Two

Rory sat the outdoor table at Weston's anxiously wringing her hands. When she called the inn, she'd given Michel a time and place for her mother to meet her, but between Michel's lack of desire to effectively communicate and Lorelai's hectic life and lack of internal clock, Lorelai was running very late.

Rory had confirmed the pregnancy with a blood test at the clinic near Truncheon the previous Monday and scheduled an appointment to get established with an OBGYN in New Haven for the following week. Rory did the calculations and considering how long she had realized she'd been missing her period, she was probably around six to seven weeks along. Early, but already over halfway through the first trimester. The doctor that performed the blood test explained she could wait until the second trimester to tell people as the risk of miscarriage went down significantly then, and they would probably wait to tell certain people – her grandparents, her father, Jess's mother – until then. But they needed to tell Luke and Lorelai sooner than later. She couldn't bare keeping this a secret from them for that long.

She and Jess had made a surprise visit to Stars Hollow the Saturday after they confirmed that there was a baby to tell them about, just stating that they wanted to visit. Rory and asked Lorelai to have coffee at Weston's and Jess had asked Luke to meet him at the bridge. Surely, asking to meet them separately aroused suspicion, but they decided that telling them separately was probably best.

Rory ordered coffee for her mother and water for herself and then waited, growing increasingly impatient and nervous. She checked her watch for what felt like the hundredth time and as she looked up, she saw her mother walking towards her at top speed. Rory felt her stomach drop.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry!" Lorelai said as she hurriedly took off her jacket and placed it on the back of the chair. "You would not believe the craziness at the inn. Sookie's having a classic menu meltdown, some guests lost their luggage so I had to dig through the lost and found for something for them to wear until the airline finds it, and all of this put Michel in one of the worst moods I've ever seen him in, meaning he waited to give me your message until it was too late for me to make it here on time," she finished her rambling with a huff of breath as she sat down. The second she looked at Rory, her expression changed from exasperated to deep concern. "Hey, kid, you okay?" she asked, her voice going up an octave in motherly concern.

Rory just nodded, plastering on a smile to try and reassure her mother.

"You sure? You look… not great."

Rory took a breath to try and calm both her nerves and her stomach. "I'm fine, Mom, really. Just…" she paused, not desiring to drop the bomb before they'd had time for pie. "Not been feeling well lately."

Lorelai paled in anxiety. "Rory, honey, what's going on? You're scaring me a little here."

A breeze suddenly blew through the square, bringing with it the pungent smell of old Chinese food from Al's Pancake World. Rory felt the bile rise in her throat and she jumped out of her seat to make a beeline for the bathroom inside Weston's.

"Um, I'll be right…" she started, pressing her hand to her mouth and walking as fast as she possibly could to the restroom. Afterwards, she rinsed out her mouth and stared at herself in the mirror. She looked awful – her eyes bloodshot, her face pale and blotchy. She started to tear up, full of fear and fatigue and overall emotion but quickly took a breath, doing her best to reign herself in before facing Lorelai again.

When she walked back out to the table, Lorelai looked downright terrified. Rory did her best to brush it off, jumping into what they were going to order even though eating was the last thing she felt like doing at that moment.

"Rory," Lorelai urged, her eyes glassy.

"What?" Rory practically whispered, her fear starting to get the best of her.

"What's going on? Are you…" Lorelai's voice cracked, sending Rory's heart straight into her stomach. "Are you sick? Are you dying?"

Rory suddenly realized how awful this could look without her insider knowledge. "No! No, I'm not sick or dying."

Lorelai sighed as her shoulders relaxed slightly. "Okay, thank God, you seriously scared me." Her eyebrows came together in confusion. "But, something's going on, because the rambling and the throwing up and the surprise visit to meet at Weston's – the place where we seem to have all our serious talks – all point to you having something to tell me and I don't think it's good."

Rory inhaled sharply and looked down as she realized she wasn't going to be able to delay this any longer. Her mother's eyes followed her gaze as she noticed the beverages in front of them.

"Why don't you have any coffee?" she asked, laughing slightly. "Is that your big news? Because if you brought me here to tell me you stopped drinking…" she trailed off, her smiling vanishing.

