A/N: Quick note before the chapter! As much as I love posting twice a week, unfortunately I'm going to have to take that down to once a week. I still have lots of plans with this story, but between writers block and some health things, I'm having trouble keeping up with posting so often. It makes me sad, but I want the chapters to be the best they can be, and they won't be if I rush them. So, you'll hear from me every Sunday! Thank you for understanding. Happy reading!

Seventeen

The beginning of January was spent unpacking and settling into the new apartment. For two fairly nomadic people, they had a surprising amount of belongings, and since Rory lifting anything could be dangerous for the pregnancy, Jess was left to do the physical labor. He would carry the boxes where they decided they belonged while Rory unpacked them and put the things away. They worked together to assemble things like the crib and the changing table and they spent hours sitting on their bed and folding the baby clothes that had been gifted to them. It was a long and monotonous process.

The weekend before Rory would start her final semester at Yale, they finally reached the end, having finally found the last two boxes that needed to be unpacked. Jess opened his and began to remove the items, only to find something he never expected to stumble upon.

He suppressed a laugh and carefully took the photo out of the box.

"Uh, please tell me this is what I think this is."

Rory glanced up from her box and her eyes went wide in horror. "Oh my God! Where did you find that?"

"It was in this box!" He examined the picture. "Wow, The Rory Gilmore's mugshot. This is going somewhere special."

Rory struggled up from her seat on the floor, cursing herself for ever deciding to try sitting on the floor when standing from a chair was officially a workout.

"Jess, stop it!"

Jess continued to dig through the box, taking a blue vest out and looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

Rory's jaw dropped. "Mom said she would return this for me!" she exclaimed as she walked over to where Jess sat. "Ugh, she must have snuck this box in when she helped us move…"

"'Property of…'" Jess gasped. "Is this a community service vest? You had community service?" he asked with a teasing smirk.

Rory blushed. "Yeah, well they don't let you steal boats for free," she mumbled, snatching the vest out of his hands.

"I can just picture it. You, gracefully stabbing trash on the side of the road… you know, this vest almost matches your eyes, I bet it looks great on you," he continued to tease.

Rory rolled her eyes. "Congratulations, the mother of your child is a criminal."

Jess returned to the box, hoping for more sordid goodies from Rory's past. "Yeah, we better keep a close eye on her with her mom's tendencies towards theft."

Rory scoffed indignantly. "Excuse me! Need I remind you of stolen baseballs and gnomes and charity donations?"

"Hey, I've said this a million times. The baseballs and money were never pinned on me!" he said, pointing at her.

Rory smiled and shook her head. "I swear, if she ever runs off to a strange city to see a boy, she's dead."

Jess laughed, then suddenly his face took on a darker quality. His hands fidgeted with the box and his eyes refused to meet Rory's.

"Hey, no matter what she does… she can always come home, alright?"

Rory's heart suddenly ached as her mind sped through the times she and Jess had both been essentially kicked out. Had disappointed family or complicated people's lives to the point where they had to find another place to live. She never wanted her daughter to be in that situation. Ever.

She nodded, taking Jess's hand in her own.

"Always. No matter what happens, we'll always be there for her," she said quietly.

"Okay," Jess said hoarsely, nodding.

Rory leaned to kiss Jess on the cheek, and he smiled softly at the contact and turned his head to meet her lips.

"I'm so excited to meet her," Rory whispered as she leaned her forehead to his, glancing down at her bump.

"Me too," Jess whispered back, a dreamy look in his eyes.

Just then, an elbow or a foot shoved rather aggressively and visibly against Rory's skin, showing through her shirt.

Rory cringed, poking back. "I hate it when she does that!" she squealed. "It's so creepy!"

"Hey, that's my kid you're talking about!" Jess objected with a laugh, running a hand over the spot the baby had shoved.

"You can talk when you're able to see the human inside you move against your skin," Rory said, looking a little pale.

"Alright, fine," Jess laughed. "God, she's never gonna stop moving, is she?"

