(For disclaimer, etc. - see 1)

7. The Wonder of You
Characters/Pairings: Rory/Jess
'Verse/Timeline: Forget Me Not - post-fic
Date: December 2009

Every day, Jess Mariano woke up, unsure how things would be. It wasn't that he ever regretted being with Rory, not once, but some days were tougher than others, the one's where she woke up scared, confused, overwhelmed in the worst way. Then there were other days, like this one, that just worked out well, like little miracles that made the bad days all worth it.

"I know it actually is Christmas today," said Rory herself, staring in awe at the baby in her arms, "but this... this is like all my Christmases came at once," she admitted, glancing up at Jess then. "I'm a wife, and a mother, and an author, and... and apparently I've been very spoiled today," she said with laughter in her voice as she looked at the pile of gifts under the tree.

"Actually, I think quite a few of those are for Paige," he said, nodding towards the baby girl his wife was holding, "and I was kind of hoping some were for me too."

"Really?" Rory asked, shaking her head. "I don't know why you would think that."

"If I'm wrong, I can deal." Jess shrugged easily. "I already have all the gifts I need," he promised, leaning closer and risking a quick kiss on Rory's lips.

She was happy today, loving life despite the fact that every detail of it had been a surprise at five o'clock this morning, but that didn't necessarily mean she wanted to be all that intimate. Some days she did, some days she didn't. Jess had learned to be okay with it either way. Once again, today proved to be a very good day.

Laying Paige very carefully back in her chair, Rory dived under the tree and grabbed the first gift she could find that was labelled with Jess' own name then brought it to him, placing it in his hands.

"Merry Christmas," she said, smiling widely. "I would say I hope you like it - which I do, I do hope that you like it - but frankly, I don't know what it is or what you would like, so..."

"Anything you bought me is going to be great," Jess promised her. "It always is."

"Good answer. It's not hard for me to see why I married you when you're being this charming," she said, staring at him for a second or two more before leaning closer and initiating a kiss of her own.

That was when Jess let himself fall into the moment, when she started things. Then it was okay, because it was on her terms. When they parted, Rory was red-faced but grinning all over.

"Wow, more than just charming," she noted happily. "Open your gift," she prompted then, sitting herself down on the carpet between him and their daughter.

"Okay then," Jess complied, tearing into the paper. "What do you think, Paige?" he asked her as he worked on freeing his gift from its wrappings. "A book? Yep, mommy likes to buy daddy a good book and this is... an amazing book," he noted with no lack of surprise as he realised just exactly what he was holding. "A first edition Hemingway? Seriously?" he checked with Rory.

"Huh. Apparently," she agreed as she looked over and realised, he was right. "Well, if I didn't know that I loved you before, I guess I do now. One thing I do remember is that I never liked Hemingway."

Jess chuckled, moving closer to put his arm around Rory and kiss her one more time.

"Trust me," he told her, not for the first time, "Ernest only has lovely things to say about you."