I do not own any characters, plots, or anything else pertaining to "Gilmore Girls". I bet you didn't see twins in Literati's future. I figured it would be fun to have one of each, so Jess can get a son. I've always wondered what kind of dad he'd be to a son. This is another very long chapter, but a lot happens, so I felt it was necessary. I'm having a blast writing this, thanks for reading.

Chapter 21

A Christmas Disaster

Rory spends Christmas Eve wrapping Abby's gifts with Jess. With the babies' due in three months and getting the nursery ready, there's hardly been time to shop, let alone wrap the gifts. Jess sits beside her on the couch and the two of them knock out their wrapping at about three A.M. She's thankful for having a partner like him in her life. Rory could only imagine what it would have been like if she was with Logan. She's sure that she'd be doing everything on her own, including getting the nursery ready. Rory's confident that he would have been a flyby parent, whether she was with him or not. "Ready for bed, Gilmore?" Rory nods and Jess helps her up. He wraps his arm around her and they make their way upstairs to their room. "Our daughter will be up soon." They reach their room and both collapse on the bed. It seems like every month she gets more and more exhausted. Before getting pregnant with Abby, she had no idea that there were levels of exhaustion. Rory turns to Jess. "We should make another bet." He gives her a smirk and her heart warms. "Game on, Gilmore." She gives him a grin. "I bet Abby will wake up at 5 A.M. and come crashing into our room." Jess shakes his head. "I think you're off there, I give our kid a half an hour before she comes." Rory stares at him in disbelief, knowing there's no way that Abby would get up that early. "Same stakes as before?" Jess's smirk widens. "I hope you're brushing up on your nursery rhymes." Rory rolls back over and her eyes instantly close. She's confident that she'll win this bet and he'll be stuck changing those dirty diapers for a month.

Rory wakes up to the whole bed moving. She opens her eyes and sees Abby standing between her and Jess. Rory turns over to her alarm clock and sees that it's 3:45, she's only been asleep for about a half an hour. "Mommy, daddy, it's Christmas." Her eyes move over to Jess, who's giving her a knowing smile. "Alright kid, let's go to the stairway and check out your stocking, we'll let mommy rest for a few minutes." Abby looks at her with concern in her eyes. "Are you and the babies okay, mommy?" Rory manages a small smile. "We're fine sweetie, now go with daddy and see what Santa put in your stocking." She jumps off the bed and runs down the hall. Jess turns to her with a smirk. "Better luck next time." Rory picks up his pillow and throws it at his head. "Shut up, Mariano." Jess's smirk widens, as he turns to leave. Maybe she'll manage to rest about fifteen minutes more, if she's lucky.

Jess follows Abby to the stairs and can't contain his smile. She rushes towards the stocking Lorelai made her for her first Christmas. He remembers the megawatt smile that crossed Abby's face, when Lorelai gave her that stocking. Jess had thought it looked gaudy and very Lorelai, but Abby had loved it. "Daddy, look what I got." She holds up a couple of bookmarks and his smile widens. "It looks like Santa knows you love to read." Abby nods at his words. "Silly, daddy, I wrote him a letter, remember?" Jess takes a few steps down, stopping on the step above her. "Ah, I must have forgot. I guess that means, you'll get everything you asked for." Abby gives him a wide grin and finishes looking through the stocking. He hopes Rory is up soon because he's not sure that he'll be able to contain Abby. "Daddy, can I have a piece of candy, pretty please?" She's giving him those puppy dog eyes and he knows he's going to give in. "One piece, but don't tell mommy." Jess watches Abby take out a lollipop. "I heard that." He turns and sees the mother of his children walking down the stairs towards them. Since she's been pregnant, he loves that she seems to have this glow to her. "Mommy, can I go open presents now?" Rory nods and they watch Abby run down the rest of the stairs and over to the Christmas tree by the fireplace. Jess follows Rory down the last few stairs and they make their way to the couch. He can't help but smile at how quickly Abby is ripping through the presents. "Slow down there, kid, none of it is going anywhere." His daughter ignores him and continues to tear her way through the presents.