"No and I'm already tired thinking about it," Rory laughed.

Jess leaned down and pressed a kiss to the bump.

"Stop kicking your mom, you hear me?"

The baby responded by shoving another limb against Jess's face.

Jess shrank back, a shocked look on his face, while Rory couldn't stop laughing.

"Oh my God, help me up, I'm gonna pee my pants," she said through her giggles.

Jess, laughing to himself, helped hoist Rory from the floor where she waddled into the bathroom, still laughing.

When she returned, she went back to the box she was unpacking and resumed putting books on the bookshelf. When they finally finished, they both collapsed on the couch, looking around and admiring their handiwork.

A thought occurred to Jess suddenly, and he hummed thoughtfully.

"Hey, I know we just moved here but, and I'm glad to be done and all. But this is just temporary, and you graduate soon…"

"Yeah," Rory sighed. "We should probably start thinking about what to do when the lease is up and everything."

"Where do you want to be?" Jess asked, turning in his seat to face Rory.

Rory thought for a moment before coming up totally empty, letting out a sad huff of laughter. "I have no idea."

"Okay," Jess said, eyeing her curiously at her sudden change in demeanor, the tension growing in her shoulders. "What do you want to be doing? Writing, editing, freelancing…"

Rory shook her head, a gnawing pit of anxiety growing in her stomach. "I… I don't know," she said quietly.

"Okay, that's okay," Jess said, his voice hushed and understanding.

Rory sniffed, suddenly emotional and entirely overwhelmed. "I've been so focused on getting ready for the baby and just making it to graduation that I forgot to think about what happens afterwards."

Jess nodded.

Rory took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. "Where do you want to be?"

Jess shrugged. "I'm along for the ride."

"What about Truncheon? Would you want to go back to Philadelphia?"

"That's one option. But would you want to be so far away from your mom?"

Rory shrugged. "It wouldn't be optimal, but we'd make it work. Plus, I mean, I wanted to be an overseas correspondent. That's not exactly living close to my mom."

"Yeah, but things change," Jess said, gesturing to the bump. "If you could do anything at all, nothing in your way, where would you want to end up? Don't think about proximity to family or my work or anything, just… where do you want to be?"

Rory thought, letting herself dream for a brief moment, before a smile slowly spread across her face.

"The Times."

Jess smirked. "New York?"

Rory nodded. "But I think I'd settle for a small paper or something first, especially while we get settled with the baby."

Jess nodded slowly, smiling. "Okay."

"Okay?"

"New York it is."

"Jess, what about you?" Rory asked, shaking her head. "Are Matt and Chris really gonna be okay with you just working remotely forever?"

"Probably not. But…" he said, glancing at her with a shy smile. "There's been talk of opening a second location eventually."

Rory's jaw dropped. "Seriously?"

"Seriously," Jess said. "Nothing's set in stone, it's really just been musings at some recent meetings. But the concept of another location in another big city… it would be really good for business."

"You'd volunteer to run it?"

"We'd hire a team to work with me, but yeah. The guys would come out occasionally, and I'd go there sometimes, especially in the beginning while we worked out the details. I'd still be able to write but also work on other people's stuff, and I'd be able to work really closely with the authors. Really hands on. It would start out as just a publishing house, no bookstore and we'd keep the zine in Philly at first, and we'd only take on a few authors at a time. I could probably work from home a fair amount after things are settled, so you could work, be the big time editor or reporter or whatever, and I'd be able to stay with the baby or take her to work, even. And the money wouldn't be great at first, but as we signed more authors and built up the second location, I'd probably end up with a raise."

Rory watched Jess's entire face light up as he spoke. This was something he wanted to do, something he was passionate about. It warmed Rory's entire being seeing him so excited about something. Giving himself permission to have a dream.

"You have to do this, Jess," she said softly, smiling.

"Yeah?"

"Yes! I don't care if it's crazy or stressful at first. I can even get a job working from home while you started to get things going so you could dedicate enough time to it."

