AN: Yes, I know. More LL. I suck. I do. You wouldn't believe it. I NEED LL! Oh and thank you lots for the reviews! It's almost the best part. Oh, and, for all meaning and purpose of this chapter, Jess never saw Rory on the night of her Debutante. He never knew she came out.

"Mom," Rory, started in a firm voice, "I am tired of watching Gladiator. Isn't there perhaps another movie you would like?" Lorelei pondered the thought a bit before Rory spoke up again. "I know there are other movies." Rory sighed; getting up to look thought their movie collection. She crouched down on the floor. "Ok, what about Holy Grail?"

Lorelei shook her head.

"Clueless."

Again.

"Sixteen Candles?"

Once again.

"Saved?"

A third time.

"Mom!"

"Okay, okay," Lorelei gave in, "Are you down with the G-O-D?"

Rory sneered, "Please, have we ever been?"

Lorelei laughed as Rory slid the DVD.

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Two hours later, Rory and Lorelei sat on the sofa.

"You know what I don't get about that movie?" Lorelei asked.

"Huh?"

"How can Jena Malone have been pregnant for nearly nine months without anyone ever knowing?"

"Yeah, it is a little weird," Rory agreed.

"I can' even imagine keeping a secret that big," Lorelei went on. Rory just nodded. "I mean, we've never had a secret that big before."

Rory sighed. "Mom?" Rory started, "Is there something you want to ask me?"

"Nope, nope," she paused, considering her next words, then, slowly, "Is there anything you want to tell me?"

Rory sighed again. She knew she would have to tell her mother eventually. It had to come out sometime. Better now. "Mom, while me and Jess were gone….we…uh…"

Lorelei interrupted. "Yeah, I figured."

Rory sat up, tucking her legs under her to face her mother. "You did? How?"

Lorelei sighed, "Well, before he, you know, you said that something might happen." She paused. "I just figured, since it's the same guy and all, and your older, and alone, and he had changed, something might happen."

"Are you mad?"

"No. You were….safe?"

"Yeah, yeah, of course," Rory rambled. Lorelei nodded. "You don't hate him do you?"

"No," Lorelei dismissed the question with a wave of her hand. "Someone had to do it."

Rory cringed. "Eww. Could you have been a little more vulgar please?" They laughed. "Mom, he really has changed."

"Yeah," she agreed. "It doesn't take a genius to see that that boy really cares about you."

"He does," Rory assured her.

"I really don't think he'll hurt you again," Lorelei went on.

"Neither does he," Rory informed her. Lorelei nodded again.

"So….we're good?" Rory asked.

"Yeah, yeah," Lorelei said, hugging her daughter, "Definitely."

There was a long pause, in which both women sat in solitary thought. Rory waited for her mother to speak first, which she did.

"So, what now?" Lorelei asked. "How about Rocky Road sundaes and Coyote Ugly?"

"I'll go get the ice cream," Rory called as she looked for her purse. "Do we have any cherries?"

"No, in fact, we're pretty much out of everything. Get the works."

"Right," Rory called, one last time, before the door closed.

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I couldn't sleep. It was too quiet. I was used to sleeping the city, in some cheap apartment, with thin walls, and four other guys. Or, maybe, I just wasn't used to sleeping alone. Maybe I had gotten used to having Rory beside me. Whatever it was, I couldn't sleep. I decided to go out. It was a quarter to eleven; I didn't expect anyone to be out. It was, after all, Star's Hollow.

So I crept out of bed, careful not to wake Luke, and walked downstairs. My first thought was to head towards the bridge, thinking Rory might be there, but then recollected that she was with her mom. I was walking throughout the square; most of the shops were closed. I thought about going to the bookstore, but it was closed. Really, the only thing open was the Market. I wanted to know which Star's Hollowian was still up, so I headed over there.

Kirk was running the only checkout. When I opened the door, he looked up but ignored me. I weaved in and out of the aisles, but I didn't see anyone. Finally, I got to the last aisle, the frozen foods aisle, and there she was. Standing there, basked in the glow of the freezer lights, she looked like a florescent angel. I walked towards her, until I was standing right besides her, but she didn't notice me.

"Thirty flavors, I hear. Can't quite compete with Baskin's and Robin's, though." At my voice, she jumped.

Looking over, she realized it was me, and smiled. "Jeez, your like a dirty pop-up book."

I raised my eyebrows, "How dirty?"

Laughing, she leaned against me. "They're all out of Rocky Road," she explained.

"They have chocolate," I pointed out.

"Your point is…"

"You have nuts and marshmallows and chocolate fudge in your basket," I whispered, leaning into her, motioning towards the green basket she held, filled with various forms of sugar, chocolate, and cream filling.

"And?" she asked.

"Um, well, last time I remembered, Rocky Road, chocolate ice cream, marshmallows, nuts, and, if you buy the really fancy kind, chocolate fudge swirls."

