WHAT IT IS: A sequel, to my other Trory, What Happens When. Now, I had no
intentions at all to do a sequel. However, you're getting one, because of
all the Jess/Dean/Rory angst currently on the show—it's stressing me out.
So, since I had decided that fluff was probably all I'd get out of a sequel
and fluff is what I need right now (it's either fluff or unbearable angst
coming out of me right now)—here's a sequel.
WHAT I OWN: Nada.
RATING: PG-13, just to be safe. It is fluff after all.
AN: Thanks to all the reviewers! I saw it was over 250, and I was floored. I worked hard on the name, I wanted something pretty. I figure their kid would have to be fairly attractive, I mean, come on. As for those asking for a third in the series, well, we'll see. I make no promises; after all, I had no intention on writing this one... it just appeared. (
Rory woke up out of a sound sleep. Her eyes focused quickly in the dark, just one of the new superpowers she seemed to have developed in the last month. The clock on the nightstand read 2:45. 'At least she's sleeping a few minutes longer each night,' she sighed to herself as she swung her legs over the edge of the bed. She paused, looking over at Tristan, who exhaled and moved his arm over his eyes. Deciding their daughter's shrill 'I want food, NOW' cry didn't quite have the effect on him that it had on her, she padded over in bare feet on the cold hardwood floor towards the bassinet.
Quieting as she saw her mother approach, Ella gurgled happily as Rory picked her up. Rory had decided that Ella was a particularly smart baby, as she learned this routine fast. Tristan pointed out that it was simple Pavlovian conditioning, but Rory maintained Ella was on her way to Yale already. Or whatever top school she chose. Rory sat in the rocking chair, moved temporarily into the master bedroom until Ella took up residence in her own room, and began the 3am feeding. She spoke softly to Ella, telling her how smart she was.
"Just don't listen to your daddy, all that psychobabble has gone to his head. You aren't just responding to a routine, you're responding because you figured out the routine. You are the smartest little girl in the world. He'll see how right I was in a couple of months, don't worry."
"You know, I can hear you when you do that."
Rory looked up to see a disheveled Tristan sitting up in bed, staring at the two of them.
"Ganging up against me with our daughter. Telling her not to listen to me. Those things will stick, you know."
"I'm just telling her that I know she's smart," Rory countered. "Besides, I think you're still sore about my other victory."
"So you knew she was a girl," he sighed.
"And you had to get up with her the entire first week," she pointed out.
"Well, you sort of had to, too. I may be her parent, but I don't have the necessary equipment that you've been so generously bestowed with."
"Are you saying I have big boobs?" Rory giggled.
"Well, I'm not complaining we'll put it that way," he smiled, getting up out of bed and walking over to the rocking chair. He knelt down next to Rory and smiled. "I definitely like this look you've got going," he said softly into her ear. They sat there, her feeding Ella, him watching her, until the baby had fallen back asleep.
The next day, and Rory contested the only reason Tristan had stayed up with her until Ella fell back asleep, was Saturday. Not just any Saturday, but the day of his parent's wedding. Well, their second wedding anyway. The most amazing thing to Rory was that she woke up to the smell of pancakes and bacon. This meant he was up and pleased. It was a close race between the smell of food and Ella's cooing that actually woke her up, but the food won out. Picking Ella up, she made her way down the stairs.
"I thought you two sleepyheads would never wake up," Tristan said, taking Ella from Rory. She turned to get some orange juice as Tristan and held Ella with one arm, as he ate with the other hand from his plate.
Rory looked over and giggled. "Don't you want to even use a fork?"
"No need. Too much of a hassle. Besides, you're probably teaching her how to use it as a weapon against me at night while I sleep."
"Yeah, at one month, she's learning forks as deadly weapons. She'll be recruited by the CIA at 18 months," she giggled again as she used a fork to cut into her pancakes. She continued to watch Tristan as he tore off a piece of pancake and dipped in syrup and popped it into his mouth. He was the king of multitasking, but now it was more enthralling to watch him do everyday tasks while toting Ella around. She knew he was good with kids, but he was amazing with Ella.