"Rory, no, you've been dreaming about being a journalist your whole life," Jess objected.

"Yeah, and I'd still be able to. But Jess, I've never seen you so excited about something like this. You've sacrificed so much for me. Let me do what I can to support you, okay?"

Though it looked like he was about to object further, Rory gave him a look that made him back down. With a sigh and a smile, he nodded.

"Okay. New York, then?"

Rory grinned, full of excitement.

"I'll start looking for apartments tomorrow."

The next month was spent settling into life, Rory starting classes and Jess writing and stepping into the beginnings of branching out with Truncheon. He still worked some nights at the bar to put money in savings, but thanks to his tireless efforts and the many gifts they received for the baby and therefore not had to spend money on, they were finally financial stable – comfortable, even.

Rory officially had to deal with all eyes on her, all the time. Everyone was curious about the pregnant journalism major who looked like she was about to pop. But she held her head high, walked confidently, and only occasionally had to deal with strangers trying to touch her stomach. If they did, she gave them her patented withering stare and they would hesitate and move along.

Once back at school, she worked out plans with all her professors for a sort of maternity leave. Giving birth less than two months before graduation was far from ideal, but most of her teachers were understanding. She'd take a long spring break, essentially, and work ahead on assignments and receive lecture notes from the professors themselves for her time away. She'd return for the last two weeks of school and then attend finals. Though challenging, it seemed an achievable plan.

In addition to her other classes, she was taking Richard's economics class. Though she'd never been particularly interested in economics, she wasn't going to miss a chance to take a class taught by her grandfather, even if there was still some awkward tension in their interactions.

Rory waddled to her economics class one afternoon in the middle of February. The air held the faintest hints of an early spring, the winter sun filtering through the trees and making the air unseasonably warm, and it brought a sense of peace to the entire campus. Once in her classroom, she took her seat at the back – the only chair with an adjustable desk that could accommodate her bump – and brought out her notes. Soon, her grandfather walked in, looking as scholarly as ever and getting his lecture notes set up. She flashed him a smile when he caught her eye and he responded with a kind look. Now that they were a month into the semester, a month into seeing each other multiple times a week, things were finally starting to relax between them.

The lecture started normally, Richard holding the attention of even the most disinterested students, and Rory dutifully writing down her grandfather's every point. As class continued, however, Rory started to notice Richard looking slightly uncomfortable, a little pale and sweaty. They were in the last ten minutes of their class period when Richard stopped, grabbed his left shoulder, and collapsed.

Rory froze for exactly three seconds.

Then she was on her feet, running as fast as she could down the stairs of the lecture hall and to her grandfather's side, shouting at a random classmate to call 911.

Jess was bored out of his mind.

In the past month, the team at Truncheon had started discussion of opening a second location, and the first steps were officially in the works. With Jess getting ready take on more responsibility with the business, he was required to be present more often with the understanding he would need a paternity leave come the middle of March. So, he had a lot more meetings to sit through, some in person and some over the phone. This set of meetings just happened to be one that required him to be in Philadelphia.

It wasn't all bad. In fact, they'd found quite a few new authors that showed promise. But the author they were meeting with at that moment was pitching the most stock-standard, done-a-hundred-times story as if it were the best gift he could ever give to humankind, and it was almost painful to listen to. Jess thanked whatever powers that be when his cellphone rang, giving him an excuse to step out briefly. He apologized, left the office as quickly as possible, and answered the call from Rory.

"You just saved me from the most mind-numbing meeting ever. This author's family must hate him for letting him pitch this godawful story to us, I swear he—"

"Jess," Rory interrupted.

Jess's heart plummeted to his stomach when he heard the tone of her voice, his mind suddenly racing with a thousand worst-case scenarios.

"What's wrong?"

"Grandpa, he-he was teaching and was about to wrap up class and it was going really well, people were asking questions and everyone was engaged and actually interested in the class content, and not just the econ majors but like everyone, and—"

"Rory, take a breath."

