A/N: Now we're going more Rory centric as we hit 5x11.

"Streetwalker."

"Too urban."

"Concubine."

"Anyone see Farewell, My Concubine? Beautiful film, gorgeous cinematography."

"I'm surprised you see such adult fare, Reverend."

"Well, what do you picture me watching every night, Taylor? The sound of music?"

Jess frowned at the whole conversation. He wasn't sure what it was about but all he could figure out was they were trying to find a polite way to say whore. Luke passed by him with a few empty plates so he turned to him.

"What are they doing?" Jess asked with a nod towards Taylor's table.

Luke looked over them while the conversation continued. "Scarlet woman."

"I like it."

"Too Nathaniel Hawthorne."

"Who?" Luke whispered to himself.

Jess heard his whisper. "Jeez, read a book."

"Harlot."

"Woman of accommodating morals."

"Too long."

"What about hot mutton?"

"I can't take this anymore," Jess shook his head and grabbed the coffee pot over to their table. "What are you talking about over here?"

"We're discussing the Revolutionary war reenactment if you must know," Taylor replied although he didn't seem too happy.

"And what does the Revolutionary war have to do with whores?" He raised his eyebrow.

"They're not whores," one man he didn't recognize said. "We're trying very hard to not use that word."

"Woman of accommodating morals," the Reverend repeated.

"That's too long," another man complained. "We need to use harlot."

"I'm liking Scarlet woman the most so far," Taylor chimed in.

Jess rolled his eyes. This made no sense. "Again, I ask what does this have to do with the Revolutionary war?"

"All right," he seemed to huff at Luke's nephew. "We made an interesting discovery of new evidence for the reenactment this year."

"New evidence," Luke appeared. "It's the same thing every year, Taylor. You reenact a time when these pig headed morons waited outside all night in the snow for a battle that never happened."

"Yes, but this year will be different," one of the men said.

Jess and Luke shared a look. "Okay. I'll bite. What's different?"

"Apparently, an English battalion was awaiting the return of their commanding general with plans for a big battle and our soldiers caught wind of this and blocked the high road," Taylor answered excitedly.

"So?" Jess said.

He sighed then continued. "So the general had to travel a lower road through town to reach his troops."

"So they kidnapped him?" Luke asked.

The men at the table laughed beside Taylor. "Oh, no. They were much slyer than that. They had a brave lady of the town use her wiles to draw the general to her rooms and keep him occupied. That delayed his arrival which allowed Lafayette to ambush the waiting troops."

"A hooker stopped the battle," Luke commented.

One of the man answered, "We're not calling her a hooker."

Another replied, "That's what we're trying to figure out now, what to call her."

"Jeez," Jess muttered under his breath and he could tell his uncle agreed.

Andrew, who had been silent since the Danes men came by, added, "She should be thin but not too thin."

"Know anyone to fit the bill?" Taylor asked.

"Not off hand," Luke went along. "But if I run into any moderately weighed whores in my travels, I'll let you know."

"They're not calling her a whore either," Jess pointed out.

"Then whatever they're calling her," Luke waved off as both he and Jess walked back to the counter.

The bells above the door chimed and in walked Lorelai. "I need coffee!"

"On it," Jess went to grab as a cup as his uncle kissed Lorelai quickly. He always tried to avoid seeing his uncle and girlfriend's mother's pda.

Lorelai saw Taylor's table and smiled to herself. "The war reenactment committee is meeting. Another wonderful by-product of snow."

"I wouldn't say that," Luke commented.

Jess placed the coffee in front of her. "Why, thank you, boy dating my daughter."

He smirked at that and went back to leaning on the counter, pulling out a book from his back pocket. This week, he was re-reading High Fidelity.

Lorelai noticed Luke giving a glare towards Taylor's table. "Why is the Reverend blushing?"

"You don't wanna know," he said.

She finished her coffee and stood up. "All right, I'm off. Got my coffee. Now I just need a donut for the walk and my kiss."

Luke kissed her quickly again as Jess grabbed the donut. He handed it to her and she smiled in thanks. Luke saw the table still stared at her so he whispered, "When you walk out of here, try not to walk too sexy."

"Right," she nodded. "You'll explain that to me later?"

"I always do," he said as Lorelai walked out of the diner, trying to be as unsexy as possible.

Jess chuckled. "Uncle Luke, I think you've got them eying your girlfriend to be the hooker."

"The whole thing is nuts," he shook his head. The diner seemed calm as of now so he turned to his nephew. "So what plans you got today?"

"Why?" He asked curiously.

"You got a class tonight, right?" He asked.

"Yes, I do," he looked down into his book.

"And?"

"And what?"

"So you're going to Hartford?" He asked. "Gonna stop by anywhere?"

"Is this your way of asking if I'm seeing Rory today?" He lifted his head out of the book.

"Maybe," he said casually. "Are you?"

"Was gonna," Jess shrugged. "We were gonna do something when her classes end, maybe get a late lunch or something. Why?"