"So, we need to leave in about three hours to get to Hartford."
"Yeah, you are the best man, you should be on time."
"Lucky for us, they've done this before, and it's not a big deal with rehearsal dinners and hoopla."
"Oh, there'll be a little bit of hoopla," Rory assured him.
"We don't have to stay long," he promised.
"Ella can sleep anywhere, and we probably won't see her all night, the way our families pass her around. They probably don't even care if we're there, as long as she has a way to get there," Rory added.
"Aw, is someone feeling left out?" Tristan mocked.
"No, I just miss when people used to notice me. Now I'm an afterthought."
"Well, not to me," he said, leaning over and kissing her cheek, with Ella still tucked neatly in the crook of his arm. "Go take a shower."
"Have I mentioned that I love you lately?" she yawned.
"I'm too tired to remember. But it's always nice to hear," he smiled as she turned and scampered off to the bathroom.
Amazingly, they were placing Ella in her car seat two and half hours later. They were running early for the first time in a month. Rory was thrilled to get out of the house; it was their first official outing since Ella was born. Her mom had been down several times, and Jess had come up to baby-sit once so they could go out to dinner, but they hadn't stayed very long at all. This would be the first time Will would get to meet Ella, and both families would be there.
The Dragonfly Inn was all decked out in white flowers. Sookie had of course catered and Lorelai had planned most of the small wedding with Elizabeth. She had wanted simple and elegant. They pulled the look off perfectly. Lorelai was making sure all the tables had centerpieces when Rory came in with Ella in her arms.
"There are my girls!" Lorelai went up and hugged Rory from the side, and kissed her sleeping granddaughter's head. "You're early!"
"Don't even ask me how it happened. We're proof that miracles still happen," Rory laughed.
"Where's Tristan?"
"He's on best man duties. Is Will here yet?"
"Yeah, he should be with Luke. Check the kitchen."
"Scamming for treats?"
"Luke would never do such a thing!"
"You're funny," Rory joked, as she turned towards the kitchen to find her brother. Her mother had been right, Will was in the kitchen with Luke and Sookie, and he was definitely eyeing some white chocolate dipped strawberries. His head snapped towards Rory when she walked in. A smile broke out on the four-year-old's face, and he walked over to his big sister.
"Will, there's someone here I'd like you to finally meet," Rory said.
Will stood on his tiptoes, but couldn't quite see anything. Luke saw this exchange and picked Will up. Rory pushed the blanket back so Will could see Ella's face.
"This is Ella."
"She's not doing anything," Will commented.
"She's sleeping."
"Oh. Can I hold her?"
"Sure. Let's go to the lobby, so we can sit, okay?"
Will nodded, and Luke and Rory shared a smile. Ella had all the men in the family charmed, Luke included. They sat on the couch and sandwiched Will between Rory and Luke. She instructed him to use two hands, the battle cry of every new parent speaking to anyone under twelve holding their child. Will held Ella, as instructed, as the two adults supervised. Lorelai came in, camera in hand, and snapped a picture. She was so happy to have the whole family here, and never missed an opportunity to take pictures of her granddaughter.
"Okay, give me the kid!" she held her hands out towards them.
"But, Mom, it's my turn!"
"Well, I'm sorry. I didn't realize you were busy being an uncle!" Lorelai said, holding her hands up in defense.
"Yep, Ella's my knees."
"Niece, Will. Not knees," Lorelai giggled.
"Right, niece," he said determinedly.
Upstairs, Tristan was helping his father tie his tie. Janlan was in the room next door, putting on his suit. Tom stepped back, inspecting the tie in the mirror.
"You're good at that," he said appreciatively.
"Well, practice makes perfect."
"Your mother always does it for me."
"Well, after today, she can again," he remarked.
"True. So, how's fatherhood treating you?"
Tristan smiled and his eyes obviously showed his mind went straight to Ella.
"It's great. She's amazing."
"She's a very pretty little girl."
"That she is," Tristan agreed.