"Right. Breathing. Important."

"Okay, he was teaching, and then what happened?"

"He had a heart attack," she said in a small voice.

"Oh my God. Is he okay? Are you okay?"

"He's fine, I think. As fine as you can be after having a heart attack. I'm here at the hospital now. They're running a bunch more tests, like another EKG and, and, um, other various tests with medical acronyms that I can't remember right now because they all mixed together in my brain like a really weird alphabet soup. But i-it was definitely a heart attack, and now they're just assessing the damage."

"Okay," Jess said quietly, nodding. "And you? How are you? Are you alone?"

"I'm, um… I'm alright. Scared, but I'm okay. And no, Mom and Luke are here."

"Where's your grandmother?"

"On her way, she was at the club and didn't have her phone on her, so they had to go find her or something. But they said she's on her way."

"Okay, good. Um, I'm leaving now, I'll be there soon, okay?"

"What? No, Jess, the meetings, and Matt and Chris and the boring author and—"

Jess shook his head. "Rory, everyone will understand. Family emergencies happen, alright? I'm not letting you go through this alone."

"I'm not alone, Mom and Luke, and soon, Grandma…"

"Rory."

"Yeah?"

"You are more important than whatever work thing I've got going on. The only place I need to be right now is with you. Got it?"

He heard Rory sniff and it broke his heart that he was three hours away from her and not able to miraculously transport to her side in an instant.

"I'll see you soon, okay?" he asked quietly.

"Okay. And Jess?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

Jess's mouth quirked up at the corner. "Love you, too."

Darting back into the office, he hurriedly explained there was a family emergency, gathered his things, and was out the door as fast as he could be.

Rory hung up the phone as Lorelai came up behind her, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder and offering her a styrofoam cup.

"Really bad hospital coffee? It's decaf even."

Rory gave a tired chuckle and took the cup from Lorelai. She couldn't help but grimace as she sipped it.

"God, that is bad."

"Would it be hospital coffee if it wasn't?"

"Guess not," Rory said, smiling weakly.

"Who was on the phone?"

"Jess. He's on his way."

"From Philadelphia?" Lorelai asked, her eyes wide at the prospect.

Rory nodded, a warmer smile spreading across her lips.

"That's quite a drive."

"I know. It was like the thought of staying there wasn't even an option for him. I told him and he just said he'd be here soon."

"Wow," Lorelai said, appearing genuinely impressed.

"What?"

"Nothing, just… I'm glad he's coming."

Rory just stared at her mother, in total disbelief.

"I'm sorry, did I hear you right just now?"

"Oh stop, it's not like I still think he's devil spawn. I got over that, like… a few weeks ago."

"Mom!"

"What? Rory, he's your boyfriend and the father of your child. I don't think I could truly hate him anymore. Only be irked by him. Strongly dislike him at the most," Lorelai joked, only for Rory to glare. "Plus, we had a weird sort of, I dunno… bonding moment, I guess."

"Really? When?"

"Well, it was the weekend you were in Stars Hollow after the anatomy scan."

"Oh," Rory said sadly, the memories from that weekend still all too fresh.

"He was obviously upset, I mean, we all were. And, God help me, I felt bad for him. He just looked so heartbroken and scared and it was like every maternal instinct I had made me want to help him. So I hugged him," she said with a shrug.

"He hugged you? Willingly?"

"Yes, willingly! It's not like I forced him, that would be weird. Not to mention creepy on so many levels."

Rory grinned widely.

"Now what's that face about?" Lorelai asked, looking suspicious.

"Nothin', I just like that you two are getting along. Makes my life loads easier."

"I think getting along might be pushing it, but I'll admit that maybe we don't hate each other's guts anymore."

"Huh," Rory said, still smiling.

"Okay, seriously, you're spending way too much time with him. You've adopted his catchphrase."

"I live with him!"

"My point exactly!"

