A/N: Glad you all liked the fact Richard asked Jess to be best man given Rorys condition. The vow renewal is coming up soon, but in the meantime, Rory & Jess need to move into their new place... Oh, and isn't it about time they thought of a name for this baby? ;)

(For disclaimer, etc. - see Prologue)

Chapter 37

It had taken three weeks from the day Rory and Jess signed the lease for their apartment until today, the day when they were finally moving in. It was really a testament to their hard work, organisational skills, and the input of so many great family members and friends that they had got everything figured out so fast. It was kind of necessary, since Rory was hell-bent on being settled in before the baby came. Jess was a little surprised by that. He really believed that she would want to be with her mom just as long as possible, but it had been Lorelai that shook her head and said she wasn't surprised at all. She said women started nest building when they had a baby on the way, making plans for the future, looking to put together a place to call home. As much as the Crap Shack was where Rory wanted to be growing up, things were different now. She was a grown woman with a child of her own to think about. Jess wasn't all that sorry to know they were getting a place to call their own. Not that he didn't totally appreciate everything Lorelai and Luke were doing for them, but a bed that was actually designed for two people and a little privacy sure would be nice!

Christopher had left on the Saturday morning after dinner at the Gilmore house, and then it was all hands to the pumps as all efforts were refocused on the apartment in New Haven. Lane got Zach to come into the diner and help wait tables on weekends to free up Luke so he could go help Jess with building shelves and shifting furniture. Any spare time Jess could find between shifts during the week he spent driving around with Rory, and sometimes Lorelai, picking out furnishings that were decent looking and actually affordable. It was amazing how much ended up being donated actually. Suddenly everyone in town had a spare table or a couple of chairs they couldn't use. Miss Patty, Babette and Maury, neighbours Jess barely knew existed just couldn't wait to hand over any ugly ass lamp or dusty vase they found in their back bedroom or closet. Rory took everything with good grace and genuine thanks. Jess just bit his lip and waited for the good folks to leave before saying he wasn't having this junk anywhere in his home.

"Our home," she corrected him every time, diplomatically saying that the ugliest things could maybe get a little damaged in transit.

Some of it was actually pretty decent stuff, and Jess was grateful for everybody trying to be kind. Feeling like a charity wasn't so cool, but right now he knew he and Rory needed the help, so he let it lie. Sure, they owned half a diner now, but that didn't mean they could afford to be frivolous. Over time, they were collecting together stuff for the baby, small things here and there, larger stuff when they found it on sale usually, but there always seemed to be more that was needed. Going forward there would be a lot of expenses to consider, clothes as the baby grew, more advanced toys and games as he developed, teething rings, proper shoes, and later educational needs, college; the list seemed endless whenever such things were spoken about, but Jess tried not to stress. If he looked worried then Rory started worrying, and that was just the worst thing for a woman in her condition.

It upset Rory enough already that she wasn't going to look as she would like in her grandparents 'wedding' pictures, and more so that she was of minimal use with the new apartment. All the clean up, the decorating, the moving of furniture, none of it was suitable for a woman that was over seven months pregnant and, in her own words, the size of Dumbo's mother. She went on a visit to Paris' dorm the first day she felt particularly useless and inadvertently got her friend to volunteer both herself and Doyle for painting duty. That might have been more successful if Paris wasn't just famous for taking over any situation and turning it into a military operation. Jess bit his lip so hard it almost bled that day, but they made it through without blood on the walls instead of paint, so Rory called it a win.

Mrs Rossini helped with much of the cleaning that needed doing and then got stuck into helping Lorelai with running up new curtains, re-covering lamp shades, and the like. Now here were Rory and Jess packing up the room they had been sharing for months now, that had been Rory's own since she was just eleven. It was time to leave the nest and create a new home in their own apartment.

Rory felt she was as excited as she was nervous about the move. The baby seemed to be similarly torn in emotions from the way he writhed and kicked inside of her. Rory smiled and ran a hand over her belly. She was going to regret being sat down her on the floor, because getting up after was going to be hell, but it was the best place to be to sort out her books. She pulled several at a time from the drawer, checking to see that she absolutely needed every single one before making new piles that Jess could pack into boxes. A couple of text books from Yale went on a separate pile from her own novels and poetry volumes. Rory wasn't going to throw them away or anything, but for now she was okay with keeping them elsewhere.

