Aki- Some of you readers might think Rory gets too much to be a martyr, but it is part of the story. It is really hard to make people feel bad for Rory with the whole 'X-mas Miracles' fiasco hovering over her head. But Rory is going to get martyred some more before I discuss an important point many reviewers had in "Miracles," How Amber and Jess forgave her so fast, …or if they actually did.

A Date, a Jess, and a Conversation

Jess and Rory managed to get to Wednesday with no more arguments as well as being civil to each. They were sleeping in the same room again and talking, when necessary. It seemed both were living in the unspoken agreement that if you don't speak about it, I won't. But this meant no more meaningful conversations, no more playful debates about the credibility of authors, no more…anything.

Rory was sitting in front of her computer, biting the end of her pen out of habit, trying to come up with the perfect word as she was editing one of her articles.

"Hey, Mom," said Amber as she entered the room.

Rory checked her watch surprised that Amber was home from school already, "Hey, hon." And then after seeing her smile added, "What are you so happy about."

"I'm going out tonight," Amber answered with a twinkle in her eye.

"Oh, with your girlfriends?" asked Rory, wanting clarification.

"No," said Amber, obviously having planned to build up to this dramatic moment, "I have a date."

"With who?"

"A guy," answered Amber cryptically.

"Well, I hoped so," replied Rory. "Who is this guy?" she asked, not in a worried mother way, but an interested friend way.

"Me and Cassie met him at the mall, we ran into him at the smoothie stand-,"

"Ah, the smoothie stand move," Rory said as she nodded as in approval. Amber gave her mother a weird look. "I really don't know what I'm talking about. I never hung out at the mall."

Amber rolled her eyes and then continued with her story. "Well, we ran into at the smoothie stand and we got to talking about what schools we went to and such, we had some good laughs, then parted ways. Never thought I would see him again in my life and then today he was outside of school waiting for me at the end of the day. He told me he couldn't stop thinking about me and then asked me out on a date," Amber concluded with a glowing smile on her face.

"That's so cute," crooned Rory, a girl who was sucker for a good romance.

"And you know the best part was?" quizzed Amber.

"What?" asked Rory in anticipation despite herself.

"Brendan saw the whole thing," concluded Amber, almost vindictively, "You should have seen the look on his face."

"Oh," said Rory with disappointment in here tone, but Amber didn't notice.

"I've got to get ready," said Amber, as though it just suddenly hit her and she rushed off to her room. Rory followed her to find her ravaging through her closet.

"Amber?"

"Umm?"

"Do you like this guy?"

"Yeah, that's why I'm going on a date with him," Amber answered as she pulled several shirts off their hangers.

"What's his name?" asked Rory.

Amber stopped and looked at her mother before answering, "Devon."

"What's his last name?
Amber bit her bottom lip, but did not answer.

"You don't know?"

Amber shook her head reluctantly.

"Amber," said Rory walking over to her daughter, "I just want to make sure you are not just dating this guy to get back at Brendan. I've done that before and it is not a good reason to date someone."

"Mom, jeez, I'm not. I like Devon."

"If you say so," Rory gave in.

"I say so. Now I need to change." Rory took the message and left.

An hour or two later there was a knock on the door.

"Mom, can you get that. I'm not ready," yelled Amber a few rooms away.

"Got it," Rory yelled back as she went to the front door. She opened it to reveal the boy with dark brown, almost black hair in a leather jacket standing behind it.

"Hello, you must be Devon. I'm Amber's mom, Rory," greeted Rory politely with a bright smile.

Devon just nodded, expression grim and replied, "Hey."

Rory smile shrank a little bit, "Well, Amber will be out in a minute."

Devon's head bobbed in a slight nod.

"She's just finishing up," added Rory.

Devon nodded again.

"Well, come on in." Rory invited him in and shut the door behind him. He stood uncomfortably by the wall. Rory opened her mouth as to say something, but after a second thought, closed it and walked away.

"Oh, Devon," said Amber with smile when she came into the living room wearing jeans that looked like she out grew them years ago with a baby blue tank top decorated with rhinestones that brought out her eyes with more makeup than she usually did.

"Hey," he replied, though this time with slightest hint of a smile, wrapping an arm around her waist.

"Mom, we're going," Amber told her mother loudly as she and Devon exited the apartment.

"Remember curfew," Rory shouted after her as the door slammed close. She lay back on the couch and sighed.

Not long later, when Jess arrived home, he found his wife laying on the couch with a strange expression on her face, staring at the ceiling. Jess approached her slowly and observed her curiously.

"Are you okay?" he asked carefully.

"Amber's on a date tonight," said Rory. Not really answering the question.

"Oh, with who?"

"Devon," Rory said with a certain amount of contempt in her voice.

"What's he like?" asked Jess, sitting down on the couch by her feet.

"Dally Winston," answered Rory without missing a beat as though she had been deliberating this.

"Who?"

"Character from The Outsiders."

"I'm not up on the who's who in The Outsiders, but the mere fact that that is character in that book is probably not a good sign."

"I know."

"Care to give me further description…?"
Rory turned over on the couch and buried her face in her arms and then lifted her head to exclaim with anguish, "He's a Jess."

"No," said Jess is utter disbelief on several levels. One, because he couldn't belief that stupid conversation and its analogies were coming back to haunt him and, two, he would never imagine his daughter ending up with someone like that.

Rory nodded in tortured way. "He's got the hair," said Rory, placing her pointer fingers by the side of her head to demonstrate. "And the jacket and the whole monosyllable thing going on and…and…,"

"And?" asked Jess, prodding her on.

"And he wouldn't talk to me or around me. He just looked at me with this utter disdain because I was an adult or a parent or an authority figure or something," concluded Rory sitting up on the couch.

"Ror, it will be okay," comforted Jess, "I'll threaten him when the come back at the end of the date."

Rory looked at him and raised her eyebrows in question, "Were you easily intimidated?"
"No, but I think I am a lot scarier than your mom…"
"Obviously then you've never seen her when she has just woken up in the morning," said Rory with smiled.

Jess snorted.

It was just a simple and crazy conversation, but it was indescribably nice. After their fight and the way they had shunned each other the last few days it was nice to be able to talk again, to laugh together, and to just be together…

Next chapter- Amber comes home from her date…late