Just then, Emily stormed in, obviously on a mission and stealing Lorelai and Rory away from their conversation. Sobering them with the reminder of their reason for standing around a waiting room.

Time passed in slow motion from there, Rory sitting in an uncomfortable plastic chair in the cardiac intensive care unit waiting room in what felt like a sort of dreamlike state, staring at an assortment of vending machine snacks with absolutely zero appetite. The florescent lights were giving her a headache and her feet and back ached but still she felt sort of numb.

Richard was in surgery, literal open-heart surgery, and there was nothing to do but wait. Her grandfather was invincible, there was no way he was actually in an operating room right now, doctors dealing with the damage caused by a heart attack. But there she was, waiting with her mother, Emily off somewhere dealing with one thing or another.

Rory's grandmother had been in business mode from the second she arrived at the hospital, ragging on nurses and demanding to see her husband and ordering way too much fish for two people to consume because apparently it was good for cardiac health. She'd sent a lovingly willing Luke on a set of errands despite Lorelai's objections and then spent her time making calls to cancel dinner reservations and contact their lawyer, leaving Rory and Lorelai to apologize to anyone Emily inadvertently bulldozed in her path.

Rory just watched everything happen, wishing so desperately to just know if her grandfather was okay.

Eventually, after attempting to eat a bag of Cheetos only to be strangely repulsed by artificial cheese – she was so very ready to not be pregnant anymore – she leaned her head on her mother's shoulder and closed her eyes. Maybe if she could sleep, the time would pass faster.

She'd just started to drift when Lorelai gently tapped her on the leg and Rory opened her eyes to see Jess rushing towards them. She stood and met him and he immediately embraced her. In his arms, everything felt a little less harsh.

As she pulled back, she realized it had just barely been two hours since she'd called him.

"How are you here already?"

"I drove," Jess said with a smirk.

"How fast?"

He shrugged. "Fast enough."

"Jess!" Rory chastised.

Jess winced. "I may have gotten pulled over…"

"Jess! You got a ticket?" she scolded.

"Hey, I did not say I got a ticket. I just said I got pulled over."

"What? How'd you get pulled over and manage to not get a ticket?"

"I just told the cop that my pregnant girlfriend needed me at the hospital," he said with false innocence.

Rory scoffed, and yet she couldn't help the smile that tugged at her lips. "Oh my God! He probably thought I was in labor or something!"

"I told the truth, it's not my fault what he does or doesn't assume!"

Rory shook her head and sighed.

Jess's smile faded and a look of concern replaced it. "How're you doing?"

"I'm okay. Ready for this day to be over, though."

Jess nodded understandingly.

Together, they walked back to where Lorelai was sitting. She smiled up at them fondly as they sat across from her.

"Thanks for coming, Jess."

Jess offered her a kind smile, one that Rory most definitely didn't miss. She squeezed Jess's hand, and he gave her a confused look only to have her shake her head and kiss his cheek. Jess shrugged off his confusion and turned his attention back to Lorelai.

"Of course," he said as looked around. "Where's Luke?"

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "My dear husband stupidly agreed to go find Dad's car at Yale and fill it with gas and bring it back here."

Jess snorted. "Of course he did."

"Careful, my mother is not above sending you on random errands even if you did drive all the way here from Pennsylvania."

Just then, Emily returned from somewhere in the depths of the hospital.

"Oh, Jess, good, you're finally here."

Jess shot a confused glance at Rory.

"Mrs. Gilmore—"

"Listen, I need someone to go to the house and meet the fish man."

"The fish what?"

"The fish man, the man with the fish," Emily said harshly, as though it explained everything. "Can you go meet the fish man?"

"Um, sure, I'll go meet the fish man," Jess said, standing up and putting his coat back on. Lorelai shot him a look that read "I told you so" and he simply rolled his eyes in response.

"And why don't you bring Rory with you," Emily said, looking at him suspiciously. "For company," she added as an afterthought.