The next book to pass her hands was the baby names book and she sighed.

"How can we have come this far and still not know what to call our son?" she asked Jess, looking over at him. "Our baby could be here in six weeks, maybe less, and right now he's going to be called 'Baby RJ'," she reminded him of Lorelai's nickname for their unborn child with an unhappy look.

"I don't know, Ror," her fiancé shook his head as he sealed up the box full of clothes with packing tape. "I guess it's just a big decision. Whatever we pick, this kid's going to be stuck with it for the rest of his life. We don't want to rush in and screw up, right?"

"Rush in?" she laughed incredulously, watching Jess pull the cap off a permanent marker with his teeth and write on the box in his ever-familiar hand-writing. "Yeah, I don't think it had be construed as rushing when I'm this much pregnant."

"Maybe not," said Jess with a smirk that didn't quite come out right around the pen cap.

Rory looked back to the task at hand, suddenly smiling as she picked up a very familiar, very loved book.

"How about Allen?"

"Really?" asked Jess with a frown.

Rory was grinning when he glanced at her, and she happily waved the volume in her hand towards him.

"First book I borrowed from you," he smiled right back when he saw it was Allen Ginsberg's Howl she was holding.

"First book you stole from me, Dodger," she countered, even as she nostalgically flipped the pages to see Jess' thoughtful notes in the margins.

She barely noticed him crouching down beside her until he reached to take the book from her hands.

"And before you ask, no," he said with mock-stern look. "We are not calling our son Dodger," he said definitely, putting Howl with another pile of books and moving them into the nearest empty box. "I guess Oliver could be an option but..."

"Jack."

Jess startled at the interruption and suddenly definite-sounding name choice.

"Jack?" he echoed, turning to look at Rory' smiling face once again.

"The Artful Dodger's real name was Jack Dawkins," she reminded him. "Plus it's a J, same as Jess and... and Jimmy, it'd be like making a tradition."

She wasn't sure about that last part, not even certain she should've mentioned it as a positive thing. Jess didn't want her to worry about something so simple. He wasn't going to go off the deep-end just because his father was mentioned, and Rory ought to know that. He was the one who had brought him up in conversation more than once, explaining to her about how they sort of connected during his Summer in California. They were never going to be the traditional father and son with a proper well-rounded and loving relationship, but they had made contact, they got along, and it was okay.

"I don't think the Mariano family have traditions, Ror," he told her with a shake of his head.

"Well then maybe we could start one," she suggested. "Unless you really don't like the name, I just thought..."

"Jack's good," he assured her before Rory had a chance to start rambling.

Honestly, he did agree that it was a good name and her original reason was a nice thought too. It was much better than just drawing a name at random from a book, or being boring and uptight like the Gilmores, naming kids after ancestors like it made some kind of point to everybody else. This would have meaning for him and Rory more than anybody else, but it wasn't obvious to those that didn't know.

"Jack Mariano," said Rory then, one hand on her stomach where the baby continued kicking. "I like it."

"Yeah, me too," Jess agreed, putting his hand atop her own, then leaning in to kiss her cheek. "I think we finally settled on a name."

"Okay, is that the last of it?" asked Luke as he secured what he believed to be the final load of Rory and Jess' belongings into his truck.

They had made two runs already with clothes, books, baby stuff, and more that they had in Stars Hollow. The bigger furniture had been delivered straight to the new place, but day-to-day belongings and such had to wait until the last minute and be personally moved by the family.

"If there's anything else, I don't know what it would be," said Jess, running a hand back through his hair. "I already feel like we packed enough stuff to fill three apartments."

He was shifting around like he just couldn't stand still, looking back towards the house then into the truck, mentally checking off items that needed moving. Luke walked around to his nephew and clapped a hand onto his shoulder.

