Jess fingered the paperwork in his hands. The paperwork that made it official. All they had to do was talk to the judge and sign it and they were married. He looked at Rory, whose eyes were glued to the entrance, and put his arm around her. He knew she didn't want to bolt; rather she was anxiously waiting for someone to show up to support them. At long last, she turned back to face the front, and shrugged his jacket off of her shoulders.
"You warm?"
"Yeah," she sighed.
"I didn't expect to have to wait this long," he mentioned as if they'd given this months of preparation and careful planning.
"Well, it's probably good, I mean, Luke isn't even here yet."
"He's probably just waiting for your mom. She has to be going through her entire wardrobe right about now," he reasoned.
She smiled. He'd succeeded in both entertaining her and making her sure that her mother was coming. She leaned into his shoulder, in return; now feeling a little more relaxed. They hadn't be waiting all that long, just about fifteen minutes since they'd gotten through the enormous line, and both knew their names would be called at any moment.
"Did I miss it?" came a familiar voice, bursting through the doors behind them.
"Shh," came the woman's voice that was sitting by the doors to the office, evidently to keep people from going straight into the office. If that wasn't her job function, it baffled Jess what else she did. He couldn't imagine there were a lot of people who stormed a judge's office to get married. But he couldn't help but smile as Rory jumped up to greet her best friend since childhood. Rory and Lane hugged and laughed, as Rory pulled Lane over to sit down next to them in the chairs.
"No, we should be next. I can't believe you made it!"
"Well, I barely hear from you in years, then you call to say you're getting married! Of course I'm coming! My flight got delayed, though, I was so afraid I wouldn't make it back in time."
"How's California? And Dave?"
"Good, good. How are you?"
"Well, I'm getting married," Rory began, causing Lane to smile at her friend, "and we live in New York, in the Village. I work at the Times, and I love it."
"Where's Lorelai?"
Rory looked down, looking sad. She absently grabbed Jess' hand, and sighed before answering her friend. Jess stroked her hand, as if giving her courage. Lane noticed the words unspoken between them, and hid a smile.
"We had a fight, and I'm not sure if—," she began to explain to Lane about the years of silence between her and her mother, but was interrupted by her mother's voice.
"They have to be here somewhere, did you see the size of that line? No way have they already--," she stopped short as they entered the room, the woman on the other side with her finger to her lips and an exasperated look on her face. She saw Rory, Jess and Lane seated and now staring at her.
"Well, you found them," Chris uttered, moving to hug his daughter.
"You came," she said softly.
"Of course we came. She wouldn't have missed this, kid," he reassured her.
"Oh, Dad, this is my best friend, Lane Kim."
"Nice to meet you," Chris shook Lane's hand.
"Oh, you too! Lorelai, so great to see you!"
"Hey, Lane. How's California?"
"Sunny. Warm, wonderful—It's great."
Lorelai gave the woman a hug, suddenly thinking back to the days when Lane and Rory used to put on her 'Like a Virgin' album and prance around wearing pillowcases on their heads, pretending to get married, then collapsing onto the ground in giggles, deciding that they'd rather live together than with boys. Then the arguing about what their house would be made out of started. Perhaps she held onto Lane for too long. At any rate, Luke gave a cough, and she pulled back, and looked at Rory.
"Hey," she started.
"I'm glad you're here."
"Me too," she said, pulling Rory to her quickly and hugging her tighter than she ever had. Rory didn't complain, she just hugged her back even tighter.
"I want to talk to you," Luke said, looking at Jess.
"Now? I'm sort of in the middle of something," he pointed out, holding his hands out.
"Now," Luke insisted, pointing to the opposite corner of the room. Jess shot a look at Rory, who smiled and shrugged, as she continued talking to her mother.
"Okay, that's it, sit down," Luke barked, pointing his finger towards the couch in the middle of the crowded apartment.
"Why?" Jess' eyebrows furrowed, knowing what his uncle was about to say, and not wanting to hear it even more. He knew that Luke was concerned about him and Rory. Well, about Rory being with him. The whole town was concerned.
"It's time to lay down a few ground rules, sit. All right, first off, when she is up here, that door stays open," Luke began, wielding his arm around so now he was pointing at the door to the apartment, as Jess rolled his eyes at the words.
"Excuse me?"
