A/N: originally I had intended to have Jess and Rory apart for a few more chapters but I was looking over my notes for this story and I don't like what I have planned. So I think I'm going to reunite them a little sooner. But I'm still not sure well see where this chapter takes us because as I'm writing this note I'm deleting the whole chapter and starting fresh. Wish me luck. Hehe.

Chapter 8: It's my Life...but it's Scary.

Stars Hollow…

Lorelai and Rory had been back from Europe for a few days now. Lorelai went back to work and Rory had been staying close to home.

She was currently sitting on her bed holding a copy of Howl. The first book Jess ever 'borrowed' from her. She missed him so much and couldn't wait for him to come home. Lorelai booked her a doctor's appointment for a few days from now. She would find out how far along she was. Although she had a pretty good idea that it happened her and Jess's last night together.

As she was sitting there thinking about Jess and the baby, someone burst through the door.

"RORY!" Lorelai yelled into her silent house. When she got no response she walked over to her daughters room.

"Hey sweets." Lorelai greeted her daughter. "Why didn't you answer me when I called?"

"Sorry mom, I was just thinking."

"About?" Lorelai questioned.

"Jess and the baby."

"Oh, I've been thinking about them too."

"And Yale."

"Have you decided what you're going to do about that?"

"Not yet, but I have decided that I love my baby and I want to be around to see it grow up."

"I don't understand?"

"Well I don't want to be an international correspondent anymore. My baby means to much to me to go off traveling."

"So what do you want to do about it?

"Well I was thinking that I could become a writer or go into teaching."

"Honey that sounds great to me."

"Thanks mom, I'm glad you understand."

"Remember what I told you before. I will always be here for you and support you throughout everything."

"Okay then there is something else I want to tell you."

"Alright, go ahead."

"Well I was thinking that I could start school after the baby is born and a little older."

"Rory." Lorelai started.

"Mom, you said you would support me."

Oh Hon I do, I just always wanted you to get a great education."

"And I promise I will get one. It just might happen a little later."

"Ugh, Alright sweets what do you want to do for diner?"

"Let's go to Luke's I really want a burger and Onion rings."

"Uhmm about Luke."

"What?"

"ikindoftoldhimyouwerepregnant."

"Mom!"

"I know but I had to tell him why he had to pick us up at the airport early."

"I really wanted Jess to be the first to know."

"I know, and I'm sorry."

"It's okay mom, lets just go and you can tell him not to tell anyone else."

"Deal, lets go get some food, I'm starving."

XxXxXxX

New York…

"Hey man, I'm heading out." Jess called to Eric as he grabbed his wallet.

"'K See ya later." Eric replied.

Jess left the apartment and got on the subway to go run his errand.

He arrived at his destination about 20 minutes later. He went into the shop and the employee behind the counter sized him up.

"Can I help you?" He questioned

"Uh yeah, I'm looking for a ring."

"Well there's a pawn shop around the corner, I'm sure you can get a nice one there."

"I think I'll be able to find what I'm looking for here?"

"Fine be my guest, what type of ring are you looking for?"

"An engagement ring."

"Okay, we have a nice selection over here, but they may be a little pricey for you."

"I'm sure they will be fine." Jess had been saving money for this ring since he started dating Rory. He had fallen in love with her they day he met her. At the moment he was able to buy Rory the ring of her dreams. As he was looking at all the rings behind the glass cabinet he was reliving a moment in his past. A moment spent with his one true love.

"What ya doing?" He asked her.

"Looking through a magazine." She replied.

"Why?" He asked again trying to get her worked up so they could have some fun.

"Because I want to." Was her reply with a smirk on her lips.

Jess looked over his girlfriends shoulder and saw the page she was looking at. It was an add for an antique jewelry store. It had pictures of rings, necklaces, earrings, and bracelets.

"Is that the kind of jewelry that you like?" He asked her.

"Yeah, I guess I really like the look of the older things."

"Huh" Jess said as he stole the magazine from her.

