Thanks to Ari! She RAWKS!

Scene from the bear

They were staying with Luke and Lorelai for the weekend, and then driving back to New York after some down time. Most everyone had either headed to the Dragonfly to get some rest, or was hanging around Lorelai's house.

He stood in Rory's old bedroom, hunched over the crib, the small bear in his hands. Lorelai had sewn up the damages that time had inflicted on it, and after a good run through the washer and dryer, it looked nearly new.

Jess looked down at the tiny baby in silence, shifting Hephaestus in his hands a little. "It's good you're awake," he said quietly. "This would be pretty ridiculous if you weren't."

Alice, of course, said nothing. She merely stared up at him blankly.

He smirked softly. "Hi." He sighed. "This... is Hephaestus. He was mine when I was a kid... he's named after the Greek blacksmith god... when he was born, he was crippled, and Hera, his mom, was pissed, so she threw him off of Mount Olympus... Hera is actually a lot like Great Grandma Emily..." He shook his head. "Anyways... I don't really have a lot of use for Hephaestus these days... I thought maybe you might want him."

Alice made a small noise and Jess smiled a little.

He nodded. "Sounds good, huh?" He placed the bear in the crib, and then ran a finger gently over her cheek. Her head turned reflexively toward his finger, and he rested his chin on the crib.

"Heya, Pop."

He lifted his head and glanced back. "Jimmy."

Jimmy walked forward and let himself slip into the same position as Jess. He blinked down at Alice curiously.

Jess raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Where'd that bear come from?" Jimmy asked.

"It was mine," Jess replied.

Jimmy's brow furrowed. "Huh."

Jess turned his head to his father. "What?"

"Nothing."

Jess nodded.

The door opened again and both men glanced behind them. Emily stood in the doorway.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Emily said coolly. "I didn't know anyone else was in here."

Jess stood awkwardly, shoving his hands in his pockets. "You don't have to leave..."

"I don't want to impose," Emily replied.

"You're not," Jess reassured her. He gave Jimmy a quick glance. "We can... go... I've been in here a while..."

"No, it's fine," Emily said. "I'll just come back later."

"Or," Jimmy cut in. "We can all be in here... we're pretty much family now anyways."

Both Jess and Emily gave him the strangest of looks.

"What?" Jimmy asked, completely oblivious.

Emily sighed and slowly walked in, placing herself on the other side of the crib. "She's very pretty."

Jess nodded.

"Probably a lot better-looking than you were," Jimmy smirked.

"How would you know?" Jess shot back. It came out more serious than he'd meant for it to be.

Emily gave them a stare and then looked back down at Alice. "Where did that awful toy come from?"

Jess tensed a little. "It was mine."

"Why on earth would you give your daughter a used toy?" Emily asked. "It's probably dirty."

"Ran through the wash," Jess muttered.

Emily eyed the bear. "I see."

Jess rolled his eyes and snatched the bear back up, eliciting an unhappy whimper from his daughter. He walked out of the room, leaving Emily and Jimmy to stand in silence.

And then Alice started crying.

Jimmy sighed and lifted the infant up. "Hey... don't do that." He sighed and looked to Emily. "I think she wants the bear."

"I'll get her a new bear."

Jimmy rolled his eyes.

Emily looked slightly offended. "What?"

"Nothing."

"Well, you rolled your eyes," Emily accused. "It's obviously something."

"You got him upset," Jimmy replied. "You got my kid upset, okay?"

"Well, I apologize," Emily replied. "I just didn't see why my granddaughter should have old things."

Jimmy sighed. "It has sentimental value," he explained, over Alice's cries. "I bought that thing for him the day he was born, and he wanted to give it to Alice. Jeez."

"You bought that hideous thing for him?"

Jimmy groaned. "SASH!"

Emily rolled her eyes and walked out.

Jess rushed through the kitchen with Hephaestus in hand.

Rory stopped mid-sentence and watched him.

Lorelai watched as well. She turned to the door just in time to see her mother walk out. "And all my questions are answered."

Emily quietly helped herself to a mug and some coffee.

"Mom..."

"Yes, Lorelai?" Emily asked.

"What did you say to Jess?"

Rory's ears perked up and she got to her feet. "Why is Alice crying?" She walked in hurriedly.

Emily took a sip from her mug. "I merely pointed out that giving his daughter a used toy wasn't a good idea."

Lorelai blinked. "Used toy-"She stopped and sighed. "Mom..."

"It's filthy."

"It's been washed."

"It's old."

"It was Jess's."

"She deserves something nice!"

"It is nice!"

Rory walked into the kitchen, with a fussy Alice in her arms and Jimmy trailing her. She looked confused. "Why did Jess take Hephaestus out of the crib? She liked him..."

Lorelai sighed. "Ask your grandmother."

Rory blinked. "What?"

Jimmy rolled his eyes and walked past them. He did not want to be in the room when this exploded. Instead, he walked to the front door, grabbed his coat, and stepped onto the porch, where he found Jess, sitting on the porch swing, looking down at the little black bear.

"Hey."

Jess looked up and nodded. "Hi."

Jimmy sat down next to him. "I guess Emily Gilmore is above stuffed animals."

Jess shrugged. "Just old ones, I guess."

"Screw her," Jimmy said. "Your kid. If you want her to have a 25-year- old bear, go ahead."

"It was stupid, anyways," Jess muttered.

Jimmy rolled his eyes. "She liked the bear. She cried when you took it away."

"Yeah?"

Jimmy nodded.

"Huh."

"Listen," Jimmy said slowly. "Sasha and I were talking..."

"Never a good sign," Jess quipped.

Jimmy gave his head a playful shove. "Shut up for a minute... Sasha and I were talking... she wants me to stay here."

Jess stared at him. "Stay here? In Stars Hollow?"

"Stay... with you guys," Jimmy said. "And... help with the baby."

Jess smirked, obviously amused. "What do you know about babies?"

"Just about as much as you and Rory," Jimmy snapped lightly.

"I don't know, Jimmy..." Jess said uncertainly. "Everything's pretty up in the air right now..."

"Jess?"

Both Mariano's looked to the door to find Rory walking out to them, wearing an over-sized leather jacket.

"Hey," Jess said softly, getting to his feet. "It's getting cold. You shouldn't be out here."

She smiled and wrapped the jacket (his jacket, he noted) more securely around her. "I'm okay."

Jimmy cleared his throat a little. "I'm goin' in." He patted Jess on the shoulder. "We'll talk later.

He nodded as Jimmy walked in, and then turned to Rory. "Where's Alice?"

"Playing with Mom," Rory smiled brightly. "You should see them together. I don't know who's going to be more heartbroken when we go back to New York."

Jess gave her a small smile, and he played with the bear in his hands.

Rory looked down at it. "Come on. She really wants that back."

"We'll get her a new one," Jess said.

"No," Rory shook her head. "We agreed."

"It was a dumb idea."

"It wasn't."

"You must be tired," he said. "Let's go in. I'm getting cold."

"Give me the bear."

"Let's just throw it away," Jess urged.

She looked a little upset at this. "No. We both wanted to give Hephaestus to Alice. It doesn't matter what my grandmother says."

Jess didn't reply.

"Please?"

He sighed. "Rory... it's just a bear."

"Is not."

He went silent again.

She took his hand. "Come on. She wants it back."

He nodded slowly and they walked inside.