A/N: Hello fantastic readers! Our story continues. There's a lot of series recap in this chapter, but plenty of new content, too. Some things may be a little OOC, but it makes me happy so there it is. Read read read and let me know what you think!

Chapter 7

The next few weeks passed with a contended ease. Lorelai ended up delighting in repeatedly thanking Jess for kickstarting Rory's life changes, simply because Jess took great annoyance at being thanked for something he didn't think he deserved a whole lot of thanks for. His irritation only fueled Lorelai on, and she took credit for when he left to return to Philadelphia, no matter how many times Rory explained that he had a life and a job there. Rory was ecstatic to be back into Stars Hollow, and, though a little overwhelmed at the many exclamations of welcome that came from the townspeople, she felt loved.

As Rory settled into life back in the Hollow, she called Paris to ask if she knew of any housing available near the Yale campus. Mid-year, Rory knew it was going to be a challenge to find anything remotely close to any of her classes. Paris, not at all surprised at Rory's announcement that she was coming back to school, let her know that she and her boyfriend Doyle had an unused room in their apartment and that Rory was welcome to it if she wanted it. Rory gladly took her up on the offer, laughing at the fact that she and Paris were living together yet again.

Before Jess left for Philly, he and Rory promised each other to keep in contact over the phone. They both felt the tension that resulted from their hug but for fear of ruining their friendship, both stayed quiet on the subject. They more than kept their promise and talked on the phone almost daily keeping the other person up to date with the monotony of their day-to-day lives. Talking was comfortable in a way that was somehow also exciting, returning to their banter and book-talk with ease. They were happy and content in their platonic yet innocently flirtatious relationship. It felt safe – a feeling that neither Jess nor Rory had felt in a very long time.

November came and went as Rory found a routine, grateful to spend Thanksgiving with her loved ones. She and Lorelai spent the day at Luke's surrounded by friends. Luke hosted the meal at the diner for his Gilmore Girls and all the crazy, annoying, and somehow also endearing residents of Stars Hollow. Anyone and everyone came into Luke's at one point or another that day, the Gilmore-Danes-Mariano clan the only ones staying the whole day. Rory felt blissfully happy to spend her time watching and listening, reveling in the boisterous noise that came with the members of her tightknit town. It also goes to say that she was not unhappy to spend time talking to Jess in person. Jess normally attempted to get out of Thanksgiving with family, saying he had to work or he had plans with his roommates, mainly to avoid having to see his mother more than absolutely necessary. But Rory had convinced him to come this year, a task that took very little effort. She felt butterflies in her stomach every time he flashed her his beautiful, crooked smile, or gave her a these-people-should-be-institutionalized look, or a save-me-from-Miss-Patty-she's-about-to-eat-me-alive look from across the room. Rory wouldn't know for quite some time, but her brilliant blue eyes and bubbling laugh and the blush that rose in her cheeks with they made eye contact caused similar butterflies to flutter in Jess's stomach.

Thanksgiving also came with a surprise call from Rory's father whom she hadn't talked to in many months. As it turned out, Christopher had come into some inheritance – inheritance he wanted to shower Rory and her mother with. Lorelai graciously declined, but Rory quickly saw the opportunity to get further out of her grandparents' reach and asked him to pay for the rest of her tuition at Yale. Christopher agreed cheerfully, happy to be able to do something good for his firstborn. For Rory, everything was finally feeling right.

But as everything settled into a happy new normal for Rory, her mother was having to deal with her own major life adjustments. That first day, Luke and Lorelai talked about his daughter, April. But despite their discussion they never reached any conclusion as to what life was going to look like. Luke knew he wanted to be a part of April's life now that he knew she existed, and Lorelai was happy with that. He had always been a better father to Rory than her own father and knew he would thrive as a father to his own child, and as Lorelai adjusted to the concept, she became more excited about April's presence in their lives.

But Luke was struggling to let Lorelai in. Lorelai wanted to finally set a wedding date, to meet April, to find their own new normal. But Luke always wrestled with change, and at that time there was an enormous amount of it occurring in his life. After a month of tension and lack of communication, Lorelai had had enough.

One afternoon, after much thinking, debating, coffee, and sugar, Lorelai marched into the diner with determination. The door swung open and the diner went silent as Lorelai yelled "Luke!" into the silence. Luke stuck his head out of the diner kitchen, wiping his hands on a rag. "Lorelai, what's going on?" As soon as she saw her fiancé, she marched behind the counter grabbed him by the arm and led him upstairs into the small apartment. Luke objected the whole way.