Of course, she's most psyched about her favorite book series that hasn't even hit the stores yet. He was able to pull some strings at Truncheon and get them early. "Daddy, mommy, look at the books, Santa got me my favorite." Jess gives her a smirk. "I guess Santa has some connections, huh?" Abby gives him a smile. "No, it's the magic letter I wrote to Santa." Jess nods at her words and he turns to Rory who's smiling at the scene. He grabs her hand that's resting on the couch and she turns to him. Her smile has now turned into a frown. "I didn't have time to get you anything." Jess squeezes her hand, it's typical of Rory to feel bad about something like this. "Hey, I don't need anything, you've already given me a daughter and two twins to boot." Jess places his hand over Rory's stomach and her smile returns. "I love you, Mariano." He puts his hand on the side of her cheek. "I love you too, Gilmore. We should probably get ready for next year because it's going to be a circus with three kids." Rory gives him an angelic laugh. "There's no one I'd rather brave that circus with than you." He leans in and gives her a long kiss. "Mommy, this one is for you, it says it's from daddy." He watches Rory pull back and can't hide the smile crossing over his face. She turns to him in confusion, but walks over to the tree where Abby hands her the present. Jess watches her open it slowly and the look on her face speaks volumes. He gets up from the couch and makes his way over to his two girls standing by the tree. Jess has thought about this moment, since he first laid eyes on her and now it's becoming a reality. He gets down on one knee and grabs the box from her hand. Rory's eyes are wide, but he can see the excitement within them. He hopes he doesn't screw this up. Jess grabs her hand and holds the box up. "I've never wanted to settle anywhere, let alone settle down, but you changed all that. You're the only woman I want this with and you always will be. So, Rory Gilmore, will you marry me?" Jess can see the tears in her eyes and his heart warms at the sight. "Yes." He takes the ring out and slides it on her finger. She gives him a wide smile and he gets to his feet. Jess pulls her in for a kiss and he can hear Abby cheering in the background. He decides that this moment is perfect, just like his soon-to-be wife in front of him, and he intends on cherishing it and her forever.

After presents, her and Jess make their way to the kitchen, leaving Abby eagerly reading the first book of her favorite series. She looks at the time and sees that it's already after five. Her mother had promised Abby that she'd be here at six and Luke's supposed to make breakfast. Rory walks over to the table to sit down, feeling not just physically exhausted, but emotionally exhausted. She places her left hand on the table and her eyes zero in on the simple diamond for the thousandth time this morning. Rory can hardly believe that Jess actually proposed to her. Even more impressive, he was able to keep the ring a secret from her. She couldn't have picked out a better ring and she's once again thankful that Jess knows her so well. "Is it okay?" Rory can hear the insecurity in his voice and it grips her heart. Her eyes connect with his. "I love it, it's perfect." Jess gives her that sexy smirk she loves and her heart does a somersault. "Mommy, daddy, grandma and grandpa are here early." Jess shakes his head. "I bet your mom wants to kill Luke." He helps her get up from the chair and she walks to the front door. Abby beats her there and has already opened the door. She's jumping up and down. "Grandma, grandpa, you're here." Rory looks over at her mother, who looks half-dead. "Grandma needs coffee." Her mother ambles in and Luke follows, carrying a box with some of the ingredients he'll need to make breakfast. He looks at her with a smile. "I had to bribe your mom to get up early with my special blend from the diner. I usually don't bring the stuff home, but I made an exception for the kid." Rory nods at his words. "Thanks Luke." He gives her a rare smile and walks into the kitchen. "Grandma, guess what, daddy and mommy are getting married." Rory quickly follows Jess into the kitchen and sees her mother suddenly wide awake at the table. She looks over at Jess. "So, you chose Christmas, only second to Valentine's day, as the most cliched holiday, to propose to my daughter?" Jess shoves his hands into his pockets and she knows that he's nervous.