"You'll have a handful when she gets older."
"Please, let's just focus on her sleeping through the night first, can we?"
"You kids just grow up so fast. I remember when you were that size."
"Yeah, well, Rory claims she knows that Ella is smart already."
"I would imagine so. You two leave her with some big shoes to fill."
"I'll be happy as long as she's happy."
"Well, I'm proud of you."
"I'm proud of you, too, Dad. I'm happy for you and Mom."
"Thanks, son."
Just then, Janlan came in, grumbling.
"What's wrong, Gramps?"
"I don't seem to have packed a tie."
"I'll go run and see if we can do something about that," he offered, leaving his dad and grandfather alone.
Tristan came down the stairs, and leaned over the railing. "Uh, we're having a tie emergency up here," he announced.
"Do I want to know what a tie emergency is?"
"Too many guys, not enough ties."
"You made a rhyme!"
"Lorelai, seriously."
"Luke, go up there, see what you can do, will you?"
"I'm on it," Luke headed up the stairs after Tristan to see if he could grab something from home to help out. Lorelai took Ella, and left Rory and Will alone to talk. They chatted for a while, until Erin walked in the front door of the Inn, followed closely by Jess, who was pulling at the tie around his neck.
"Jess!" Will ran over to his uncomfortable cousin.
"Hey, Will. Rory. Where's Ella?"
"Mom took her. Oh, go upstairs."
"Why?"
"They might need your tie for the wedding party."
"You mean I might get to give up my tie?" Jess' eyes twinkled, as he shot a look at Erin.
"Maybe," Rory said slowly, sensing something was going on there.
Jess disappeared up the stairs, with Will on his back. Rory stifled a giggle as Erin slumped into the seat next to her.
"It was nice of them to invite us."
"Well, Mom figured you guys could use a break from your own planning."
"Speaking of which, your dress is ready. I picked it up; it's in the car so you can try it on. I can have it altered if we need to."
"Thanks so much. I haven't had much time to get into the city."
"I understand."
"How is everything else going?"
"It's okay. Jess isn't really into the planning much."
"That's pretty typical, though, right?"
"I guess. My mom is helping out a lot, but she's not really got our interests at heart. I just figured that if Jess helped me, it would be more about us. Did Tristan help you plan?"
"Well, he wasn't sewing bridesmaids dresses, that's more my mom's department, but he did help me decide between two cakes, helped out picking songs for the reception. Things like that."
"Your mom made the bridesmaid's dresses?"
"Yeah. And my wedding dress. She's amazing at that stuff. She made all my formals in high school and stuff."
"That's great. My mom buys overly priced things. Frilly things," Erin made a face.
"Well, there are always things you can do to make the things your Mom picked out your own. Didn't you ever see Betsy's Wedding?"
Erin laughed. "I never thought of it like that."
Jess came down the stairs, sans Will and tie. He smiled, noticing Erin laughing with Rory. Erin stood, kissed Jess on the cheek and announced she was off to find something to drink. Jess sat, dumbfounded, next to Rory.
"Wow. I don't know what you did, but thanks."
"What's going on? I noticed a look with the tie talk," Rory couldn't hide a smile.
"She's freaking out about the wedding. Her mom has a big foofy wedding planned. She doesn't want to disappoint her, and I can't deal with that kind of stuff. Something like this," Jess pointed to the Inn's decorations, "would be perfect. I haven't seen her laugh in weeks."
"Well, I think she'll be fine. Just keep in mind that it needs to be about you two, so you might want to drop an opinion in at some point."
"It's just a month away," he said, as if he were just realizing the fact.
"You'll both be fine," she assured.
"Thanks. So, where is my goddaughter now?"
"You have three guesses."
"You mom still?"
"Yep."
"I'm taking my turn. Even if I have to resort to covert operations."
"Try telling Mom that the floral arrangement for the stairs came loose," Rory offered. Jess smirked and headed into the dining room.