"You are not allowed on either end of this apartment. You are, instead, to remain here in the middle portion of the room. You may sit on the couch or on the chair, as long as you two are sitting on separate seats, i.e. when you're on the couch, then she's on the chair. When she's on the couch, then you're on the chair." He was starting to look like a flight attendant, arms flailing about, pointing at objects in synchronization.
"I get it, thank you," Jess scoffed, feeling like a small child being scolded. He figured Luke would try the safe sex speech, but the no touching speech was something completely different. This was a no-trust relationship.
"On weekdays, you will have her home by nine. On weekends, you will have her home by eleven. Any evidence of alcohol, cigarette smoke, or anything else that Nancy Reagan would find unacceptable and you will not be allowed near her without an adult present. Are these rules clear?"
"Yes." He clenched his jaw in reaction to his uncle's new rules.
"Good," Luke replied, seemingly pleased with himself.
"May I speak?"
"If you must," Luke sighed, knowing Jess' compliance was too good to be true. He liked the idea of Jess and Rory together, but he knew he had to get Lorelai behind this if it was going to work out. And the only way to do that was to keep them clothed and ten feet apart at all times. Already, just their looks at each other were enough to make most people need to go take about ten cold showers.
"Do you want me to have you committed or would you prefer to check yourself in?" Teenagers not being able to touch? Where had he moved to, Amish country? Luke had to be kidding. He'd never said a damn word when Shane had been around. And he liked Rory, he knew he did.
"I'm not joking here, mister." 'Did I just say 'mister'? God, Lorelai is rubbing off on me,' Luke thought to himself as he made a face.
"You know you're my guardian, not hers, right?" Supervision had never been something imposed on Jess. Not, evidently, until now. He knew this town watched Rory, lest someone do anything to shatter her perfect world. But they hadn't been able to keep him away from her, and he'd be damned if he'd let anyone stop them now.
"You don't need a guardian," there was that finger pointing again. He was seriously wondering if he was channeling both his father and Lorelai. It was really starting to creep him out.
"She tried to kiss me." 'If all else fails, mess with his mind. Always works.'
"Jess," Luke warned, not liking where this was going.
"She did that thing where you stretch and then you put your arm around the other person's shoulder and then you sneeze and then your hand falls and you try to grab –," Jess continued, gesturing for effect, enjoying the look on Luke's face.
"Jess, stop it," Luke pleaded. 'Rory's six, Rory's six,' he repeated in his head, trying to block the images Jess was putting in there.
"What do you think is gonna happen?" he asked, daring Luke to be blunt.
"You know what I think is gonna happen," Luke held in a laugh. Jess wasn't stupid; he was trying to bait him.
"No, I don't. Tell me. Tell me what I'm gonna do to her," Jess demanded.
Luke smiled before answering, pleased he had thought of a retort to skew this in his favor again, "You're not gonna do anything to her because when you're at her place, there's Lorelai, and when you're here, there's me, and when you're out there, there's Taylor."
"Romeo and Juliet had warring families and they still managed to do a little damage, you know?"
"Well, as soon as I catch you in a pair of tights, I'll get worried. Until then, do your homework." He was on a roll. He gave Jess a smirk, grabbed an apple off the kitchen table and went downstairs before Jess could say anything else.
"Jess?" Luke waved his hand in front of his nephew's face. He never knew Jess to be spacey, but it was his wedding day after all.
"Sorry, I'm having a bit of a flash-back," Jess blinked.
"I just said, that getting married is a big deal," Luke sighed, as he repeated his words.
"I know that."
"And I just wanted to make sure that you two had thought this through," Luke looked at Jess, trying to make sure this was what he wanted. True, they'd been together four years, but now they were bringing in family to the picture. By getting married, they were joining the two families even more, committing to being a part of them.
"We have. Luke, I love her. I am not going to leave her again," Jess assured him. He knew that Luke was always as worried about Rory as him.
"That's not what I meant. I just meant, you're okay? You're you know, ready for this?"
Jess' facial expressions softened and nodded. Luke really was the closest thing to a father he'd ever had, and after all they'd been through, he was still there, looking out for him. Not just Rory, but him.
"More than ready," he said, looking as Rory smiled at her parents. Chris was talking and waving his hands about, Lorelai playfully smacked him, and Rory grabbed Lane's arm as they giggled at them. This was what their wedding should be. Friends and family, gathered around them.
Luke pulled the younger man to him, hugging him against his will. Much to his surprise, he felt Jess' arm pat his back, returning the gesture.
