A/N: Anyone who hasn't heard from my other updates, the reason for the massive delay in posting a new chapter was illness - mutant cold, people, seriously. Anywho, back to Rory & Jess, Luke & Lorelai, and a baby on the way! :)

(for disclaimer, etc. - see prologue)

Chapter 24

Thanksgiving was coming up fast, and the people of Stars Hollow had plenty to be thankful for. There really wasn't a person amongst the happy townsfolk who wasn't pleased as punch to have their own Rory Gilmore back home. Of course, they all knew her being pregnant, by the former town hoodlum no less, was not the plan they had all had, including Rory herself. Still, the best was being made of just about everything. Jess was certainly proving himself to be much more of an adult than the last time he had been living in the Hollow. He worked hard and it was clear to anyone with eyes how much he loved Rory and cared about the child she was carrying.

The gossips were often talking about the Gilmore girls and their men. From Miss Patty and Babette to East Side Tilly, there wasn't one amongst them that wasn't vying for the latest news on the towns most beloved couples.

Luke had been such a rock for Lorelai when Rory was gone, and now that romance was blossoming beautifully. It had been noticed that Lorelai spent a lot of nights in the diner apartment with her man, leaving Rory and Jess alone at the Gilmore house. There were general rumblings, wondering about Lorelai being the next to fall pregnant, the somewhat confusing scenario that could lead to one baby having an aunt or uncle even younger than he or she was.

Kirk had run a book on the gender of the Gilmore-Mariano baby already, and was now considering starting one for the assumed Gilmore-Danes kid's sex as well, in spite of the fact there had been no comfortantion of that particular pregnancy. That never stopped the folks in Stars Hollow, and everybody knew it.

For the four at the centre of the gossip, it was all highly amusing to hear what was supposed to be happening in their lives. So much was manufactured, but none of it malicious, so there was little to no point in making a fuss. Things had certainly fallen into a nice rhythm amongst the two couples. Rory worked her shifts at the book store, while Jess juggled the diner and Walmart, Lorelai continued to work on getting her inn off the ground with Sookie, and Luke was always on hand with the coffee pot or the hammer, as necessary.

Nobody spoke of the grandparents much. Emily and Richard were still estranged from each other, and the former more so than the latter was still somewhat estranged from Rory too. She made a point of calling her grandpa regularly still, but going over to the house was not yet a regular event. Emily said there was a standing invitation for any Friday they wanted to come, but since the reconciliation dinner four weeks ago, they had only been to one other and conversation had been stilted at best at Grandma's table.

Family were always a minefield, Jess had said. Rory knew why too, and it didn't have as much to do with her grandparents as one might think. Liz still didn't know about the baby. Rory wasn't sure Jess' mother even knew the two of them were back together. They had been talking on a semi-regular basis over the summer, but after Rory found out she was pregnant, she couldn't remember more than two conversations half-overheard between Liz and Jess. He seemed to have completely given up on calling his mom, and she barely seemed to make an effort to call him either. It was a couple of days ago that she broached the subject while they were lying on the couch together watching a movie. He made some throwaway comment about the woman in said movie reminding him of Liz, and Rory carefully asked when the last time was he talked to his mother.

Jess went into evasive mode almost immediately and Rory let it go. It wasn't really her business when and if Jess talked to his mother. After all, she was still putting off telling her dad about being pregnant. It was stupid really, she wasn't even sure why she was doing it. It wasn't as if she feared his disapproval. The great Christopher Hayden had got his girlfriend pregnant at sixteen, and then been pretty much an absentee father ever since. Rory knew she was lucky that he cared even in a small way, it was much more than Jess ever got, but that didn't make it okay. She wasn't comfortable with the idea of her father becoming an absentee grandpa too. Telling him was going to be delicate and she hadn't felt comfortable enough yet to go through with it.

She had just past the twenty four week mark, over half way through her pregnancy, and Rory was amazed at how quickly the time seemed to have gone by, and how slowly at the same time. Somehow it seemed just five minutes since she was finishing up her first year at Yale, though in reality it was months ago. At the same time, the New York apartment, one flight of stairs from Mrs R, her job in a coffee shop, that all seemed like it was so very long ago, almost completely out of reach.

"Are you okay, Rory?" asked Andrew as she continued to stare off into space, the final two volumes for a new display still in her hands, where they had been for the past five maybe ten minutes now. "Should I get a chair? Call a doctor?" he checked worriedly.

"Oh, no, I'm fine," she promised, shaking off her daze. "I'm sorry, I just... I was thinking. All in a world of my own, but nothing to worry about. Thanks, Andrew," she smiled, glad of his concern even if it was unfounded.