The ceremony went very smoothly. By the time all the guests were seated, Emily had possession of Ella. Richard had given Rory a very large envelope for safekeeping in Ella's name. He told her to start a fund for her to take Ella to Europe to celebrate her high school graduation as she and Lorelai had done. Rory knew they would spoil Ella, but she didn't mind. They didn't go crazy about it, and she knew they adored her. Janlan and Tristan stood up for Thomas, while Elizabeth had Paris' mom, Carole, and her sister Julia as her bridesmaids. They wrote their own vows, deciding to make this wedding much more personal and less traditional than their first. Both intended to make this time around stick.
Afterwards, the party started, as the couple danced together, before inviting everyone to join them. Tristan twirled Rory around the dance floor, as they watched Ella get passed around. She got fussy about an hour into the reception, and Luke volunteered to take her upstairs and put her down. He said it was only fair since they had taken Will so much when he was a baby, but Rory knew he was enjoying playing the grandpa role.
After they ate, Lorelai took Rory from Tristan, dancing with her daughter like they used to when Rory was little.
"So, Grandma, are you having fun?"
"It's Oma, remember?"
"Right, right."
"You did have one cute baby. Almost as perfect as you were. It's a close second, though."
"Well, thank you."
"Tristan already seems to be whipped."
"Oh, you have no idea. He'll be impossible when she starts dating."
"I want to be there with a camera," Lorelai laughed.
"You're mocking his pain already?"
"You better believe it!"
The continued to dance, laughing and talking until Jess cut in. Lorelai tried to take his outstretched hand, but he smacked it away, pulling Rory away from her.
"She never changes, does she?"
"Nope. That's what we love about her, remember."
"Right. So, I'm surprised you haven't taken Ella home."
"I'm sorry! It's not that I don't trust you, I just missed her!"
"Rory, you guys ran to a McDonald's drive thru and came back in ten minutes!"
"Well, it's hard being away from her. She was a part of me for nine months!"
"I was trying to give you guys a night out."
"Just wait til you have kids," she warned him.
"Ugh, don't start with that," he scolded her.
"Get used to it buddy. As soon as you're pronounced husband and wife, people will ask when you're having kids. It's like after you get engaged, they hound you about when you're getting married."
"What do they hound you about now?"
"Oh, once the kid is out, you disappear off the radar. So it's practical, as well as expected."
"Nice."
"Well, the truth hurts sometimes," she laughed.
"Not as much as inviting one's own parents to your wedding."
"Tell me you've invited them."
"Well, not exactly."
"Jess, it's a month away!"
"I just have to call Jimmy and track down Liz. It shouldn't take long. They won't be able to come anyway."
"Wow. I knew you could procrastinate, but this is a stellar example of your skills."
"Whatever."
"Nice attitude."
"Well, it can't be that bad. They look happy."
"Yeah, they do," Rory looked over to her in-laws, where Jess was looking.
"And you guys are happy."
"Yep."
"So, it's my turn."
"Speaking of turns, go find your fiancée," Rory coaxed.
"Good idea," Jess smiled and kissed her cheek as he left in search of Erin.
"Hey there beautiful," came a low whisper in her ear before she could take a step in any direction from the dance floor.
"Hey," she smiled as she leaned back into him.
"You know, there are rooms up there just going to waste since your mom closed down for the party," he reminded her.
"Tristan, we have to wait two more weeks," she pointed out.
"Well, for certain things, yes. But there are other ways to go about having a good time."
"What about Ella?" she whispered as he kissed the spot behind her ear that always got results.
"She's asleep. She won't know," he smiled into her neck.
"I can't believe I'm letting you talk me into this."
"Why?" he was back at the spot that he knew got to her every time.
"It's your parents wedding," she breathed.
"So, you're joining me then? Or do I have to resort to desperate measures?"
"You wouldn't," she warned.
A look came across his face that she hadn't seen in a while. The look he got when he wanted his way and she was taking some convincing. The look he got right before he did unspeakable things to her. Well, unspeakable to most people. He spoke them over and over, making her crazy. He slid his hand down her back, tracing her spine and she felt his hand sliding lower and lower and snaking around her body until her eyes closed and she nodded into his chest, signaling he had won. He took her hand and pulled her up the stairs, leaving the crowd to dance and eat as they celebrated with the happy couple.