"She looks beautiful," he said, also now watching Rory with everyone else. Chris noticed the two men had stopped talking and excused himself from the girls. Luke coughed uncomfortably as Chris approached them, and Jess lowered his head, glancing at his uncle.
"Jess," Chris nodded.
"Chris," Jess said with the same mix of apathy and uncertainty.
"Luke," Chris started, "could I have a moment alone with Jess?" His left eyebrow was cocked and he gave a small smile. Luke looked from Chris to Jess, and mumbled a 'whatever', as he patted Jess on the back with one hand before moving back over to put his arm protectively around Lorelai's waist.
"So, you want something?" Jess asked knowingly, and probably a bit too sarcastically.
"Look, I really hated you at first. Granted, I know that you were seventeen and stupid, and I've been there, so I get that. And now, I see that obviously you weren't some phase my daughter was going through," he continued.
"Well, I'd always hoped not," Jess smirked.
"Not helping," Chris informed him. "Look, I see the way you look at her. And I gave my blessing, so just; don't ever do anything to make me regret it. 'Cause if you think Lorelai could do some damage, well, just remember when she's done, I get you."
Jess nodded. "Yeah, got it," he nodded. He eyed the receptionist, as she filed her nails, oblivious to the threatening going on in the room. Surely the judge must be almost done in there. What was the couple doing in there, writing their own vows?
"So, hon, can I talk to you for a sec?" Lorelai grabbed Rory's hand, pulling her over by the receptionist. Luke sighed, and began to talk to Lane about her life, hoping Lorelai could talk to Rory without freaking out again. She was here and he just wanted everyone to get through the evening and be happy for Rory and Jess.
"Sure, go ahead," Rory smiled at her mother.
"I just, I wanted to talk to you first," she started, thinking for a moment of what she wanted to say.
Lorelai heard her daughter come back into the house, thrilled because she felt like she hadn't eaten in days. Rory came into the living room, dropping a couple of overstuffed bags on the coffee table, and proceeded to watch her mother dig in ravenously.
"Oh, thank God. Ha! One of everything at Al's. Bless you with gluttony. Aren't you hungry?" she looked at her daughter in amusement, she'd never seen her not hungry.
"Yeah," Rory said, but made no move to join her mother. She bit her lip, looking at her strangely.
"Well, come on, dig in. What's wrong?" She took a good look at her daughter's face. She was flushed, happy and incredibly freaked out. Her heart stopped, she was almost positive her heart stopped. Jess was involved, she knew it.
"Nothing. Um, listen."
"I'm listening." 'Oh God, keep breathing.'
"When I said before that I was too busy to think about it, I realized now that I'm not too busy to think about it," she winced, noting her inability to actually use the word. Just because sex was the only thing on her mind, she reminded herself that her mother wasn't dwelling on it.
"Think about it?" 'Please, God, no!'
"About it."
"Oh, it." 'Damn.'
"Yeah, it," she pushed a lock of hair behind her ear, that had fallen in her face as she lowered her head, unwilling to look her mother in the eye as she understood her oh-so-sly use of the word it.
"Ha, it." She racked her brain to make this light and bearable somehow, but all she could see was her daughter telling her she was thinking about sex. She couldn't even ask if she'd done it yet, she just couldn't. She couldn't get the image of Jess hovering over her, eating her face the other week in Luke's apartment.
"Nothing's happened yet, but. . .it might. Maybe." 'Keep it vague, she looks like she might be having a stroke,' she thought as she tried to gauge her mother's reaction. The house seemed very still, as if everything in the room was listening intently to their conversation.
"Maybe?" Hope was momentarily restored to her brain.
"Maybe. . .with Jess." Hope destroyed.
"Hm, with Jess."
"You still want me to tell you everything, right?" She thought that by talking to her mom, she was doing the right thing, the mature, keeping their bond tight thing, but she really had never seen her mother speechless like this.
"Yeah. Uh, no. Well –," she stammered, trying to quickly regain her wits.
"Which is it?"
"We're doing this now."
"Yes. Which is it?"
"I don't know."
"You'll let me know?"
"Yeah."
"Mom?"
"Sorry. I was just, thinking. About you, and Jess, and how long you've been in love with him," she smiled, smoothing her daughter's hair.
"Yeah, it's been a long time."
"I just, really want you to be happy. And I'm glad you told me about this, before it happened. It would have killed me if you'd just gone off and . . . ," she teared up a little, looking at the joy in her daughter's eyes.
