging Jess behind her.

"Mom!"

"Hey, Ror! You look great," Lorelai gushed as she hugged her daughter.

"You should see what's under the dress," Jess muttered under his breath, thinking that only he could hear. Lorelai heard it, however, and smiled, arching an eyebrow at Jess.

"Dirty," she whispered to him. Jess looked at his shoes quickly, trying to hide the color in his cheeks. Luke walked up to the small group, bringing with him a very pregnant Lane.

"Lane!" Rory shouted loudly, hugging her friend awkwardly. She had never hugged a pregnant woman before. "You made it! I told you that you didn't have to come, you must be due in like--"

"A month." Lane finished as she pulled away, grinning.

"It's so good to see you," Rory stated. "How is Zach doing with all of this?"

"Oh, you know, he's dealing with all of the mood swings and food cravings pretty well, I guess. I don't think he knew that I would be making our unborn children listen to music like The Bangles, The B52s and Aerosmith, though," Lane answered, her smile growing.

"Really? Aerosmith?" Rory asked, stunned.

"Yeah, I've been getting into them a lot more recently," Lane said. Rory nodded, and Jess tried to follow the conversation. He was lost within a few minutes, however; they had gone on talking about 'woman stuff', and he really didn't feel like getting into all of that. He turned to talk to Luke, who had just whispered something to Lorelai, making her giggle and blush. "Ok, ew," Jess thought, not wanting to know the exchange of words that had just occurred between the married couple. He was just about to try and add something to Lane and Rory's conversation when an announcement came over the speakers.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are now going to begin the cermeony," an old man standing at the podium announced. Jess glanced at him, thinking that he must be some professor or something. Rory smiled and left her small group of 'fans' and walked over to her chair. Jess followed Lorelai, helping Lane sit down when they reached the chairs. He made himself comfortable and looked near the front of the stage. "We actually got pretty good seats." The ceremony began. Jess couldn't help but thinking as the ceremony commenced that his high school graduation would have been something like this. The long, drawn out speeches that no one really listened to, but pretended to understand; the endless fidgeting of the nervous students who were anxious to graduate; the dozing elderly men... He got lost in his thoughts for a while, finally coming to when he realized that names were being called. And then, Rory's row was standing, walking to the side of the stage. Somehow she had managed to end up sitting next to Paris, and Jess laughed, remembering the first time Rory had tried to explain Paris to him.

"Paris Gellar." The elderly man said clearly (Jess now realized that he was the Dean of Yale). Paris walked up the stairs onto the stage with assurance, taking her diploma and shaking the man's hand firmly.

"Rory Gilmore." Jess watched in awe as Rory walked up the stairs and onto the stage. He heard a muffled sniffle and looked over to see that Lane, Lorelai, Luke, Sookie, and Jackson were all crying. He smirked, but then realized that even his own eyes felt a little damp. He looked back up to see Rory grab her diploma with a smile and a firm handshake, then turn out to the audience and smile hugely at her family and friends. When her eyes locked with Jess', she winked. Jess smirked, watching her walk down the stairs.

The rest of the ceremony went quickly, and in no time the graduates were moving their tassels to the other side of their caps and throwing them in the air with a loud cheer. Then, madness. A hundred graduated seniors were bustling around, pushing their way through the crowd to find their families. Jess looked frantically through the gigantic mass of people for the one face that he recognized, but couldn't spot it. He pushed a few people out of the way gently, weaving through the crowd, but he couldn't find her. As he weaved past a particularly large middle-aged man, he finally saw Rory, who was looking about as frantically as Jess was. She saw him and smiled, and he began to walk over, only to be pushed out of the way by none other than Logan Huntzberger.

"Hey, Ace," Logan said. Jess couldn't help but notice the slight slur in his voice as he spoke.

Rory looked at him fearfully. She hadn't seen Logan since she had broken up with him for Jess. She tried to look around Logan, trying to lock eyes with Jess. Even from where he was standing, she could see the fire in his eyes. She gave him a look as if to say 'I can handle this' before turning back to the drunken blonde.

"Hello, Logan." Rory greeted coldly.

Logan staggered up to her. "Congratulations," he slurred again, his face starting to get a little too close.

Rory put a hand on his chest and pushed him back. "Are you drunk, Logan?"