She looked at me, an aghast look on her face. "Why, Jess, love, are you suggesting that we mix out own Rocky Road?"

"No," I replied, dripping with sarcasm.

"A lady never, ever mixes."

"Yeah, some lady," I muttered.

"I am so," she defended herself, "I have pictures to prove it!"

"Do you?"

"I do! I'll bring them tomorrow for breakfast," she insisted.

"So, how much time do you have?" I asked, pulling out the chocolate ice cream and handing it to her. She took it, sighing.

"A bit. Why are you out here?"

"Couldn't sleep," I explained. "It's too quiet," I declared, not caring to tell her the other reason.

"Bummer."

"I'd ask you why you're out, but I assume it's for an emergency ice cream run," I guessed.

"You assume correctly." By now, we had reached the check out. She paid for her stuff, and we walked out, not before my getting dirty looks from Kirk.

I held the door open for her, "I'll walk you home."

"You don't have to."

"I know, I want to," I paused, thinking, "I can't sleep anyway."

We walked. I carried her bags for her, and she held my hand in hers. There was a sense or serenity in the town at night. No one was awake, just us really; at least, no one else was out. It was just a feeling of freedom I guess. The air was filled with one of those summer fogs that come late at night. The air was heavy, thick, it wrapped us up together. Our skin moistened, just from the air. We reached her front sidewalk.

"This is my stop," she said, separating herself from me, so that we stood facing each other.

"Night," I said, pulling her towards me. She snaked her arm around the back of my head, pulling me closer. My lips moved on hers. She pulled away.

"Night," she breathed, her lips brushing mine. I handed her her bag, and she walked up the sidewalk towards her front door.

"I love you Rory Gilmore," I called after her.

She turned around to face me, her hand on the doorknob. "Ditto." She pushed open the door, disappearing from my sight.

"Mom…"

I started walking towards the Diner.

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The next morning, Rory woke up to find a post it on her forehead, reading, "Call Inn." She got dressed and ready, and started to look for the pictures from, her Debutante ball. After having no luck, she called her mom.

"Dragonfly Inn, Lorelei speaking."

"Okay, so where are those pictures from my Coming Out?"

"Um," Lorelei thought aloud, "did you check the closet by the ex-boyfriend boxes?"

"Hold on," Rory walked over to the closet, opening she found her Dean box, Lorelei's Max box, and the Jess Box. She pulled out the Jess box, and a box next to it. "Yeah, I got them," she told her mother, "They were next to my Jess box."

"Great, okay. I can't do lunch today because I got in late, how about dinner at Luke's?"

"See you then."

"Okay, Bye, love you kid."

Rory sat on the ground a little while longer, shuffling through her Jess Box. She pulled out the now dried flower she had worn in her hair at Sookie's wedding, a picture of the dress she was going to wear to prom, the stuffed animal she had won that night at the Star's Hollow Winter Carnival, and a copy of For Whom The Bell Tolls Jess had given her when she went up to the apartment, on the day of their first kiss. She put everything in the box, put the box on her bed, and, taking the box of pictures, left for Luke's.

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I was wiping the counter when Rory walked in. She walked over to me, dropping a shoebox full of pictures in front of me.

"Coffee!"

"I poured her a cup, placing it in front of her. "What's this?" I asked, opening the box.

She took a long gulp of her coffee. "Me becoming a lady."

I pulled out the pictures. It was Rory all right, but not like I had ever seen her. She was wearing a white gown with a fluffy skirt. She had on these white gloves and a little tiara. She looked like a princess. "This can't be you."

"It is so," she defended. One picture shows her walking down some highly decorated stairs, arm and arm with a man, "My dad," she explained. Another picture showed her with her mom.

"You have a fan," I smirked.

"Okay, enough pictures for you," she said, grabbing the pictures and stuffing them back into the box. She sat down, putting the box on the next stool, and folded her hands on the counter. "Pancakes please!" she sang.

Luke came out.

"Hey, look," I said to Rory, then, to Luke, "Luke, Rory came out."

"Yeah. Uh huh."

"Yeah," I continued, "And in a minute we're going to go sky diving with Kirk."

Luke walked back and forth, refilling coffee. "Right. Be back in time to close up."

Rory joined in. "Oh yeah, Luke, we told Taylor he could decorate the place for the Fourth of July, so he'll be in here in about an hour."

"I'll be here if you need me," he called as he went into the storage room.

"Huh," I said, gazing after him.

"What's up with him?" Rory asked.

Rory finished her coffee, and I got up, grabbing her box. "Come on, let's go."

"What about the diner?"

"Silly girl," I teased, "We're going sky diving remember. We'll be back in time to close up."

"Right, right," she said, following me out.

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In the storeroom, Luke dialed the familiar numbers to the Inn. "Hi, Lorelei, it's Luke…"