"I would have told you first, I know everything got sort of messed up," Rory started.
"No, I mean, ever since you first told me you were thinking of having sex with him, all those years ago, I knew he was different to you. Even though I didn't like him back then, and even though I don't like that he's got you in New York now," she paused.
"Mom, he didn't kidnap me. It's where I want to be. With him, married to him. But, I'll always be your daughter."
"I know. But from now on, I'm supporting this. Just like I promised I would, because I love you. No matter what has happened."
"Thanks, Mom," she said, moving to hug her mother.
"Surely we've missed it," came a loud voice from the hall.
"Well, if you hadn't changed your tie four times," came the hurried voice from the same direction.
"Emily, really," came Richard's voice as he entered the waiting area. "Well, hello, everyone. See, Emily, I told you it was fine."
"You did not!" she accused, and then nodded to everyone. "Did we miss it?"
"Grandma! Grandpa! You came! No, you didn't miss it," Rory said, hurrying out of her mother's arms to greet her grandparents.
"Of course we came, we wouldn't miss it," Richard assured her as he hugged her and handed her a thick white envelope. Everyone else exchanged hellos, except Lorelai and Emily who were keeping their distance from each other. Richard chatted to Luke, and Rory reintroduced Lane to her grandmother. She was so happy; everyone that she loved was in this room. Suddenly the guilt washed away from her, and she squeezed Jess' hand. She felt his thumb brush over the back of her hand, tracing the small, fragile bones. Just as she was enjoying everyone being in the room, she heard an unfamiliar voice ring out over everyone else's, like a schoolteacher quieting a class of second- graders at the end of recess.
"Gilmore-Mariano," came the voice.
"That's us," Rory spoke up, pulling Jess up to the door through the crowd that was forming.
"What was the hold up?" Jess asked, leaning towards the sentry of the door.
"Bride had cold feet. It was touch and go there for a minute," she said in a bored monotone, as if she saw it all the time. Jess looked to Rory and she gave him a smile. It was a simple gesture, but it made him able to take a deep breath again.
"You ready?" came the monotone voice again.
"We're ready," Jess nodded, moving into the judge's chambers.
AN: Okay, I would have updated sooner, but life happened. Don't you hate it when that happens? So, I hope it was worth the wait, I made it a little longer as a small reward.
"You warm?"
"Yeah," she sighed.
"I didn't expect to have to wait this long," he mentioned as if they'd given this months of preparation and careful planning.
"Well, it's probably good, I mean, Luke isn't even here yet."
"He's probably just waiting for your mom. She has to be going through her entire wardrobe right about now," he reasoned.
She smiled. He'd succeeded in both entertaining her and making her sure that her mother was coming. She leaned into his shoulder, in return; now feeling a little more relaxed. They hadn't be waiting all that long, just about fifteen minutes since they'd gotten through the enormous line, and both knew their names would be called at any moment.
"Did I miss it?" came a familiar voice, bursting through the doors behind them.
"Shh," came the woman's voice that was sitting by the doors to the office, evidently to keep people from going straight into the office. If that wasn't her job function, it baffled Jess what else she did. He couldn't imagine there were a lot of people who stormed a judge's office to get married. But he couldn't help but smile as Rory jumped up to greet her best friend since childhood. Rory and Lane hugged and laughed, as Rory pulled Lane over to sit down next to them in the chairs.
"No, we should be next. I can't believe you made it!"
"Well, I barely hear from you in years, then you call to say you're getting married! Of course I'm coming! My flight got delayed, though, I was so afraid I wouldn't make it back in time."
"How's California? And Dave?"
"Good, good. How are you?"
"Well, I'm getting married," Rory began, causing Lane to smile at her friend, "and we live in New York, in the Village. I work at the Times, and I love it."
"Where's Lorelai?"
Rory looked down, looking sad. She absently grabbed Jess' hand, and sighed before answering her friend. Jess stroked her hand, as if giving her courage. Lane noticed the words unspoken between them, and hid a smile.
"We had a fight, and I'm not sure if—," she began to explain to Lane about the years of silence between her and her mother, but was interrupted by her mother's voice.
"They have to be here somewhere, did you see the size of that line? No way have they already--," she stopped short as they entered the room, the woman on the other side with her finger to her lips and an exasperated look on her face. She saw Rory, Jess and Lane seated and now staring at her.