"Hey I was reading that!" Rory exclaimed. Jess just tossed the magazine aside and pulled Rory onto his lap.

"Not anymore." He said before kissing her.

Jess sighed at the memory and reached for his wallet. He pulled out a folded piece of paper. He opened it up and showed it to the clerk behind the desk.

"Do you have any antique engagement rings?"

"Yes, we keep them over here in this cabinet." The clerk pointed and Jess walked over to take a good look. He glanced at them all quickly before he had to do a double take. He spotted a ring and he immediately knew that this was the one.

The ring was white gold and it had a large square cut diamond in the middle and 2 smaller diamonds on each side of it. He pointed to it and the clerk took it out of the case.

"Ah good choice, this is about 55 years old. It's a European style and it's $795.00." The clerk said he was about to say something rude and Jess new it.

"I'll take it." Jess said pulling out his credit card. The man behind the counter was speechless as he pulled out all the necessary forms for Jess to sign.

XxXxXxX

Stars Hollow…

Lorelai and Rory were sitting around the house the next day. Rory was deep in thought while reading and Lorelai was flipping through the channels. There was nothing on TV so she was getting very bored.

"Lets do something fun." She said as she hit the power button and turned off the TV.

"I need to get a job." Rory suddenly said.

"Well that's not very fun." Lorelai replied.

"Mom be serious for a moment."

"Fine, why do you want to get a job?" She asked.

"Because I have a baby to support."

"Oh right, I forgot."

"How could you forget….Grandma!" Rory said with a teasing voice. Lorelai just mumbled something. Then a few moments passed in silence.

"So where are you going to get a job?" Lorelai asked.

"At Luke's." Rory responded.

"Oh, did you already ask him?"

"Nope, but all go do that now." Rory said as she got up and headed for the door.

"Okay sweets, have fun and bring me back some coffee. I want the employee discount."

"Sure thing mom."

At Luke's…

"Hey Luke!" Rory said the most cheerful voice she had.

"Hey Rory, what can I get ya?"

"A job." Rory stated.

"What?" Luke was confused.

"Luke I'm going to have a baby, I need to make some money. And mom and I have helped you here a lot so I already know how to do everything."

"Okay, on one condition." Luke said.

"What is it?"

"If you feel sick or tired or if anything is wrong that might hurt you or the baby you stop working for a while and take it easy." Rory thought about it and decided the terms were fair.

"Deal, when do I start?"

" Now, here's an order pad. You can start by taking that tables order." Luke pointed to Kirks table.

"Thanks Luke!" Rory said as she made her way over to take Kirks order.

"Hey Kirk what can I get you?" Rory asked.

"Hello Rory I didn't know you worked here." Kirk said.

"Yep it's my first shift. What can I get you?"

"Let's see, I think I would like a peanut butter and blueberry jam sandwich, on white bread because I don't like the chunks of grains in the other type of bread. And a glass of milk." Kirk told Rory his order and Rory wrote it down on the notepad.

"Okay Kirk, will that be all?"

"Umm well could you cut the crusts off the bread?"

Sure thing, I'll be back in a minute with your drink." Rory said as she walked to the kitchen.

A few day's later…

"Rory, what time is your doctors appointment?" Luke asked as she came into work that day.

"Uhmm, at 3:30 this after noon." Rory said quietly. Luke noticed something was wrong.

"What's wrong?" He asked her. All of a sudden she burst into tears.

"Lets go upstairs and talk about this." Luke yelled to Caesar to watch the place and he'd be back in a minute.

"Rory, what's the matter?" Luke asked. He didn't really know how to comfort her so he thought it best to ask directly.

"I miss him so much and I can't do this without him." Rory said through tears.

"Ror, you won't do this without him, when he gets back you and him will get through this together."

"Well I don't want to wait till he gets back, I'm not going to my first doctor's appointment without him." Rory stated as she got up drying her tear stained face.

"I'm guessing your going to take full use of you conditional job today?" Luke asked with a smile on his face.

"If that's okay with you."