"Well, in any case, now you're done with the display you should head home," he told her. "I'm closing up early anyway, given the holiday and all."

"Okay, thanks... again," she grinned, placing down the final books and then heading behind the counter for her coat.

Wrapping up warm against the elements, she wished Andrew a happy thanksgiving and headed out. She checked her watch to see she was at least an hour early leaving. Jess would still be at the diner and she smiled widely as she headed off there to meet him. She was really looking forward to spending the next couple of days with nobody but Jess, her mom, and Luke, a proper family. WalMart had offered Jess double time to work over Thanksgiving, and as tempting as it was, he had promised Rory the holiday. It meant so much to her, and as crazy as it seemed to turn down more cash, some things were more important and Jess knew it.

Thanksgiving, Christmas, birthdays, none of it meant much when he was a kid living with Liz, but in Stars Hollow, they all had such significance. Even the days in between were given strange titles and meanings, complete with carnivals, dressing up, and other odd traditions. Jess hated a lot of that, much like his uncle before him, but any family event where he felt like he was a part of something, that actually felt pretty good. There was no way in hell he would ever admit it out loud, but Rory knew. She always had.

"Hey," she grinned as she walked into the diner, glad of the warm air and sweet smells that met her cold nose.

"Hey," Jess greeted her in kind as he walked by with an order for the table just beyond his girlfriend.

He barely stopped moving as he dropped a kiss on her lips and kept on going. Rory smiled at the efficiency as she moved to take a seat at the counter. Getting up on the stool took some serious effort even now, and she knew she had to take advantage of sitting there, watching Jess work while she had the chance. A few more weeks of growing exponentially in the belly area, and she would be confined to the lower chairs at the tables.

"I don't know why you insist on being at the counter," said Luke after watching her struggle a minute, almost offering help when suddenly she got herself seated under her own steam anyway.

"The view is better here," she smiled, eyes following Jess as he moved back and forth before her.

He was smirking as he made his next pass. Luke just rolled his eyes.

"I had to ask," he muttered, pouring Rory a decaff coffee and pushing it towards her. "You want anything to eat? Anything bordering on the healthy maybe?" he tried.

Rory bit her lip. Poor Luke. He was trying so hard to ensure she and the baby were well looked after. There was no doubting they were entirely loved and made a fuss of. His main concern was the copious amount of junk Rory liked to consume, just like her mother before her. He feared the child inside Rory being born with two-heads or pre-destroyed arteries. Nobody, including Luke, could even really explain why two heads was relevant, but he insisted the rest was.

"I guess I could have a burger? That has salad stuff inside it as well as meat, right?" she said with a look.

Luke winced, knowing it was the best he was going to get. A little lettuce and tomato was hardly going to make a dent in amongst the years of fat, sugar, and carbs, but there was really no helping the Gilmores. From what Lorelai said, she hadn't made all that much effort with her diet when she was pregnant with Rory. That had clearly influenced her daughter's tastes, but they always seemed healthy enough. They certainly had plenty of energy between them, even Rory, and she had been off the caffeine for months now.

"One burger, with extra salad," Luke emphasised with a smirk his nephew would've been proud of.

"And extra ketchup," Rory insisted. "A tomato is a fruit," she explained, causing Luke to laugh at her gall as he went out back to get her food.

Jess arrived in front of his girlfriend then and wasted no time in giving her another, longer, deeper kiss than the one by the door when she first came in.

"Hmm, I love the service here," she grinned as they parted.

"You should. Y'know I charge the other customers extra for that," he joked.

"Don't say it too loud. Miss Patty will bring her chequebook next time she's in for breakfast."

Jess looked equal parts amused and grossed out, which pleased Rory since it had been what she was going for. She told her boyfriend how Andrew let her go early, and then remembered the letter in her pocket from Mrs Rossini. She pulled it out and sat reading it aloud to Jess while he wiped down the counter, made more coffee, and replenished the donuts while the diner was quiet. Luke appeared about half way through and presented Rory with her burger, which slowed down the reading but not by much.

"I miss you being here, my bambinos, but I am so happy to hear of your happiness in your real home. Promise me you will spare a thought for old Maria this holiday, and trust that she will be giving thanks for such a couple that came into her life and gave her such happy weeks and months as she will never forget," Rory finished reading, a tear creeping down her cheek that she had hardly been aware of.

"Hey," said Jess when he noticed, reaching out a gentle hand to wipe the lone tear away. "What's that for?"

"I don't know," Rory sniffed. "I just... She's so alone, and I know she's used to it, and she must have been just as alone before you moved into the apartment as she is now we moved out but... it just makes me think, how lucky we are to have a family, how dumb it is that people just stop talking to each other and over stupid, petty things..."