"Lorelai, what the hell—what are you doing? Would you let go of me?" He tripped on the stairs, walking up them at an awkward angle as Lorelai refused to break contact. "Jeez, one of us is going to break our neck. Lorelai, come on, what is going on? Would you just talk to me?"

Lorelai walked them into the apartment, closed the door, and turned to face him.

"No. I want you to talk to me. I've had enough of this, this small talk and pleasantries. Weeks of small talk and pleasantries! I'm done with the small talk and pleasantries! You have a kid! Yes! That is huge! But I am your future wife! That is not insignificant! And hey, if we are still getting married, because lately I'm not so sure that that's going to happen, that kid is going to be my step kid! Now, I'm not saying I want to be her new mommy and to have late night conversations about pimples and periods and how Jenny has a crush on Johnny, but I at least want to meet her! Hell, I'd like to just hear about her! This changes my life too and dammit, Luke, it's terrifying! But you haven't said anything to me in the past few weeks, nothing of significance, which is even more terrifying! If you're still in this, I need you to talk to me. Really talk. So, that's why we're here. Talk." Lorelai looked at Luke expectantly, trying to catch her breath, hands on her hips.

Luke was dumfounded. He stood gaping at Lorelai, scared to speak but scared to stay quiet.

"You're right," he croaked.

Lorelai folded her arms across her chest. "What?" She was still angry, but the anger was rapidly mixing with confusion. Her tenacity wavered.

Luke cleared his throat, arms folded across his chest, staring at his feet. "I said, you're right. You're right, I haven't said anything, I haven't been talking to you. And you're right, this is affecting your life too. I just…" Luke turned to look out the window. "I'm scared, Lorelai. I'm so scared. I'm scared I won't be a good father. That my presence in her life will do more harm than good." He turned to face Lorelai. Her eyes were brimming with tears. "I love her, Lorelai. She is such a cool kid. You know better than anyone that I'm not the biggest fan of kids, but she's a kid I actually like hanging out with, which I know sounds crazy coming out of my mouth. But she's funny! And she's smart! Who knew my kid could wind up being smart? And she's this… this whole person that's existed on this earth for 12 whole years, and I was robbed of those years. And dammit, that makes me furious!" He walked over to Lorelai and put his hands on her arms, his voice becoming determined. "There's no way in hell I'm going to waste any more time with her. But I've been an idiot. I've been wasting time with you. You're right. You deserve to meet her, to know her, to find out yourself how cool she is. Me being a father is terrifying. But hell… losing you is scarier. So yes, even if I have to drag you there myself, I am damn sure I am going to marry you, Lorelai Gilmore. We're going to work this out. I'll do better. It might take more poking and prodding and I'm sure as hell not going to be great at it, but I'm going to do better."

Lorelai was stunned. But at that very moment, she was more in love with Luke than she'd ever been.

"Well, I think it's time you turn in your 'King of the Monosyllable' crown, because you definitely talked. Wow, did you talk…" She reached up and kissed him. Luke leaned into the kiss, one hand running up through her hair and the other wrapping tightly around her waist. There were more details to work out, more discussion to be had. But those things could wait. They locked the door to the apartment and stumbled their way to the bed, both very sure that they'd had enough talking for that particular afternoon.

A week later, a date was set. Luke and Lorelai would be getting married on June 3rd. Once the date was set, everything else seemed to fall into place. When Lorelai told Rory things were finally in motion, Rory burst into happy tears and couldn't stop hugging her mother and hopping gleefully at the same time. Before long, Sookie and Rory had teamed together as bridesmaids and BFOTBs (best friends of the bride) to plan everything, forcing Lorelai to sit still and make decisions aided by gallons of coffee served by Luke with a grimace and a lecture about what the caffeine must be doing to their nervous systems. And somehow, in one afternoon outing, the three women had found and planned everything. A wedding dress, bridesmaid dresses, a suit for Luke, suits for his groomsmen, a caterer, flowers, invitations, and finally they decided to have the wedding at the Dragonfly Inn. Lorelai had been spending time getting to know April, and though she was a little older than was typical, Luke and Lorelai had decided to ask her to be the flower girl, an opportunity that excited April more than expected as she had never had the chance to be a flower girl when she was little. Soon after talking to April, it was decided that Lorelai's dog, Paul Anka, would be the ring bearer. It took a lot of convincing on Luke's part to get Lorelai to agree to that position for her beloved canine instead of best man, finally agreeing it would probably be best for photos if Jess were to take that position instead. Everything had fallen into place, just in time for the first snow.