"Well, you found them," Chris uttered, moving to hug his daughter.
"You came," she said softly.
"Of course we came. She wouldn't have missed this, kid," he reassured her.
"Oh, Dad, this is my best friend, Lane Kim."
"Nice to meet you," Chris shook Lane's hand.
"Oh, you too! Lorelai, so great to see you!"
"Hey, Lane. How's California?"
"Sunny. Warm, wonderful—It's great."
Lorelai gave the woman a hug, suddenly thinking back to the days when Lane and Rory used to put on her 'Like a Virgin' album and prance around wearing pillowcases on their heads, pretending to get married, then collapsing onto the ground in giggles, deciding that they'd rather live together than with boys. Then the arguing about what their house would be made out of started. Perhaps she held onto Lane for too long. At any rate, Luke gave a cough, and she pulled back, and looked at Rory.
"Hey," she started.
"I'm glad you're here."
"Me too," she said, pulling Rory to her quickly and hugging her tighter than she ever had. Rory didn't complain, she just hugged her back even tighter.
"I want to talk to you," Luke said, looking at Jess.
"Now? I'm sort of in the middle of something," he pointed out, holding his hands out.
"Now," Luke insisted, pointing to the opposite corner of the room. Jess shot a look at Rory, who smiled and shrugged, as she continued talking to her mother.
"Okay, that's it, sit down," Luke barked, pointing his finger towards the couch in the middle of the crowded apartment.
"Why?" Jess' eyebrows furrowed, knowing what his uncle was about to say, and not wanting to hear it even more. He knew that Luke was concerned about him and Rory. Well, about Rory being with him. The whole town was concerned.
"It's time to lay down a few ground rules, sit. All right, first off, when she is up here, that door stays open," Luke began, wielding his arm around so now he was pointing at the door to the apartment, as Jess rolled his eyes at the words.
"Excuse me?"
"You are not allowed on either end of this apartment. You are, instead, to remain here in the middle portion of the room. You may sit on the couch or on the chair, as long as you two are sitting on separate seats, i.e. when you're on the couch, then she's on the chair. When she's on the couch, then you're on the chair." He was starting to look like a flight attendant, arms flailing about, pointing at objects in synchronization.
"I get it, thank you," Jess scoffed, feeling like a small child being scolded. He figured Luke would try the safe sex speech, but the no touching speech was something completely different. This was a no-trust relationship.
"On weekdays, you will have her home by nine. On weekends, you will have her home by eleven. Any evidence of alcohol, cigarette smoke, or anything else that Nancy Reagan would find unacceptable and you will not be allowed near her without an adult present. Are these rules clear?"
"Yes." He clenched his jaw in reaction to his uncle's new rules.
"Good," Luke replied, seemingly pleased with himself.
"May I speak?"
"If you must," Luke sighed, knowing Jess' compliance was too good to be true. He liked the idea of Jess and Rory together, but he knew he had to get Lorelai behind this if it was going to work out. And the only way to do that was to keep them clothed and ten feet apart at all times. Already, just their looks at each other were enough to make most people need to go take about ten cold showers.
"Do you want me to have you committed or would you prefer to check yourself in?" Teenagers not being able to touch? Where had he moved to, Amish country? Luke had to be kidding. He'd never said a damn word when Shane had been around. And he liked Rory, he knew he did.
"I'm not joking here, mister." 'Did I just say 'mister'? God, Lorelai is rubbing off on me,' Luke thought to himself as he made a face.
"You know you're my guardian, not hers, right?" Supervision had never been something imposed on Jess. Not, evidently, until now. He knew this town watched Rory, lest someone do anything to shatter her perfect world. But they hadn't been able to keep him away from her, and he'd be damned if he'd let anyone stop them now.
"You don't need a guardian," there was that finger pointing again. He was seriously wondering if he was channeling both his father and Lorelai. It was really starting to creep him out.
"She tried to kiss me." 'If all else fails, mess with his mind. Always works.'
"Jess," Luke warned, not liking where this was going.
"She did that thing where you stretch and then you put your arm around the other person's shoulder and then you sneeze and then your hand falls and you try to grab –," Jess continued, gesturing for effect, enjoying the look on Luke's face.
"Jess, stop it," Luke pleaded. 'Rory's six, Rory's six,' he repeated in his head, trying to block the images Jess was putting in there.