Rory took a deep breath.

"Mom," she started, putting all her energy into keeping her voice from trembling.

"Yeah?" Lorelai asked quietly.

"I'm pregnant."

Lorelai's eyes went wide and her jaw dropped. Rory sat frozen, anxiously awaiting her mother's response.

"Mom?" she whispered.

"You're what?" Lorelai asked quietly.

"Pregnant," Rory repeated.

"Pregnant."

"Yeah."

"You're… how…" Lorelai said, eyes darting around as she tried to make sense of the situation.

"The regular way," Rory said in a small voice.

"Rory, come on. How could you let this happen? Aren't you and Jess being… safe?"

"We are! But I guess it just happened!"

"It can't 'just happen' Rory! I thought I taught you better than that!"

"Well, it's too late now!" Rory shouted angrily.

"And you're…" Lorelai paused. "You're happy?" She asked it as if it was the last thing Rory should be feeling.

Strike one.

"Yeah, I'm happy," Rory snapped. "It's one the many things I'm feeling, Mom."

Lorelai laughed humorlessly, more out of disbelief than anything else. "And Jess? What does he say about this?"

"He's scared. Like I am. But we're in this together and we're gonna figure it out. He's telling Luke right now."

"So, he's staying then?" Lorelai asked, narrowing her eyes.

Strike two.

"Yes, Mom, he's staying!" Rory yelled. "God, do you really still have that low an opinion of him? Of us?"

"I don't know what I think anymore, Rory! God, I… dammit." Lorelai looked down, shaking her head before snapping her head up and meeting Rory's eye. "You're supposed to graduate from Yale. You're supposed to be Christiana Amanpour. How are you supposed to do all that now?"

"I don't know, Mom, but I'm going to figure it out! You did, didn't you?"

"Yes, Rory, I did. But you saw how hard it was! You saw how hard I had to work and how much I had to fight for us to have a life!" Lorelai yelled.

"Yes. I do know how hard it was, and I'm fully prepared to work hard. Plus, I have Jess! I'm not alone in this!" she yelled, breathing heavily.

Lorelai sighed heavily and looked out into the town square with watery eyes. "I didn't want this for you. I didn't want you to make the same mistake I did," she said hoarsely.

Strike three.

Rory felt like she'd been punched in the gut. Her eyes welled with tears and she shook her head in bewilderment.

"I knew you wouldn't be exactly thrilled about this, but I thought you'd at least be there for me and help me when I needed you," she said in a quiet, angry voice as she stared at the table, willing herself to keep her tears under control until she was alone. "I hate that I was wrong, Mom." She stood and walked away from the table as fast as possible, swiping her hand under her eyes to wipe away her tears as they fell.

She vowed then and there that she would never, ever refer to this baby as a mistake. She never wanted her child to feel like this, like an unwanted burden on her family. Like an catastrophe that wasn't supposed to happen.

Jess sat on the bridge waiting for Luke. His fingers itched for a cigarette – he only wanted them when he was majorly stressed anymore. Usually, he would give in, just smoke one or two to get rid of the craving. But now he had more than his life to worry about and there was no way he was going to risk anything that would leave his child without a father.

Luke had questioned Jess asking to meet. Normally, if Jess was ever going to be in Stars Hollow, he'd just stop into the diner or by the house in order to visit. Requesting to meet at a specific time and at a specific place was odd, but Luke obliged.

Jess had gone to the bridge early to give himself time to try and calm his nerves before talking to Luke. He took a shaky breath and stared at his reflection in the lake. The stress he'd felt in the past week led to a lack of sleep, resulting in deep, dark circles under his eyes. He constantly worried about Rory – her health, her future, their future. He hated that in just a couple weeks, she'd be moving back to New Haven, and she'd be on her own with the pregnancy except for the times when he'd be able to get away from work and come see her. He'd make time for all the appointments, but that was far from enough. He wanted to be there for every little moment, and he was working hard to see if that were at all possible.

He was so deep in thought that he barely heard Luke's footsteps on the bridge next to him. He startled and tensed as Luke sat down next to him.

"No Rory today?" Luke asked, staring out at the lake.