He looks over at Lorelai. "It felt like the right time to do it." Lorelai smiles and looks between the two of them. "Wow, three kids and a wedding, it must be love." Her mother gets up from the table and hugs her tightly. When she pulls back, she grabs her left hand. "Now, let mommy see that ring." Lorelai brings her hand up and turns to Jess. "I'm glad you picked this one." Rory looks at her mother. "You were in on this?" Lorelai turns her head and smiles. "He had to ask my permission, so I volunteered my input." Jess takes a step forward. "By volunteer, she means she forced me to take her." Lorelai turns to Jess and gives him a glare. "Watch it punk, I could totally undo my blessing." Rory shakes her head. "It's too late for that." Lorelai gives her a wide smile and Luke begins to cook the food. A little later, the five enjoy Christmas Morning breakfast as a family and Rory couldn't be happier. This is definitely turning out to be one hell of a Christmas and it may be her new favorite holiday, Thanksgiving be damned.

A couple hours later, everyone sits on the couch, eating Luke's traditional Santa burgers and watching a classic Christmas movie. Abby is sitting on Jess's lap to her right and everything seems just about right. The doorbell rings and her mother gets up. "I'll get it, wouldn't want you killing yourself moving to the door." Rory gives her a feign glare. "Ha-ha, laugh at your pregnant daughter's expense." Lorelai laughs all the way to the door and moments later, in walks Logan and his entire family. Rory's heart drops to her stomach at the sight and she knows that this turn of events, may wreck the rest of their perfect Christmas. She prays this won't be the case, but anytime Logan is involved, you can guarantee things will turn out to be a disaster.

Jess feels like he's been punched in the gut. What is with this guy? First, he came to the house unannounced and they kicked his ass out, now he comes with the rest of his family, to what, rub it in Abby's face? He's about had it with this guy and his games. "We were spending Christmas with my parents and I thought I'd come by early and give you your gifts, Abby." Abby, still sitting on his lap, turns to him. He can see it in her eyes, she's asking permission and it feels like a knife is twisting in his heart. "It's okay." Jess tries to smile convincingly, but he knows that she can see right through it, just like her mother. Abby gives him a hesitant nod and jumps off his lap. She walks slowly over to Logan and he bends down to hand her the stack of gifts he's brought. Abby looks over at the bastard. "Thank you, Logan." He frowns, clearly pissed that she's still calling him Logan, but he gives her a nod. She sets out opening the gifts one by one, each more expensive than the next. Jess hates that he's standing there with his perfect family and making her go through this. It's not fair and it makes his blood boil. One wrong move and he won't hesitate to throw that idiot out on his ass again. Jess watches Abby finish and look back over at Logan. "I really like all my new stuff." He can tell from her tone that she absolutely hates everything that Logan has given her. From the dolls, to the elegant dresses, none of it impresses his little girl. Logan gives her a smile. "I'm glad you like it." He stands up next to his wife Odette. His four brats stare at his little girl like she's some kind of anomaly.

Jess and Rory get up off the couch at the same time, both having seen enough of this, and then Abby turns to them and puts her hand up. They stop and she turns back to the four children. Abby puts her tiny hand out. "Hi, I'm Abby Gilmore." The four children exchange uneasy looks and then the oldest boy steps forward. He sticks out his hand to shake hers. "Hi, I'm Nick Huntzburger." The next child, a blonde girl, steps forward. "My name is Elizabeth." Nick points to the smaller kids. "That's my brother Charlie and my sister Lori, they're too small to talk." Abby nods at his words and the silence resumes. After a few moments, he watches his daughter take a brave step forward. "Do you want to play with me for a while?" Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Odette roll her eyes and then place her hand on Charlie's shoulder. Her eyes meet Abby's. "We have to get going, but maybe Logan can set up a time for all of you to play." Jess is usually good at reading people and this woman is as transparent as glass. She has no intention letting her children play with Abby and even his daughter knows it. Abby's uneasy smile turns into a frown. "Okay, Happy Christmas." Logan bends down and gives her a brief hug. "Call me anytime and we'll set up that playdate." Abby nods at his empty words and the Huntzburger clan leaves. Abby turns around and they can see the tears starting in her eyes. He walks over to pick her up and Rory rubs her back. The two exchange a look, as their daughter cries over the father that continues to disappoint her. Jess wishes he could take the pain away, but this is something that's out of his control. All he can do now is stand here and hold her tight, letting her know, he'll always be there for her, that he'll always be her dad.