As per tradition, Rory and Lorelai took their midnight walk in the first snow of the season. They savored their walk a little bit extra that night, because directly after Christmas Rory would be moving back to New Haven to settle into her new place before starting school. The women walked arm-in-arm, bundled up in their coziest pajamas and winter coats, basking in the silence that fell with the snow. They made it to the town square and sat on the bench in the gazebo, covering themselves with a blanket and watching the snow turn their little town into a peaceful winter wonderland. Rory gazed at her little town and became wistful as it hit her that she was leaving again. She was scared. Scared she'd screw up again, scared she couldn't do it, scared Mitchum was right about her. She sighed heavily and leaned her head on Lorelai's shoulder.

"I don't want to go back to school."

"Oh no, don't start this again. Do I need to get Luke to stage an intervention? You know, last time you left he wanted to kidnap you and stalk you to make sure you went to your classes. It sounds creepy, but it was actually pretty sweet."

Rory chuckled. "No, I just mean… I don't want to leave Stars Hollow again already. I'm happy here. I robbed myself of five months here, five months with you. It just makes me sad to leave."

Lorelai held her daughter's hand a little tighter. "I know, hon. But remember, New Haven is a short drive from here. Your room will always be waiting for you and mommy's happy to come see you in your scary apartment all the time."

"You haven't even seen the apartment yet! I haven't even seen it! How do you know it'll be scary?"

"Rory. Honey. It's New Haven," Lorelai said with a disgusted expression.

"You have a very low opinion of where I go to school," Rory said with a smirk.

"No, you go to school at Yale. I like Yale! It's New Haven that's… blech." Lorelai stuck out her tongue.

Rory laughed. "Okay, fine. Have your opinion. Just promise me you'll give the apartment a chance."

Lorelai side-eyed her daughter. "I promise… that I'll try… to maybe, possibly… give it a chance."

"Fine, I'll take it."

They fell back into a peaceful silence that was soon interrupted by the buzzing of Rory's phone.

"Jeez, it's late, who on earth is texting you at this hour?"

Rory looked at her phone and blushed. "Oh, it's uh, it's Jess."

Lorelai looked at her daughter with shock. "Jess? Town-hoodlum-Jess?"

"Mom, I thought you liked him better now. Remember? He got your precious little girl back on the straight and narrow?"

"Okay, fine. Jess, formally-known-as-the-town-hoodlum-now-reformed-author-man-who-helped-my-daughter-Jess?"

Rory rolled her eyes. "Yes, that Jess, though I think he'd prefer a shorter title."

Lorelai turned in her seat on the bench to get a clearer look at Rory. "How long have you and Jess been talking? And at such a late hour, I might add."

"Since he helped me move."

"Really… well, what do you guys talk about?" Lorelai asked in voice that sounded as if she was trying not to care but failing miserably. She was trying not to pry too deeply but desperately wanted details.

Rory knew what her mother was doing and had a similar desperate need to keep things as normal as possible and therefore supplied the vaguest answer possible. "Nothing, really. Books, life. Kind of anything and everything."

"Huh. Well, I guess I noticed you two were pretty friendly at Thanksgiving, but I guess I just attributed it to your history."

Rory looked at her mother with wide eyes. "Wait, we looked friendly? How friendly? Like, 'Chandler and Joey' friendly or 'Chandler and Monica' friendly?"

"Okay, one, since when do you watch so much Friends, and two, who in this situation is the Chandler?"

"One, there was a marathon on TV last weekend and Lane was busy, two, me, obviously, and three, please answer the question!"

"Okay, jeez, sorry!" Lorelai was stifling laughter at her daughter's sudden panic. "Why does it matter so much?" She paused, a thought barreling its way through her mind. "Wait. Oh my God… Do you like Jess?"

Rory froze in place, wishing she could cease to exist and become one with the snow falling around them. She blushed, hoping and praying that the chill in the air would hide the embarrassment.

"Oh my God! You're blushing!" The chill had failed. "You like Jess? Rory! You like Jess!"

"Say it louder please, I don't think they heard you in Woodbridge!" Rory glanced around to see if anyone had been around to hear her mother's declaration. She had never been more grateful for a town that seems to collectively go to bed by 9:00pm.

"You aren't denying it!" Lorelai had lowered her voice.

Rory avoided eye contact. "I mean… I don't know… maybe, a little…"

"Oh my God!" Lorelai's voice had returned to its previous volume.

"Mom! Quiet or this conversation is over!" she pouted.