"She's having coffee with Lorelai," Jess explained. "Lorelai didn't say anything?"

Luke shook his head. "She mentioned coffee, but when doesn't she?"

Jess nodded slowly. "Got it." He stayed silent, pushing down the anxiety that was threatening to rise.

"So, something's obviously going on," Luke said, turning to Jess.

"What?" Jess asked. Obviously, he wasn't going to get the chance to delay the news.

"You and Rory are meeting me and Lorelai separately at specific locations. If this was just a casual visit, we'd be at the house or something. So. What's going on?"

Jess turned away and took a deep breath, mustering the courage to say the two words that would change everything.

"Rory's pregnant."

Luke stopped breathing briefly. "She's… wow…" he whispered.

"It was an accident, um… but we're… excited," Jess explained further, consciously taking even breaths to keep his voice steady. "We're not sure how we're going to do it, but we'll figure it out. She's still gonna graduate. She's still gonna have a career. I'm already trying to figure out some ways to put aside money for an apartment and supplies and stuff, and I'm gonna see if I can work from New Haven somehow so I can be there for the pregnancy. We're gonna figure it out," Jess finished, staring out at the lake.

Luke remained staring at his hands in his lap, nodding his head. He reached up one hand and rested it on Jess's shoulder and turned to look at Jess who felt his shoulders go rigid at the contact. There was so, so many ways this could go, and Jess could only hope it would be at least slightly positive.

"If you two need anything, do not hesitate to come to us. You understand me?" he said hoarsely, ducking to try and meet Jess's eyes.

Jess froze, his eyes stinging and his throat burning. He felt his shoulders relax as he felt for the first time that they really would be okay. They had a support system. They weren't alone in this. They might actually survive. He had to turn away and swallow hard in order to speak again.

"Thank you," he said in a rough whisper.

"I'm serious. No matter what you need, we'll be here."

Jess nodded, blinking rapidly.

Luke clapped his hand on Jess's shoulder once before removing it.

"So… don't get me wrong, I'm glad you're not angry but, just to confirm… you don't want to kill me?" Jess asked.

Luke huffed out a laugh. "Y'know, part of me does…"

Jess gulped.

"If you were still seventeen, it would be a different story," Luke laughed. "But Jess… you've grown up a lot in the past couple years. You've obviously thought through some sort of plan to handle this, even though it's the biggest damn curveball life can throw at you. No, this isn't ideal. But you and Rory are smart. I have a feeling you two – three – are gonna be okay."

Relief flooded Jess.

"You really aren't a kid anymore, are you?" Luke asked quietly.

Jess chuckled and shook his head tiredly. "Guess not."

"You're gonna have a kid of your own," Luke said wistfully.

"Seems like it," Jess said. "Don't tell Liz anything. Please. We're only telling you and Lorelai for now. Just…" he trailed off, looking for the right words.

Luke held his hand up in understanding. "It's your news to tell and you tell it in your own time. I get it."

Jess breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

"How far… well… when is the…" he stammered awkwardly.

Jess looked at Luke smiled slightly. "We don't know for sure yet, but she's probably about six weeks along now."

"That's…" Luke trailed off, looking slightly puzzled.

"Early still. Apparently. I'm still learning," Jess chuckled.

Luke smiled and waved dismissively. "Ah, you've got time."

Jess snorted. "I guess…"

At that moment, Rory walked onto the bridge and stopped abruptly when she saw Luke and Jess. When Jess looked up at her, his smile fell away and his heart plummeted at the sight of her puffy eyes and tear-stained cheeks.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I'll just… I'll come back…" she stuttered, turning around.

Jess scrambled to his feet and ran after her.

"Rory, hey, hold on," he said, gently grasping her elbow and turning her around. "What's wrong?" he whispered, wiping her tears away with the pad of his thumb.

Rory held her arms tightly over her chest. "Um, Mom… she…"

"What? What happened with your mom?" Jess asked hurriedly, panic starting to set in.

Rory just sobbed in response and Jess could do nothing but hold her while she cried. He looked over her shoulder at Luke who was watching them with a sullen expression from his seat on the bridge. When he made eye contact with Jess, he quickly averted his gaze.