WHAT I OWN: Nada.
RATING: PG-13, just to be safe. It is fluff after all.
AN: Thanks to all the reviewers! I saw it was over 250, and I was floored. I worked hard on the name, I wanted something pretty. I figure their kid would have to be fairly attractive, I mean, come on. As for those asking for a third in the series, well, we'll see. I make no promises; after all, I had no intention on writing this one... it just appeared. (
Rory woke up out of a sound sleep. Her eyes focused quickly in the dark, just one of the new superpowers she seemed to have developed in the last month. The clock on the nightstand read 2:45. 'At least she's sleeping a few minutes longer each night,' she sighed to herself as she swung her legs over the edge of the bed. She paused, looking over at Tristan, who exhaled and moved his arm over his eyes. Deciding their daughter's shrill 'I want food, NOW' cry didn't quite have the effect on him that it had on her, she padded over in bare feet on the cold hardwood floor towards the bassinet.
Quieting as she saw her mother approach, Ella gurgled happily as Rory picked her up. Rory had decided that Ella was a particularly smart baby, as she learned this routine fast. Tristan pointed out that it was simple Pavlovian conditioning, but Rory maintained Ella was on her way to Yale already. Or whatever top school she chose. Rory sat in the rocking chair, moved temporarily into the master bedroom until Ella took up residence in her own room, and began the 3am feeding. She spoke softly to Ella, telling her how smart she was.
"Just don't listen to your daddy, all that psychobabble has gone to his head. You aren't just responding to a routine, you're responding because you figured out the routine. You are the smartest little girl in the world. He'll see how right I was in a couple of months, don't worry."
"You know, I can hear you when you do that."
Rory looked up to see a disheveled Tristan sitting up in bed, staring at the two of them.
"Ganging up against me with our daughter. Telling her not to listen to me. Those things will stick, you know."
"I'm just telling her that I know she's smart," Rory countered. "Besides, I think you're still sore about my other victory."
"So you knew she was a girl," he sighed.
"And you had to get up with her the entire first week," she pointed out.
"Well, you sort of had to, too. I may be her parent, but I don't have the necessary equipment that you've been so generously bestowed with."
"Are you saying I have big boobs?" Rory giggled.
"Well, I'm not complaining we'll put it that way," he smiled, getting up out of bed and walking over to the rocking chair. He knelt down next to Rory and smiled. "I definitely like this look you've got going," he said softly into her ear. They sat there, her feeding Ella, him watching her, until the baby had fallen back asleep.
The next day, and Rory contested the only reason Tristan had stayed up with her until Ella fell back asleep, was Saturday. Not just any Saturday, but the day of his parent's wedding. Well, their second wedding anyway. The most amazing thing to Rory was that she woke up to the smell of pancakes and bacon. This meant he was up and pleased. It was a close race between the smell of food and Ella's cooing that actually woke her up, but the food won out. Picking Ella up, she made her way down the stairs.
"I thought you two sleepyheads would never wake up," Tristan said, taking Ella from Rory. She turned to get some orange juice as Tristan and held Ella with one arm, as he ate with the other hand from his plate.
Rory looked over and giggled. "Don't you want to even use a fork?"
"No need. Too much of a hassle. Besides, you're probably teaching her how to use it as a weapon against me at night while I sleep."
"Yeah, at one month, she's learning forks as deadly weapons. She'll be recruited by the CIA at 18 months," she giggled again as she used a fork to cut into her pancakes. She continued to watch Tristan as he tore off a piece of pancake and dipped in syrup and popped it into his mouth. He was the king of multitasking, but now it was more enthralling to watch him do everyday tasks while toting Ella around. She knew he was good with kids, but he was amazing with Ella.
"So, we need to leave in about three hours to get to Hartford."
"Yeah, you are the best man, you should be on time."