"Okay, sorry, lowering volume now." She mimicked turning a volume dial. "So… Jess. Again." Lorelai looked into the distance, remembering the hurt Luke's troublemaking nephew had caused her daughter.

"Not necessarily, it's probably just what you said, our history. Plus, he's probably moved on by now," Rory said a little sadly.

"Oh no, trust me, he hasn't. You two were definitely Chandler-and-Monica-friendly on Thanksgiving."

"Wait, what?!" It was Rory's turn to raise her voice.

"Are you kidding? The stolen glances, the smirks turning into grins, the way you barely talked to anyone but each other when you were in the same room." Lorelai's memory of Thanksgiving played itself like a mental movie as her shoulders fell in disappointment. "Drat, I'm a little disappointed in myself for not putting the pieces together sooner."

"So…" Rory took a shaky breath and turned to meet Lorelai's eyes. "If there were to someday, maybe, in the distant future, possibly be a me and Jess again… what would your thoughts be on that particular subject?"

Lorelai took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Honestly?"

Rory nodded.

"Honestly, kid, it scares me. Not as much as it did when you guys were in high school. But not an insignificant amount." Rory's shoulders fell. "Rory, I saw how much he hurt you back then. Even if you didn't want me to, I saw it. And I saw it when he popped in here to drop the 'I love you' bomb. And I saw it every time the topic of Jess came up since then. But… I can see he's changed. Really, you've both changed. You're older now. Wiser." Lorelai sighed thoughtfully. "You two seem, as much as it physically pains me to say it… almost, maybe, possibly… kind of good for each other." Rory brightened. "Just promise me you'll be very, very careful."

"I promise, mom. I'm scared, too. Trust me, I remember the hurt too. But also, he's not the only one that did the hurting. I hurt him, too." Rory said quietly. "Like you said, we've both grown and changed a lot since in the past few years. Talking with him is easy and comfortable and, despite our rough history, he makes me feel safe."

Lorelai's eyes misted over. "That's all I could ever ask for, hon." Lorelai desperately needed to lighten the mood. "Promise me you'll be careful in multiple ways."

Rory looked at her mother. "Huh?" Lorelai raised her eyebrows and smiled mischievously.

It suddenly dawned on Rory as to what her mother was alluding to. "Oh, gross, mom!"

"Aw, come on! You've had the hots for this guy for years! You told me when you were 17 that you were thinking about it, you've got to be thinking about it now!"

Rory stood up and stalked down the gazebo steps and away from her mother. "I'm going home!"

Lorelai stood up to follow her refusing to stop teasing. "Oh, come on, Rory, admit it! You've been pining for him, wanting him, desiring him!" she said in a voice not unlike that of a southern belle.

"Mom, be quiet!" Rory hissed, picking up speed.

Lorelai chased after Rory. "Just promise mommy, no glove no love!"

"I'm going to throw up!" Despite herself, Rory started to laugh.

Lorelai caught up to Rory and they continued to giggle like twelve-year-old girls the whole walk home.

Later that night, or rather, early the next morning, as she laid in bed unable to sleep, Rory admitted to herself: She was thinking about it. About it. With Jess, specifically. She rolled her eyes at herself, suddenly feeling childish and stupid to be overthinking this. She had originally wanted Jess to be her first, but life and bad decisions had gotten in the way of her plan. She deeply regretted the situation in which she did lose her virginity. She felt a wave of nausea at the memory and tossed and turned in her bed. Jess had, unknowingly, been a contributing factor there, as well. He had shown up, begging her to run away with him, confusing the hell out of her. She had taken that confusion and used her married ex-boyfriend, Dean, to try to get rid of it. Dean was stable, reliable. Jess was not. In her 19-year-old mind, she felt strongly that Dean was the right choice. Only, her actions had only complicated things further and hurt people permanently. Not long after that, she met Logan. She felt a kind of vague sadness at the memory of yet another failed relationship, one that affected her life deeply and not in entirely positive ways. Since reconnecting with Jess she had stuffed down any hopes or ideas of being anything more than friends with him ever again, swearing to herself that she was taking a real and true break from dating. But her conversation with her mom that evening had given her the tiniest bit of hope that he had been thinking and feeling the same things she had. Thinking through every relationship she had had, she realized that Jess had somehow been involved. Whether he was the reason for the breakup or was the other half of the relationship, he was present. She tried to convince herself that that was just coincidental, it didn't mean anything. But... what if it did? Her mind wandered, letting herself consider the possibility of there being a Rory and Jess part two. The more she considered it, the wider her smile grew. Finally, she slipped into a blissful sleep, full of hope for what could be.