"Hey, take a breath," he told him. "If you forget anything, it can picked up later, no big deal."

"That's not what bothers me," Jess shook his head. "I just... This is a big deal," he sighed. "Not for me, or it is but... I mean, I've had my own place, I'm used to being on my own, y'know? This is huge for Rory. Sure, she lived in a dorm for a while, but she always came back home, to this house, to her mom. This is a lot for her, the moving and with the baby so close and..."

"I repeat, take a breath," said Luke, both hands on Jess' shoulders now as he held him at arm's length and made him meet his eyes. "I know this is different and scary, and you're opening your mouth to tell me its only scary for Rory and not for you, which is fine, but we both know that's bull," he said definitely. "Jess, this is a big step and a very big deal. You've had to do a lot of growing up these past few months, the both of you, and it is far from over yet," he told him honestly. "But the truth is, I believe you can do this. I believe that you and Rory are going to make it, that you're going to be great parents, and... and I couldn't be prouder of you, okay?"

That was a lot for Jess to take in, perhaps even tougher to take than the unvarnished truth of his situation being scary and overwhelming every minute. Luke was proud of him, he had such faith in him these days, and though he never said such slushy things, he was pretty sure his uncle loved him. Jess loved Luke too, but he was in no way going to say it either.

"Thanks," he said instead. "For everything, Luke. I'm serious, thank you."

"You're welcome, kid," he smiled, deliberately using the word he knew so annoyed and amused Jess in equal measure each and every time he used it.

"We all set?" asked Lorelai as she appeared on the porch with Rory in tow.

"Looks like," Luke nodded his agreement, watching mother help daughter down the steps.

"So this is it," said Rory as they reached the guys. "We're really going, not coming back."

"Oh, c'mon!" said Lorelai, rolling her eyes. "You'll be back all the time! It's not like you're leaving the country. Actually, you're forbidden from leaving the country, or the state, ever. Okay?"

Whether she was serious or not, Jess couldn't be sure. It didn't really matter anyway. He knew Rory would always want to be near her mother and Luke, and he didn't mind so much himself. People around Stars Hollow had been pretty good to him as well as Rory these past few months. It felt awfully like home and strange to be leaving, even if they were headed just a few miles down the road.

"I love you, Mom," said Rory, tearfully hugging her mother as best she could with the protrusion of her belly getting in the way.

"Love you too, sweets," promised Lorelai, kissing her hair. "But y'know, I'm so happy for you. I know this wasn't how we had things planned, but sometimes you got to go with the flow, babe. I had to when you came along, and I swear, I couldn't be happier," she told her, even as tears filled her eyes and cascaded over her lashes.

Luke pulled her close with one arm and kissed her temple without a word. This was supposed to be a happy occasion, a new beginning, but he understood why it felt like an ending to Lorelai. It did to him too, in a way. Rory's home would no longer be Stars Hollow but New Haven, the same with Jess, though Luke was pretty sure his nephew would always deny that the Hollow ever felt like home to him, even if he did feel it.

"C'mon," said Rory a moment later, wiping her cheeks clean of tears with both hands. "It'll be dark before you know it, and we have to get the truck unloaded and Luke has to get back home again. We really need to go," she told Jess, taking his hand in her own.

"You sure you're okay?" he double-checked and she smiled bravely at his concern.

"Yeah," she assured him. "Let's go home."

He liked the sound of that, going home with Rory to a place that was their own. Sure, it would be weird for a while, but good at the same time. Together they walked over to her car and Jess helped Rory into the passenger seat, planting a kiss on her lips before he closed the door. He hurried around to the driver's side and prepared to lead Luke's truck to New Haven for the final trip. The last load of belongings would be put into the apartment and that would be that, they would be totally moved in, living on their own in a family home they had made for themselves. Jess started the engine and glanced across at Rory.

"Here we go," he said, putting the car into gear.

"Yep, here we go," she echoed, glancing back at the home she had grown up in.

Rory was sad to leave, but honestly, it also felt exciting to know she was headed into a new chapter of her life with Jess and their son. They were going to be okay.

To Be Continued...