"Lucky for us, they've done this before, and it's not a big deal with rehearsal dinners and hoopla."
"Oh, there'll be a little bit of hoopla," Rory assured him.
"We don't have to stay long," he promised.
"Ella can sleep anywhere, and we probably won't see her all night, the way our families pass her around. They probably don't even care if we're there, as long as she has a way to get there," Rory added.
"Aw, is someone feeling left out?" Tristan mocked.
"No, I just miss when people used to notice me. Now I'm an afterthought."
"Well, not to me," he said, leaning over and kissing her cheek, with Ella still tucked neatly in the crook of his arm. "Go take a shower."
"Have I mentioned that I love you lately?" she yawned.
"I'm too tired to remember. But it's always nice to hear," he smiled as she turned and scampered off to the bathroom.
Amazingly, they were placing Ella in her car seat two and half hours later. They were running early for the first time in a month. Rory was thrilled to get out of the house; it was their first official outing since Ella was born. Her mom had been down several times, and Jess had come up to baby-sit once so they could go out to dinner, but they hadn't stayed very long at all. This would be the first time Will would get to meet Ella, and both families would be there.
The Dragonfly Inn was all decked out in white flowers. Sookie had of course catered and Lorelai had planned most of the small wedding with Elizabeth. She had wanted simple and elegant. They pulled the look off perfectly. Lorelai was making sure all the tables had centerpieces when Rory came in with Ella in her arms.
"There are my girls!" Lorelai went up and hugged Rory from the side, and kissed her sleeping granddaughter's head. "You're early!"
"Don't even ask me how it happened. We're proof that miracles still happen," Rory laughed.
"Where's Tristan?"
"He's on best man duties. Is Will here yet?"
"Yeah, he should be with Luke. Check the kitchen."
"Scamming for treats?"
"Luke would never do such a thing!"
"You're funny," Rory joked, as she turned towards the kitchen to find her brother. Her mother had been right, Will was in the kitchen with Luke and Sookie, and he was definitely eyeing some white chocolate dipped strawberries. His head snapped towards Rory when she walked in. A smile broke out on the four-year-old's face, and he walked over to his big sister.
"Will, there's someone here I'd like you to finally meet," Rory said.
Will stood on his tiptoes, but couldn't quite see anything. Luke saw this exchange and picked Will up. Rory pushed the blanket back so Will could see Ella's face.
"This is Ella."
"She's not doing anything," Will commented.
"She's sleeping."
"Oh. Can I hold her?"
"Sure. Let's go to the lobby, so we can sit, okay?"
Will nodded, and Luke and Rory shared a smile. Ella had all the men in the family charmed, Luke included. They sat on the couch and sandwiched Will between Rory and Luke. She instructed him to use two hands, the battle cry of every new parent speaking to anyone under twelve holding their child. Will held Ella, as instructed, as the two adults supervised. Lorelai came in, camera in hand, and snapped a picture. She was so happy to have the whole family here, and never missed an opportunity to take pictures of her granddaughter.
"Okay, give me the kid!" she held her hands out towards them.
"But, Mom, it's my turn!"
"Well, I'm sorry. I didn't realize you were busy being an uncle!" Lorelai said, holding her hands up in defense.
"Yep, Ella's my knees."
"Niece, Will. Not knees," Lorelai giggled.
"Right, niece," he said determinedly.
Upstairs, Tristan was helping his father tie his tie. Janlan was in the room next door, putting on his suit. Tom stepped back, inspecting the tie in the mirror.
"You're good at that," he said appreciatively.
"Well, practice makes perfect."
"Your mother always does it for me."
"Well, after today, she can again," he remarked.
"True. So, how's fatherhood treating you?"
Tristan smiled and his eyes obviously showed his mind went straight to Ella.
"It's great. She's amazing."
"She's a very pretty little girl."
"That she is," Tristan agreed.
"You'll have a handful when she gets older."
"Please, let's just focus on her sleeping through the night first, can we?"
"You kids just grow up so fast. I remember when you were that size."