Jess caught on pretty fast then and let out a sigh.

"Rory, I know you wish things were better with your grandma, but it'll be fine," he assured her, putting a hand over hers on the counter and squeezing. "She's not thrilled with what happened, but she'll get over it, eventually. I guess it means something that she's at least trying."

"But what about her and grandpa?" she asked then. "Almost forty years of marriage and now they're living apart, barely talking to each other. It isn't right!"

"But it's their choice," Jess reminded her. "Sure, it'd be great if they made things up, but if they don't it'll only be their own faults for not trying. You didn't cause that."

"I know," she sniffled. "I just get so sad thinking about things, how people just get estranged and things fall apart. We're so lucky Jess. So lucky to have my mom and Luke and this town."

She completely broke down at that point, a mixture of pregnancy hormones, the situation with her grandparents, and Mrs Rossini's letter combined, Jess was sure. He rounded the counter in a second and pulled her to him, her face buried in his shirt as she sobbed. Luke appeared from out back and frowned, but Jess gave him a signal that it was nothing serious to worry about. Still, Luke told him to take Rory home, he could finish up alone today.

Jess would usually argue. He didn't like to cut short his shifts if he was getting full pay, but this was different. Rory needed to not be in public right now, and he needed to be there for her. Luke tossed Jess' jacket over the counter to him and he let go of Rory for all of five seconds to pull it on. They set off for home with his arm around her shoulders and hers around his waist, walking in one of their usual comfortable silences. Jess kissed the top of Rory's head for no particular reason other than he wanted to and she gave him a watery smile as they continued on.

Of all the couples they could have passed on their way home, it was an awkward moment when Rory heard raised voices and recognised Dean and Lindsay on the opposite side of the street. They were in full fight mode and she winced on seeing it. Jess noticed her tense and then look very deliberately away from the scene that he hadn't taken any real notice of until that moment. He scoffed at the dispaly and shook his head.

"She said she wasn't that stupid," he muttered, getting Rory's attention.

"She?" she prompted. "Lindsay?"

"Yeah, Lindsay," Jess confirmed, knowing he had never told Rory about the conversation he had with the young Mrs Forester several weeks ago.

It was deliberate in a way, at least at first. There was already enough stress in their situation without bringing up Rory's ex and the fact he was obviously still pining for her. Lately it just became not important enough to mention, at least until now when it actually came up as a relevant point.

"I met her outside the diner one Friday night, the one with the nasty Friday Night Dinner actually," he noted. "Lindsay tried to tell me the two of us were the same, me and her. She thought just because Dean still had feelings for you, that I should feel as neglected and cheated as she did," he shrugged as if it were nothing.

Rory didn't agree.

"You... you don't ever feel like that, do you?" she checked worriedly, stopping walking and forcing Jess to face her. "I don't make you feel like a second choice, do I? I mean I know I kinda made a lot of comparisons in the beginning, when we first dated, but I never meant to, and certainly not now, I..."

"Rory," he cut her off when she started to ramble, finding her a small smile that didn't take all that much effort. "Not that you're not adorable when you ramble and rant," he told her, a hand at her cheek. "But I'm okay. I know you chose me, even before the baby, before anything else. You regretted what happened with him and you came to find me."

"Because I love you," she said definitely.

"And I know that," he smiled warmly, eyes locked onto hers. "I don't always understand it, but I do believe it, and I love you too, more than I could ever explain, more than I ever thought I could love anybody."

"That's good," said Rory with a sigh of relief that he could well understand.

The worst thing for either of them right now was to have reason to believe there wasn't as much love and devotion coming to them as they were giving out. Thankfully that wasn't the case. They knew where they stood, they knew this was love, both for each other and for the life they created together.

"One more thing to be thankful for, huh?" said Jess, eyes sparkling with fun.

"Oh yeah," said Rory with a grin as she leaned in to kiss his lips. "Y'know what else we could go be thankful for?" she said then. "The house will be empty for at least another hour..."

Jess laughed at her gall, then looked all too seriously towards the house and back at Rory as if calculating something.

"What?" she checked.

"I'm just trying to figure out which is faster, if we just run, or if I pick you up and carry you," he mused, a grin breaking through his too-serious look way too fast.

Rory cracked up.

"I think its safer for everybody if we just walk...quickly," she amended, suddenly feeling the only place she wanted to be was in their bed, proving that love they had been talking of just a moment ago.

Planting one last searing kiss on her lips, Jess grabbed Rory's hand and they set off hurrying for home, laughing all the way like kids, despite the adult activities they had planned for when they got home. There really was just so much to be thankful for right now.

To Be Continued...