Aki- Here is the next chapter. It has Jess.

Of boyfriends and breakups

"That bast-"

"Jess!" snapped Rory to silence him.

"What! You're thinking it too," retorted Jess.

"No I'm not. Brandon was a nice kid."

"Nice kid? How can you say that when he just broke our daughter's heart," asked Jess angrily, "I hate him."

"Of course you do," explained Rory, "You're the father. It's like a rule that you have to hate every boyfriend she ever has, before, during and after."

Jess huffed and crossed his arms, "I did hate him when they went out on their first date. I definitely hate him now. But during the middle, I kinda got used to him."

"Told you, nice kid. But you only liked him because you could threaten him."

"Not true," protested Jess.

Rory raised her eyebrows skeptically.

"Fine, very true," shrugged Jess before collapsing on the couch. Rory sat down next to him and he put an arm around her shoulder.

"Is she going to be okay?" he asked.

Rory sighed, "She will be, eventually. Breakups are hard, especially with first boyfriends."

"I know," agreed Jess, "I mean when I broke up with my first boyfriend…"

Rory rolled her eyes at him.

"Seriously though, why did they break up?"

Rory shook her head, "I don't know."

"You don't?" he asked skeptically.

"Nope."

"So you don't know who dumped who? What caused it?"

Rory gave a half shrug, "Amber didn't say. I asked her about it, but when I did she got this look on her face. A look I had worn before myself…"

After a moment of silence Jess questioned, "Care to explain."

Rory half-sighed, "It was the same expression I wore after I broke up with Dean."

"Which time?" asked Jess almost mockingly.

Rory glared at him before answering, "The first time."

"The time he told you he loved you and you couldn't say it back and he got all offended."

"Yes, that time," replied Rory, before she paused in thought, "Huh…"

"What?"

"I just realized that that happened with you too."

"What?" repeated Jess, this time confused.

"You also told me that you loved me, and I couldn't say it back and got all upset when I hadn't contacted you about anything," said Rory sitting up straight in thought.

"I wasn't upset," defended Jess.

"Okay," agreed Rory before muttering under her breath, "Not what Luke said…"

"Back to the point…" begged Jess.

Rory clapped her hands together in excitement, "Ooo, and both Dean and you told me you loved me at the Firelight Festival…what are the chances."

"Can we please get back to what the infamous breakup with Dean expression that Amber was also wearing means!" said Jess exasperatedly.

"Oh, calm down cowboy," Rory deadpanned.

Jess glared.

"Okay, the look on her face means that maybe Amber and Brendan's breakup wasn't Brendan's fault. Maybe it was Amber's, or she blames herself for it, thus she is embarrassed, if that is the right word for it, to tell me or anyone else what really happened."

"But why would she care so much is it was her fault."

"Well, I know from experience, that she doesn't want anyone to reaffirm that it was her fault or tell her how she should have handled it and go on and on about what might have been."

Jess laid his head back on the couch cushion to stare at the ceiling, "Girls are confusing."

"I prefer the terms complex and deep."

"Whatever you want, honey," mumbled Jess in reply.

Rory snuggled into his chest and rested her head on his shoulder and the couple sat in a blissful silence for a few moments.

"Whatcha thinking?" asked Rory."

Jess sighed and answered, "He was her Dean."

"What?" asked Rory, sitting up, perplexed.

"Brendan, he was Amber's Dean. Her good first boyfriend. The one who treats her right and won't dare try anything, who is polite to the parents, and is the perfect guy."

"What the big deal?"

"You know what comes after the good first boyfriend?"

Rory gave Jess an odd look, but did not answer.

"Me," Jess answered pointing to himself, "The bad-boy boyfriend. The one the lives on the edge and smokes cigarettes, if we're lucky, and fights and skips school, if he is even in school, and doesn't actually care about the girl."

"Hey!" exclaimed Rory offended.

"Well, not me," Jess defended, "But guys like me."

"You really passionate about this aren't you?" asked Rory, smiling from contained laughter and Jess' outbreak.

"Yes, I am."

"You don't want Amber dating a Jess."

"Nope, not a Logan either, but an early Dean, not the Dean that cheats on his wife."

"Did we really need to bring that up?" asked Rory pointedly.

"No," said Jess, leaning back into the couch.

"You know what?" asked Rory.

"What?"

"You're really sexy when you get all fatherly and protective like this," smiled Rory.

"Really?" smirked Jess, "I'll have to see what I can do about that." Jess snaked an arm around his wife's waist and pulled her close to him. Running his free hand through her hair the two kissed, long and passionately.

When Rory pulled back to catch her breath she cocked her head to the side in thought, "A Marty wouldn't be bad either."

"What are you talking about, woman?"

Next chapter- A Jess and Amber father-daughter moment