"No reason," Luke shrugged now. "Just wondering."

"Gee, Uncle Luke, I don't remember you being this interested in my relationships before I met Rory," he teased.

"Well, she's different," he defended.

"I'm aware of that," Jess nodded. "What'd you think I was going to do, avoid her?"

"No, I -"

"You two are doing good, right?" He asked. "How long has it been?"

"Two months," he answered as he tried to turn back to his book, avoiding a conversation about his relationship with someone other than who he's dating.

"Wow," Luke said. "Two months is...Two months is good."

"How long are you and Lorelai dating, Uncle Luke?" He countered.

"Uh -" he was caught off guard at Jess asking him what he had asked.

"Huh," He nodded. "You don't know?"

"I know," he replied. "I didn't expect you to ask."

"Neither did I," Jess told him. "Are you still worried or something? Is there some kind of warning coming?"

"No," he shook his head. "I'm just making sure the two of you are good."

"We're good," he said with a small smile. "Don't worry too much about it. We're good."

"Okay," Luke agreed. "All right."

Luke headed back to work as Jess once again tried to read his book again. Just a few more hours and he could go. He was this close to counting the time.

"Hey, what about your wife?" One of the men at Taylor's table asked another one.

"How about a sock in the nose?" The other one countered.

Jess shook his head. He couldn't wait to go.

…..

"Stupid C-SPAN," Paris muttered to herself as she held the phone to her ear.

Rory had just come out of her room and caught her friend's last sentence. "What?"

"Stupid C-SPAN has me on hold," she replied. "It's been forever and I've got to get going."

"Well, you're not the only one who calls C-SPAN, Paris," Rory teased her.

"Right," she said sarcastically. "There are a lot of us. Like the guy who asked the question about Iran's long-range missile production and nuclear capacity, then shouted 'Ba Ba Booie!' Him they put on. Me they've got twiddling my thumbs."

"You're not twiddling your thumbs," she said. "You're telling me about 'Ba Ba Booie!'"

There was a knock on the door and Rory took a look at Paris, realizing she'd have to get it. When she opened the door, it wasn't anyone she expected. "Dad."

"Hey, kiddo," he said to her with a small smile.

"What are you doing here?" She asked.

"I was just in the neighborhood," he replied. "Wanted to see you. How've you been?"

"I'm fine," she was still surprised. "I have class."

"Right," he nodded. "I should have thought of that."

"How's Gigi?" She asked. Rory didn't see her sister enough.

"She's good," he smiled bigger at the mention of his two year old. "Getting spoiled by her grandma as we speak."

"Oh, good," she smiled back. "It's good she's getting spoiled by her grandparents."

There was a flinch to Christopher but he quickly recovered. "I should have put together you have classes. I should have called first."

"No, it's okay," she waved it off. "I have a few minutes."

He nodded and looked around the dorm. "So this is your place huh?"

Rory looked around too and nodded. "Yep. And you remember Paris?"

"Hi, Paris," Christopher said to her.

Paris turned from her seat. "Yeah, hi. Come on, C-SPAN."

"She's calling C-SPAN," Rory explained.

"Of course she is," he said.

"So you were in the neighborhood?" Rory asked.

"Yeah and I thought maybe we could have lunch," he said.

Rory frowned, thinking of her and Jess' plans today. "I can't today."

"Oh," he seemed sad. "Maybe another time?"

"Yeah, definitely," she agreed. "Another time."

"All right," he said.

"Dad, I have to go," she said. "I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"I thought you had a few minutes," he said.

"I did," she replied. "I didn't realize the time."

"Well, okay," he said. "We'll talk later."

"Bye, Paris," Rory said with a turn to her roommate. "Bye, Dad."

She was out the door already by the time he said. "Bye, kiddo."

Rory turned a corner and leaned against the wall. She took a deep breath as she wondered why her dad was here. She hoped he hadn't come because he heard about her mom and Luke. She shook her head. He wouldn't do that. Right?

With another breath, she moved away from the wall and headed to her class.

…..

"Is something wrong?"

Rory looked up from her food to her boyfriend. "No. Nothing's wrong."

"You've been staring at your burger for the far too long," Jess commented.

"Oh," she said, picking it up and taking a big bite.

"As sexy as that just was, that wasn't what I was getting at," he laughed once.

Rory swallowed. "Nothing's wrong, I swear. "

He didn't believe her. "You'd tell me if…"

"What?" She wondered.

"If Logan was bothering you or something like that, right?" He whispered.

"Yes," she said too sharply, her annoyance at her earlier visitor coming out at Jess. "I'm sorry."

"Rory, what's wrong?" Jess tried again. "You can tell me whatever it is."

She sighed. "It's not Logan."

"Okay," he believed her this time. "But it is someone?"

With a nod, Rory answered, "My dad came today."

"Oh," he was surprised. He didn't expect it to be her dad. "And what happened?"

"Nothing much," she shrugged and took a smaller bite of her burger. He smiled at how getting her to talk got her to eat. "I think that's the problem."