"It's fine by me, call me when you're ready to come back to work."

"Okay thanks Luke." Rory left the diner and headed home. She Pulled Jess's letter out of the copy of Howl she kept it in and packed a bag with a change of clothes and all the things she would need for a few days. She scribbled a note telling her mother where she would be and then picked up the keys to Jess's car.

On the road…

Rory had been driving for about half an hour when she remembered she had to call the doctor to cancel the appointment. Luckily Lorelai had programmed her phone with the number to the doctor's office in case of an emergency. She dialed the number and waited for a reply.

"Hello Doctor Scott Adam's office, how may I help you?"

"Hi, I'm Lorelai Gilmore and I would like to cancel my appointment for this afternoon."

"Okay, is there a reason as to why you can't make it?"

"Yes, I had to go out of town for a family emergency."

"Okay, call us when you get back and well set up another appointment for you."

"Alright thank you very much." Rory said as she hung up the phone. She continued driving to New York. She was going to find Jess and bring him home.

"Once in the city she pulled out a map to find the right directions. Once she located the street she headed in that direction and parked her car. She got out and headed up to the doors. An old man was just leaving and he held the door open for her so she didn't have to buzz up to be let in. This made her happy she could surprise him even more. She just hoped that it would be a good surprise.

She walked in and found door 16. She waited a moment and then knocked. A boy about Jess's age answered the door, and looked at her funny.

"Hi, I'm looking for Jess Mariano." Rory said timidly.

"Oh, he's not here right now but he should be back soon. Your welcome to come in and wait." Eric said noticing her duffel bag. He figured she didn't have anywhere else to go.

"I'm Eric by the way, his roommate."

"I'm Rory, his girlfriend."

"Ah, it's nice to meet you. He's told me all about you." Eric said.

"He wrote me a letter saying that he was staying here, but that's all I know." Rory replied

"Yeah, he filled me in on the situation. That's his room over there; you can go in and put your stuff down. I have to get to work. He should be back soon he just went to get some food. You can hang out here or in his room." Rory nodded.

"Thanks."

"No problem, see ya later." Eric left the apartment.

Rory wandered into Jess's room. She saw all the familiar books and CD's. She walked over to his closet and found all of his clothes. She pulled out one of his sweatshirts and pulled it over her head. It smelled like him. She let a yawn escape and decided she would take a nap until he came back. She curled up on his bed and promptly fell asleep.

A/N: I know Lorelai agreed with everything that Rory was telling her, but I need her to be supportive and She knows first hand what raising a baby is like. I know people go to school and have kids all the time, but I also know that their schoolwork and children can suffer because of it. So I chose to have Rory take some time off.

I put a link to the ring that I picked out in my profile.

Thanks everyone for all of the reviews!

lackinglime123 – Thanks!

DarkAngel88 – Thanks I hope you liked this chapter.

halley11 – I hope this chapter is long enough for you!

Mezz – Thanks for the review.

Gilmoregirl7878 – I can't wait for you to read about his reaction. I hope you like it.

Caitlin – Thanks.

nessquik13 – Thanks.

the Desert Fox – Thanks so much for your reviews. I love them they always give me great ideas. I will be sure to put that line in. I have an idea for it but it's in a few chapters. Jimmy knows about Rory because Jess told him about her in chapter 2 and they also talked about her in chapter 6.

Gilmore-Buffy-Fan13 – Thanks so much, I also LOVE your story Love, Fear and Hate! EVERYONE should read it! And don't worry I have no plans to make Jess leave. I love him too much.

kat461 – I know it's over done, but I like the topic.

Mr.Tre Cool – Thanks for the review.

TiCkLeDpInK22 – Thanks for your review, when I read it, it puts me in a great mood!

LitJJfan3 – Thanks so much.

Soph – Thanks for the review.

BassClarinetSweetie – I just couldn't keep them apart for to long.

Regina Halliwell – Thanks!

Sanfrangiantsfan – I agree that the town is really nosey but I wanted to add a little Babette to my story!