"Am I what?"

"Drunk."

"Ha ha," Logan laughed, hiccuping. "I kinda am." He grinned stupidly, and Rory was disgusted. How could she have ever dated this repulsive man? Jess was closer now, still closing in on them. She would have to stall.

"Huh. Well, thank you for coming to my graduation, Logan." Rory knew that the best way to act around a drunken Logan was to treat him as if he were 5 years old.

"No problem," Logan answered as he leaned in and tried to kiss her. Rory pushed him away, and he tried again.

She pushed him away again. "Logan, get away from me. I don't want to see you right now, ok? We're done." Rory said, trying to make it sound nice.

Logan glared at her, pulling a flask from his jacket and taking a sip. He wiped his mouth and hiccuped. "Geez, Rory. You don't have to be such a bitch." As soon as Logan said this statement, Jess arrived at the scene and pushed Logan away from Rory.

"I think you'd better step back, Huntzberger," Jess growled as he stepped between Rory and her drunken ex-boyfriend.

Logan wheeled around to face Jess, pure fire in his eyes. "Oh, it's you. What the hell are you doing here?" he spat.

"I was invited, actually. Why are you here?" Jess asked, his voice beginning to rise.

"I'm here to win Rory back," Logan mumbled as he put his fists up in the air.

"Oh, really?" Jess yelled. Several people had formed a small circle around them, watching with obvious excitement. "That's funny, cause I thought she was with me now."

"What did you say?" Logan threatened, the tone and volume of his voice matching Jess'.

"You heard me. I said she's with me now, and there's nothing you can do about it." Jess spat at him, grinning evilly.

Logan looked at Rory. "You," he said as he stumbled towards her, pointing. Jess didn't know what Logan planned to do, but he wasn't going to wait and find out. He stepped between them. "Get outta my way," Logan grumbled.

"No."

Logan raised his arm and tried to push Jess out of the way, but he wouldn't budge. So, Logan did the next best thing he could think of to get someone to move: he punched Jess. Well, he tried to punch Jess. Because of his lack of vision and depth perception, he swung somewhere around two feet from Jess' head. But Jess got the hint and grabbed Logan's arm, putting him into a cop hold and taking him to the ground.

"Leave me and Rory alone." Jess growled quietly so that only Logan could hear. "Forever. If you don't, I will personally come and find you and beat the living shit out of you. Got that?" Jess asked icily, pulling Logan's arm higher.

Logan whimpered. "Yeah."

"Good," Jess said, letting go and pushing Logan away. He turned around to see an astonished Rory, not believing what she had just witnessed.

He grabbed her hand. "Come on, Ror, let's go." Rory didn't protest, she followed Jess quietly. It wasn't until they reached the car that Rory realized she was shaking. Jess closed her door quickly after helping her in, and then slammed his own door as he got in the car. He pulled out his cell phone and made a quick call to Luke, informing him that he would take Rory home and meet them at the diner. Rory just sat in her seat, trembling, watching Jess. When he hung up the phone, Jess put his head on the steering wheel, closed his eyes, and took a few deep breaths. Rory watched him silently, not knowing what to do. Jess opened his eyes a few seconds later, now calmer than he had been. He glanced at Rory, and noticed that her hands were shaking. He looked at her face, and she was pale.

"Oh, Ror, come here," Jess said quietly as he pulled Rory into his arms. She broke down, telling Jess how scared she had been, crying and shaking. They sat there for a couple minutes, and Jess didn't say anything: he just comforted her. When she finally calmed down, she didn't pull away from Jess. He took the hint and started the car, his arm still around her shoulders protectively.

"Jess?" she said weakly.

"Yeah?" he answered as they drove down the highway to Stars Hollow.

"Thank you."

"For what?" Jess asked as he looked down at her.

"For protecting me from Logan."

"Rory, I know how bad drunks can be, trust me. There was no way I was letting him get close to you." Jess muttered quietly.

Rory smiled softly and nestled back into Jess. She felt safe, there, in his arms.

Jess hugged her to himself more tightly as they drove in silence. After a little while, he turned on her CD, and she smiled, immediately brightening. She sang along and danced, and Jess just watched her, kissing the top of her head.

"Happy graduation, baby," he whispered quietly as he turned into Stars Hollow, toward Luke's.