"Because he isn't around?" He asked.

"Because ever since Gigi was born, he's been more or less absent in my life," Rory confessed. "And it's weird. It's been over a year. Why come now?"

"Maybe he knows he messed up," Jess told her. "Maybe he wants to make it right."

"Maybe," she repeated his word. "I don't know."

"Are you mad he came?" He asked her.

"No," she said. "I don't know."

"You should talk to him," Jess shrugged as he ate the last of his own burger. "See what he wants, if something's going on."

Rory is silent after that, considering his words. He watched her curiously as he tried to understand her thought process. Mostly, though, he just hoped he helped.

…..

After Jess left, Rory pulled out her phone and dialed her dad's number. She waited as it rang and until he finally picked up. She apologized for this morning and explained, maybe she was free for dinner tonight because her boyfriend had classes. He didn't comment on the boyfriend but instead just sounded pleased she agreed.

Christopher knocked on Rory's door lightly. She knew exactly who it would be and with Paris nowhere in sight - probably at Doyle's she guessed - she got off of the couch to answer it.

"Hi, Dad," she greeted with a smile.

"Hey, kiddo," Christopher said warmly. "I'm glad you called."

"I had some advice," she explained.

He nodded. "Your mom?"

She shook her head once. "No, not mom."

"Oh," he said, realizing maybe she didn't want to share who and that made him sad. "Look, gone is the desperate guy from this morning. I didn't think it through and I feel kind of dumb coming down here like this."

"It's okay," she told him.

"Let me explain," he said. "I've been in Hartford a lot lately. My dad's been sick and Gigi is with my mom. And our relationship? I hate it. This stupid wall. We were never that way, even in the worst of times."

"Dad, there's not a wall," she tried to say, anything to make him not think like that.

"I don't want me and you to be like my dad and me," he admitted. "I don't want you visiting me when I'm old because you have to. I want you to want to."

"Dad, are you okay?" She worried.

Christopher tried to laugh. It came out shakier than he expected. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm - I'm okay."

"I wouldn't visit you only out of objection," Rory told him.

A ghost of a smile appeared on his face. "That's good to know."

"Do you wanna go?" She asked. "I know a good place for dinner. It's not far."

"All right, yeah," the smile flitted to life. "Let's go."

….

When dinner was over, Christopher walked his daughter back to her dorm. On the walk back, he took a deep breath before he shared the news. "My dad isn't doing good."

Rory looked up at him. "How bad is it?"

"I think it's pretty bad," he shoved his hands in and out of his pocket. "These past few days specifically."

"Dad…" she looked down at her feet in sadness. She knew her dad didn't get along well with his dad but she still couldn't imagine how he felt.

"It's okay," he pulled her closer in a side hug before releasing her.

She nodded but was caught by surprise when she saw a shadow by the door as they reached it. Her heart sped up as she realized who it was.

"Jess!" She called to which he turned. "What are you doing here?"

"Class ended," he answered. "Thought I'd come see you before I head back."

Rory looked between her boyfriend and her father. It was then Jess really noticed someone was with her. "Oh, I'm ,Jess this is Christopher. Christopher, my dad, this is Jess, my boyfriend."

The two men felt awkward as they learned who the other was but nonetheless they shook hands. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Hayden."

Christopher made an impressed face. "It's good to meet you too. I'd say your last name but I don't know it."

Rory laughed once. "I only told Jess it once. He has a good memory."

"For the important things," he replied. "And something involving you is important."

She ducked her head down as she felt a minor blush come. Christopher watched the exchange with careful eyes. "So you said you're taking classes? You're not a student here then right?"

"No," Jess replied. "Not here."

"He's taking night classes for his writing," Rory chimed in. "He's really good."

"You haven't read any of it yet," he countered.

"But it will be good," she beamed. "I know it already."

"Sure," he said sarcastically. Rory shook her head at him, a silent nod to tell him she's right.

"Come on, let's go inside," Rory said. "Dad? Want some coffee?"

"Oh, sure," he answered. "I wasn't sure if you wanted me to."

"Of course I do," she replied as she opened the door. The three of them walked in. Jess immediately sat on the couch and Christopher stood there awkwardly. "I'll make the coffee."

"I'll help," Jess sat right back up.

"Okay," she said.

Jess followed his girlfriend into the small area where the coffeemaker was. Rory got out the filter while he took out the coffee. Christopher watched them, seeing they acted like a team. He hoped to get to know this Jess better if he was the guy his daughter had been dating.

They came back into the room and sat on the couch. Christopher finally decided to sit too and he sat in the lone seat. "Coffee's making."

Christopher nodded. "Good, great."

They say quietly for a moment. Jess asked Rory a question with his eyes - how did it go. She didn't know how to answer so she tried to motion she'd tell him later.

"So," the older man finally broke the silence. "How did you two met?"

Rory laughed. So did Jess. "That's a funny story."

"I like funny stories," Chris told them.

Rory took a deep breath, ready to explain but leave out certain details of their stories. "It started on spring break…"