Jess had no idea what had happened at coffee with Lorelai, but it was obvious she didn't take the news well at and had hurt Rory with her reaction. Jess clenched his jaw in anger as his girlfriend cried into his shoulder. He never expected Lorelai to be ecstatic to find out her twenty-one-year-old daughter was pregnant, but he'd never expected Rory to end up so distraught after breaking the news. Whatever had happened, he was furious with Lorelai.

"Rory, can you give me anything to go on here? Tell me anything that happened?" Jess asked quietly.

Rory pulled back and sniffed loudly, taking a deep and wobbly breath. "She's just… she's so mad. She made these awful accusations and was so…" She paused to sob. "So disappointed in me," she whispered. "And so upset that I made the same mistake she did."

Jess felt his blood go cold.

"What?" he growled.

"We are never letting anyone say this kid is a mistake, okay?" she said firmly through her tears. "I don't want them to ever feel like… like this," she cried softly.

Jess nodded and put his hands on Rory's upper arms, holding her firmly. "Never. This is a surprise, but not a mistake. I can't believe Lorelai would…" he trailed off, his anger building. "You are not a mistake. Understand?"

Rory avoided eye contact and Jess ducked to meet her gaze.

"No matter what anyone says, your existence is not a mistake," he said firmly.

Rory nodded tearfully in response.

Jess pulled her close. "I'm so sorry," he said thickly.

"What for?" Rory asked, leaning back to look Jess in the eye.

"Just… I'm sorry your mom took the news so badly. I'm sorry she hurt you."

Rory's eyes filled with fresh tears and she sniffed. Jess tucked her hair behind her ear, his face screwed up in a pained expression.

"I hate this for you," he whispered.

Rory shrugged sadly. "It is what it is, I guess," she whispered back.

Footsteps thudding softly on the bridge's planks alerted them to Luke's presence.

"I'm sorry you guys, I have to get back to the diner," he muttered, obviously uncomfortable with interrupting. "Rory…" he started, looking at the ground. "No matter what happens, you've got me." He paused and looked up, eyes bouncing back and forth between Rory and Jess. "I'm here for you, both of you. And I'm…" he cleared his throat. "I'm proud of you two and how you're handling this," he finished in a low voice.

Rory's eyes welled again and Luke wrapped his arms around her, somewhat awkwardly.

"I'm always gonna be right here." He placed a quick kiss on the top of her head and walked away without another word, back towards the center of town.

Jess grasped Rory's hand, leading her over to the edge of the bridge. There they sat together, deep in thought as they looked out at the lake in front of them as Jess softly rubbed his thumb across Rory's knuckles.

"Luke's going to be a really good grandpa," Rory said quietly.

"Yeah, he is," Jess said, a wistful smile on his face. "And I'm…" he paused, unsure if he should continue for fear of hurting Rory or upsetting her further.

"What?" Rory asked, turning to look at him.

Jess cleared his throat. "I'm sure Lorelai will come around eventually. She'll take some time, Luke will talk to her… she'll see she was wrong."

"I hope so," Rory said, her voice breaking.

Jess wrapped his arm around her shoulders and held her tightly as she cried.

They drove home to Philadelphia in a heavy silence, the only sounds being their music playing quietly and Rory's occasional sniffing. Jess gripped the steering wheel tightly the entire way back, fuming at how anyone, let alone her own mother, could imply that Rory's existence was a mistake.

Jess had heard that from his own mother plenty. Liz was young when she had Jess. Not quite as young as Lorelai when she had Rory, but still only eighteen. Then, on top of that, she had a runaway husband and a substance abuse problem. Before Liz apparently got sober and turned her life around, Jess was used to hearing that he was a mistake, that he made life difficult. It's one of the many things that originally landed him in Stars Hollow.

But to find out Rory had been hearing different versions of the same thing hurt him in a way he didn't know he could hurt. It twisted a knife in his heart. She was the most special, most important thing on the planet to him. And he was going to make sure she knew that, every day for the rest of her life.

A/N: So, yeah. Not the happiest of chapters. But I promise everything works out! Read, enjoy, and have a great day.