"What do you think is gonna happen?" he asked, daring Luke to be blunt.
"You know what I think is gonna happen," Luke held in a laugh. Jess wasn't stupid; he was trying to bait him.
"No, I don't. Tell me. Tell me what I'm gonna do to her," Jess demanded.
Luke smiled before answering, pleased he had thought of a retort to skew this in his favor again, "You're not gonna do anything to her because when you're at her place, there's Lorelai, and when you're here, there's me, and when you're out there, there's Taylor."
"Romeo and Juliet had warring families and they still managed to do a little damage, you know?"
"Well, as soon as I catch you in a pair of tights, I'll get worried. Until then, do your homework." He was on a roll. He gave Jess a smirk, grabbed an apple off the kitchen table and went downstairs before Jess could say anything else.
"Jess?" Luke waved his hand in front of his nephew's face. He never knew Jess to be spacey, but it was his wedding day after all.
"Sorry, I'm having a bit of a flash-back," Jess blinked.
"I just said, that getting married is a big deal," Luke sighed, as he repeated his words.
"I know that."
"And I just wanted to make sure that you two had thought this through," Luke looked at Jess, trying to make sure this was what he wanted. True, they'd been together four years, but now they were bringing in family to the picture. By getting married, they were joining the two families even more, committing to being a part of them.
"We have. Luke, I love her. I am not going to leave her again," Jess assured him. He knew that Luke was always as worried about Rory as him.
"That's not what I meant. I just meant, you're okay? You're you know, ready for this?"
Jess' facial expressions softened and nodded. Luke really was the closest thing to a father he'd ever had, and after all they'd been through, he was still there, looking out for him. Not just Rory, but him.
"More than ready," he said, looking as Rory smiled at her parents. Chris was talking and waving his hands about, Lorelai playfully smacked him, and Rory grabbed Lane's arm as they giggled at them. This was what their wedding should be. Friends and family, gathered around them.
Luke pulled the younger man to him, hugging him against his will. Much to his surprise, he felt Jess' arm pat his back, returning the gesture.
"She looks beautiful," he said, also now watching Rory with everyone else. Chris noticed the two men had stopped talking and excused himself from the girls. Luke coughed uncomfortably as Chris approached them, and Jess lowered his head, glancing at his uncle.
"Jess," Chris nodded.
"Chris," Jess said with the same mix of apathy and uncertainty.
"Luke," Chris started, "could I have a moment alone with Jess?" His left eyebrow was cocked and he gave a small smile. Luke looked from Chris to Jess, and mumbled a 'whatever', as he patted Jess on the back with one hand before moving back over to put his arm protectively around Lorelai's waist.
"So, you want something?" Jess asked knowingly, and probably a bit too sarcastically.
"Look, I really hated you at first. Granted, I know that you were seventeen and stupid, and I've been there, so I get that. And now, I see that obviously you weren't some phase my daughter was going through," he continued.
"Well, I'd always hoped not," Jess smirked.
"Not helping," Chris informed him. "Look, I see the way you look at her. And I gave my blessing, so just; don't ever do anything to make me regret it. 'Cause if you think Lorelai could do some damage, well, just remember when she's done, I get you."
Jess nodded. "Yeah, got it," he nodded. He eyed the receptionist, as she filed her nails, oblivious to the threatening going on in the room. Surely the judge must be almost done in there. What was the couple doing in there, writing their own vows?
"So, hon, can I talk to you for a sec?" Lorelai grabbed Rory's hand, pulling her over by the receptionist. Luke sighed, and began to talk to Lane about her life, hoping Lorelai could talk to Rory without freaking out again. She was here and he just wanted everyone to get through the evening and be happy for Rory and Jess.
"Sure, go ahead," Rory smiled at her mother.
"I just, I wanted to talk to you first," she started, thinking for a moment of what she wanted to say.
Lorelai heard her daughter come back into the house, thrilled because she felt like she hadn't eaten in days. Rory came into the living room, dropping a couple of overstuffed bags on the coffee table, and proceeded to watch her mother dig in ravenously.
"Oh, thank God. Ha! One of everything at Al's. Bless you with gluttony. Aren't you hungry?" she looked at her daughter in amusement, she'd never seen her not hungry.
"Yeah," Rory said, but made no move to join her mother. She bit her lip, looking at her strangely.