"Yeah, well, Rory claims she knows that Ella is smart already."
"I would imagine so. You two leave her with some big shoes to fill."
"I'll be happy as long as she's happy."
"Well, I'm proud of you."
"I'm proud of you, too, Dad. I'm happy for you and Mom."
"Thanks, son."
Just then, Janlan came in, grumbling.
"What's wrong, Gramps?"
"I don't seem to have packed a tie."
"I'll go run and see if we can do something about that," he offered, leaving his dad and grandfather alone.
Tristan came down the stairs, and leaned over the railing. "Uh, we're having a tie emergency up here," he announced.
"Do I want to know what a tie emergency is?"
"Too many guys, not enough ties."
"You made a rhyme!"
"Lorelai, seriously."
"Luke, go up there, see what you can do, will you?"
"I'm on it," Luke headed up the stairs after Tristan to see if he could grab something from home to help out. Lorelai took Ella, and left Rory and Will alone to talk. They chatted for a while, until Erin walked in the front door of the Inn, followed closely by Jess, who was pulling at the tie around his neck.
"Jess!" Will ran over to his uncomfortable cousin.
"Hey, Will. Rory. Where's Ella?"
"Mom took her. Oh, go upstairs."
"Why?"
"They might need your tie for the wedding party."
"You mean I might get to give up my tie?" Jess' eyes twinkled, as he shot a look at Erin.
"Maybe," Rory said slowly, sensing something was going on there.
Jess disappeared up the stairs, with Will on his back. Rory stifled a giggle as Erin slumped into the seat next to her.
"It was nice of them to invite us."
"Well, Mom figured you guys could use a break from your own planning."
"Speaking of which, your dress is ready. I picked it up; it's in the car so you can try it on. I can have it altered if we need to."
"Thanks so much. I haven't had much time to get into the city."
"I understand."
"How is everything else going?"
"It's okay. Jess isn't really into the planning much."
"That's pretty typical, though, right?"
"I guess. My mom is helping out a lot, but she's not really got our interests at heart. I just figured that if Jess helped me, it would be more about us. Did Tristan help you plan?"
"Well, he wasn't sewing bridesmaids dresses, that's more my mom's department, but he did help me decide between two cakes, helped out picking songs for the reception. Things like that."
"Your mom made the bridesmaid's dresses?"
"Yeah. And my wedding dress. She's amazing at that stuff. She made all my formals in high school and stuff."
"That's great. My mom buys overly priced things. Frilly things," Erin made a face.
"Well, there are always things you can do to make the things your Mom picked out your own. Didn't you ever see Betsy's Wedding?"
Erin laughed. "I never thought of it like that."
Jess came down the stairs, sans Will and tie. He smiled, noticing Erin laughing with Rory. Erin stood, kissed Jess on the cheek and announced she was off to find something to drink. Jess sat, dumbfounded, next to Rory.
"Wow. I don't know what you did, but thanks."
"What's going on? I noticed a look with the tie talk," Rory couldn't hide a smile.
"She's freaking out about the wedding. Her mom has a big foofy wedding planned. She doesn't want to disappoint her, and I can't deal with that kind of stuff. Something like this," Jess pointed to the Inn's decorations, "would be perfect. I haven't seen her laugh in weeks."
"Well, I think she'll be fine. Just keep in mind that it needs to be about you two, so you might want to drop an opinion in at some point."
"It's just a month away," he said, as if he were just realizing the fact.
"You'll both be fine," she assured.
"Thanks. So, where is my goddaughter now?"
"You have three guesses."
"You mom still?"
"Yep."
"I'm taking my turn. Even if I have to resort to covert operations."
"Try telling Mom that the floral arrangement for the stairs came loose," Rory offered. Jess smirked and headed into the dining room.