"Mom, she's less than a month away from giving birth, let her sit down!" Lorelai objected. "Jess is responsible enough to handle meeting the fish man."

"Yeah, Mrs. Gilmore. If I take anything, I'll make sure it's something you won't notice is gone," Jess said with a mischievous gleam in his eye.

Rory couldn't help the snort that escaped.

Emily gave them both a dry look. "This man is a very bad influence on you, Rory."

"Good thing we're stuck with him forever," Rory said with a smile. "And I'm happy to go, these chairs make my back hurt even more than normal and I want to get a few things to make Grandpa's room a little homier."

Emily smiled kindly. "Good, I think he'll like that." She handed Rory a check and gave them instructions for what to do with the fish delivery and sent them on their way.

At the Gilmore residence in Hartford, Jess dealt with the fish delivery, barely surviving the many, many fish puns he had in store. To Jess, it was obvious the man didn't socialize much, and it took everything in him to not slam the door after the delivery was finally finished.

While the fish was stored away, Rory went around the house and collected various items to help Richard feel a little more at home during his stay in the hospital – some books, some records, his chess board. Things to pass the time. She met Jess at the front door with a box of records after he closed it behind the deliveryman. He turned to her with a glare.

Rory snickered. "Wow, that's a face."

"What do you call a fish that's acting like a jerk?" Jess asked with a straight face.

Rory furrowed her brow. "What?"

"A son of a beach."

"Oh my God," Rory laughed. "Were they all that bad?"

"Oh no, that one was the best one he told!"

Rory patted his face. "I'm so sorry you had to endure such suffering," she said with a playful frown.

Jess smirked. "All for a good cause." He bent down to sift through the box. "What'd you find?"

"Just a few of his favorites. Scott Joplin, Gershwin, Chuck Berry…" Rory said with a smile.

"He has an eclectic taste in music, that's for sure."

"His record player is in his study but it's too heavy for me to carry."

Jess stood and nodded. "I'll go grab it." He went to walk away but Rory grabbed his hands and pulled him back.

"What—"

His question was interrupted with a kiss. He smiled and slowly blinked his eyes open as she drew away.

"Thank you for ditching your meeting and coming all the way from Philadelphia," she said quietly.

"Rory, of course. No amount of stupid meetings or state lines could keep me away," he said with a soft smile.

"You make waiting for my grandpa to come out of surgery sound way more exciting than it is," she whispered, looking down.

"Hey," he said, tilting her chin up. "I signed up for this. I love you, Rory. You're my family. When you're going through hell, I'll be right there by your side."

Rory's eyes welled and she nodded, swallowing the lump in her throat. Jess pressed his lips to her forehead as she took a shuddering breath.

"Ready to head back to the hospital?" he asked softly.

Rory nodded. Picking up the box of records, she laughed. "You're gonna drive Luke crazy with all those fish jokes, aren't you?"

Jess smirked as he walked towards Richard's study. "Of course I am! Hours spent in a waiting room with nowhere to escape to? There's no way I'd pass up a golden opportunity like this!"

Once back at the hospital, they didn't have to wait long at all for the doctor to come find them. Much to everyone's relief, the surgery went as perfectly as it could, and though Richard had some recovery to do and some lifestyle changes to make, he would be fine. They took turns visiting him in his room, and though he was still groggy, he was in good spirits, and very thankful for the things from home.

When Rory and Jess were in visiting him, Jess standing slightly sheepishly in the back while Rory perched herself on the edge of the bed, Richard apologized for making Jess drive all the way from work. Jess brushed it off with a kind smile, just expressing he was glad to see Richard pull through.

From there, the conversation was lighthearted, and Rory was in the middle of rambling about plans for the econ class when Richard interrupted her.

"Rory, could I talk to you alone for a moment?" he asked quietly.

"Oh, um, sure. Jess, could you…?"

Jess nodded and kissed Rory on the head. "I'll be right outside."

"What is it, Grandpa?" Rory asked once the door closed behind Jess.