"Well, come on, dig in. What's wrong?" She took a good look at her daughter's face. She was flushed, happy and incredibly freaked out. Her heart stopped, she was almost positive her heart stopped. Jess was involved, she knew it.
"Nothing. Um, listen."
"I'm listening." 'Oh God, keep breathing.'
"When I said before that I was too busy to think about it, I realized now that I'm not too busy to think about it," she winced, noting her inability to actually use the word. Just because sex was the only thing on her mind, she reminded herself that her mother wasn't dwelling on it.
"Think about it?" 'Please, God, no!'
"About it."
"Oh, it." 'Damn.'
"Yeah, it," she pushed a lock of hair behind her ear, that had fallen in her face as she lowered her head, unwilling to look her mother in the eye as she understood her oh-so-sly use of the word it.
"Ha, it." She racked her brain to make this light and bearable somehow, but all she could see was her daughter telling her she was thinking about sex. She couldn't even ask if she'd done it yet, she just couldn't. She couldn't get the image of Jess hovering over her, eating her face the other week in Luke's apartment.
"Nothing's happened yet, but. . .it might. Maybe." 'Keep it vague, she looks like she might be having a stroke,' she thought as she tried to gauge her mother's reaction. The house seemed very still, as if everything in the room was listening intently to their conversation.
"Maybe?" Hope was momentarily restored to her brain.
"Maybe. . .with Jess." Hope destroyed.
"Hm, with Jess."
"You still want me to tell you everything, right?" She thought that by talking to her mom, she was doing the right thing, the mature, keeping their bond tight thing, but she really had never seen her mother speechless like this.
"Yeah. Uh, no. Well –," she stammered, trying to quickly regain her wits.
"Which is it?"
"We're doing this now."
"Yes. Which is it?"
"I don't know."
"You'll let me know?"
"Yeah."
"Mom?"
"Sorry. I was just, thinking. About you, and Jess, and how long you've been in love with him," she smiled, smoothing her daughter's hair.
"Yeah, it's been a long time."
"I just, really want you to be happy. And I'm glad you told me about this, before it happened. It would have killed me if you'd just gone off and . . . ," she teared up a little, looking at the joy in her daughter's eyes.
"I would have told you first, I know everything got sort of messed up," Rory started.
"No, I mean, ever since you first told me you were thinking of having sex with him, all those years ago, I knew he was different to you. Even though I didn't like him back then, and even though I don't like that he's got you in New York now," she paused.
"Mom, he didn't kidnap me. It's where I want to be. With him, married to him. But, I'll always be your daughter."
"I know. But from now on, I'm supporting this. Just like I promised I would, because I love you. No matter what has happened."
"Thanks, Mom," she said, moving to hug her mother.
"Surely we've missed it," came a loud voice from the hall.
"Well, if you hadn't changed your tie four times," came the hurried voice from the same direction.
"Emily, really," came Richard's voice as he entered the waiting area. "Well, hello, everyone. See, Emily, I told you it was fine."
"You did not!" she accused, and then nodded to everyone. "Did we miss it?"
"Grandma! Grandpa! You came! No, you didn't miss it," Rory said, hurrying out of her mother's arms to greet her grandparents.
"Of course we came, we wouldn't miss it," Richard assured her as he hugged her and handed her a thick white envelope. Everyone else exchanged hellos, except Lorelai and Emily who were keeping their distance from each other. Richard chatted to Luke, and Rory reintroduced Lane to her grandmother. She was so happy; everyone that she loved was in this room. Suddenly the guilt washed away from her, and she squeezed Jess' hand. She felt his thumb brush over the back of her hand, tracing the small, fragile bones. Just as she was enjoying everyone being in the room, she heard an unfamiliar voice ring out over everyone else's, like a schoolteacher quieting a class of second- graders at the end of recess.
"Gilmore-Mariano," came the voice.
"That's us," Rory spoke up, pulling Jess up to the door through the crowd that was forming.
"What was the hold up?" Jess asked, leaning towards the sentry of the door.
"Bride had cold feet. It was touch and go there for a minute," she said in a bored monotone, as if she saw it all the time. Jess looked to Rory and she gave him a smile. It was a simple gesture, but it made him able to take a deep breath again.
"You ready?" came the monotone voice again.
"We're ready," Jess nodded, moving into the judge's chambers.
AN: Okay, I would have updated sooner, but life happened. Don't you hate it when that happens? So, I hope it was worth the wait, I made it a little longer as a small reward.