The ceremony went very smoothly. By the time all the guests were seated, Emily had possession of Ella. Richard had given Rory a very large envelope for safekeeping in Ella's name. He told her to start a fund for her to take Ella to Europe to celebrate her high school graduation as she and Lorelai had done. Rory knew they would spoil Ella, but she didn't mind. They didn't go crazy about it, and she knew they adored her. Janlan and Tristan stood up for Thomas, while Elizabeth had Paris' mom, Carole, and her sister Julia as her bridesmaids. They wrote their own vows, deciding to make this wedding much more personal and less traditional than their first. Both intended to make this time around stick.
Afterwards, the party started, as the couple danced together, before inviting everyone to join them. Tristan twirled Rory around the dance floor, as they watched Ella get passed around. She got fussy about an hour into the reception, and Luke volunteered to take her upstairs and put her down. He said it was only fair since they had taken Will so much when he was a baby, but Rory knew he was enjoying playing the grandpa role.
After they ate, Lorelai took Rory from Tristan, dancing with her daughter like they used to when Rory was little.
"So, Grandma, are you having fun?"
"It's Oma, remember?"
"Right, right."
"You did have one cute baby. Almost as perfect as you were. It's a close second, though."
"Well, thank you."
"Tristan already seems to be whipped."
"Oh, you have no idea. He'll be impossible when she starts dating."
"I want to be there with a camera," Lorelai laughed.
"You're mocking his pain already?"
"You better believe it!"
The continued to dance, laughing and talking until Jess cut in. Lorelai tried to take his outstretched hand, but he smacked it away, pulling Rory away from her.
"She never changes, does she?"
"Nope. That's what we love about her, remember."
"Right. So, I'm surprised you haven't taken Ella home."
"I'm sorry! It's not that I don't trust you, I just missed her!"
"Rory, you guys ran to a McDonald's drive thru and came back in ten minutes!"
"Well, it's hard being away from her. She was a part of me for nine months!"
"I was trying to give you guys a night out."
"Just wait til you have kids," she warned him.
"Ugh, don't start with that," he scolded her.
"Get used to it buddy. As soon as you're pronounced husband and wife, people will ask when you're having kids. It's like after you get engaged, they hound you about when you're getting married."
"What do they hound you about now?"
"Oh, once the kid is out, you disappear off the radar. So it's practical, as well as expected."
"Nice."
"Well, the truth hurts sometimes," she laughed.
"Not as much as inviting one's own parents to your wedding."
"Tell me you've invited them."
"Well, not exactly."
"Jess, it's a month away!"
"I just have to call Jimmy and track down Liz. It shouldn't take long. They won't be able to come anyway."
"Wow. I knew you could procrastinate, but this is a stellar example of your skills."
"Whatever."
"Nice attitude."
"Well, it can't be that bad. They look happy."
"Yeah, they do," Rory looked over to her in-laws, where Jess was looking.
"And you guys are happy."
"Yep."
"So, it's my turn."
"Speaking of turns, go find your fiancée," Rory coaxed.
"Good idea," Jess smiled and kissed her cheek as he left in search of Erin.
"Hey there beautiful," came a low whisper in her ear before she could take a step in any direction from the dance floor.
"Hey," she smiled as she leaned back into him.
"You know, there are rooms up there just going to waste since your mom closed down for the party," he reminded her.
"Tristan, we have to wait two more weeks," she pointed out.
"Well, for certain things, yes. But there are other ways to go about having a good time."
"What about Ella?" she whispered as he kissed the spot behind her ear that always got results.
"She's asleep. She won't know," he smiled into her neck.
"I can't believe I'm letting you talk me into this."
"Why?" he was back at the spot that he knew got to her every time.
"It's your parents wedding," she breathed.
"So, you're joining me then? Or do I have to resort to desperate measures?"
"You wouldn't," she warned.
A look came across his face that she hadn't seen in a while. The look he got when he wanted his way and she was taking some convincing. The look he got right before he did unspeakable things to her. Well, unspeakable to most people. He spoke them over and over, making her crazy. He slid his hand down her back, tracing her spine and she felt his hand sliding lower and lower and snaking around her body until her eyes closed and she nodded into his chest, signaling he had won. He took her hand and pulled her up the stairs, leaving the crowd to dance and eat as they celebrated with the happy couple.