Richard took Rory's hand in his and swallowed.

"I want to apologize."

Rory tilted her head in confusion. "What for?"

"I have not been as supportive of you as I should be lately," he said quietly.

Rory shook her head. "Grandpa it's fine…"

"No, Rory, it's not. You… are growing up. Now, your mother and I have our differences, but when we found out about you, I made the mistake of refusing to acknowledge that her life was changing, and in a way that scared me. I was scared for her, and I managed to use that fear to push her away. Now apparently, I didn't learn my lesson because I did the same thing with you. And for that, I am deeply sorry."

Rory blinked rapidly as her chin wobbled. "Thank you, Grandpa."

"Chalk it up to facing death, but I feel rather sentimental today," Richard said with a small smile.

Rory giggled tearfully.

"I don't want to lose my chance to know and love my great granddaughter. And I almost lost that today. I refuse to do anything else that will take that chance away from me."

Rory wiped her eyes and squeezed her grandfather's hand lovingly.

"I love you, Grandpa. And she's going to love you, too."

"Yes, well, I'm excited to meet her," Richard said softly.

Just then, the baby forcefully shoved a foot against Rory's skin, startling her.

"Oh my God! I think she's excited to meet you, too!" she laughed. "Wanna feel?"

"Oh, I'm fine, really…" Richard stuttered.

Rory smiled. "Give me your hand, Grandpa."

Richard shyly offered his hand to Rory, who placed it where the baby was kicking and squirming. Richard's eyes lit up as he felt the movements.

There was a soft knock at the door and Emily stuck her head in.

"Am I interrupting?" she asked quietly.

"Emily, come feel this," Richard whispered.

Emily froze, looking uncomfortable. "Oh, I don't know, I—"

"Emily…" Richard said tiredly.

Emily huffed. "Alright, fine." She walked over to the bed and Rory took her hand and placed it on the bump. A timid grin spread across her face.

"Goodness, you're going to have your hands full with this one, aren't you?" she asked Rory.

Rory laughed. "I don't know where she got the athleticism but I have a feeling she'll be playing some sort of sport. Maybe it's some recessive gene from Jess's side. I think Luke did sports in high school, so I blame the Danes blood in her."

Emily and Richard kept their hands in place for at least five minutes, seemingly forgetting the bump was connected to their granddaughter. Rory just sat there happily, focusing on the joy on Richard and Emily's faces.

Later, after the group said their "see-you-laters" to Richard and walked towards the hospital exit, Rory pulled Jess aside.

"I want to revisit the idea of Lorelai."

Jess looked at her with a blank expression.

"I'm gonna need more context."

"For the baby. To name." Rory shook her head to clear it. "Sorry, full sentences… Um, I want to revisit the idea of naming her Lorelai. We'll come up with some sort of nickname for her, like Mom did for me, but after everything today… I want to honor Grandpa in some way. His mom was the first Lorelai, and that's who Mom was named after, and it's some sort of weird family tradition now and I want her to have some part of him, even when he's…" She paused, not wanting to even think about the end of that sentence. "Well, I want to carry on his legacy. Thoughts?"

"Huh," Jess said, the corner of his mouth pulled up in a smirk.

"What 'huh'?"

"I figured you'd come back to it eventually, just didn't know if it was gonna be before she was born or after."

Rory grinned softly. "So you're okay with it?"

Jess nodded. "Yup."

"Okay. Then, her name is Lorelai."

"I get to choose her nickname, though," Jess said as they reached the parking lot.

Rory laughed. "Fine, just nothing too cutesy."

Jess scoffed indignantly, amusement in his eyes. "It's like you don't know me at all."

A/N: Okay, of course I had to include Richard's heart attack in the story. It's a bittersweet episode, and it's one of the few in season 7 that I actually enjoy. Plus, it gives us some time for Rory and Lorelai interaction and sweet moments with Jess and Rory. Also, we're getting close to the due date and words cannot describe how excited I am to share more with you. Thanks for reading!