Rory Gilmore sat at her kitchen table reading the newspaper in her New York apartment. She looked down at The New Yorker after taking a sip of her coffee and practically spitting it out all over the table, when she seen the article she turned to. When she looked at the picture next to the book review her heart stop. She touched the picture with her finger tips as she moved to the title

"Another Best Seller for J.M. Mariano"

She then shook her head and under her breath said the one word she has not muttered in almost 10 years "Jess" she said softly but in an angry way.

As she said that one dreaded word a small brown-eyed wavy haired girl bounced in. She had a smile on her face for one reason they were going to Stars Hollow, Connecticut for a long weekend to see her Grandmother and Luke, to her they were like her second parents.

They helped Rory out when she had Paige at the age of 18 because Rory was a single and the father was no were to be found. Paige was a happy and confident girl of the age of 13.

Paige did not now much about her father, she didn't even known his name. She never really wanted to know. All that she knows is when she was born her father fled. She also knows not to bring it up because it was a sore subject for anyone in her family. The one time she did, her mom got this look in her eyes and tried to change the subject by saying he is gone, Paige new her mom didn't mean died but to Rory he was gone.

When Rory noticed her daughter standing next to her with the smile that had malted in to a frown of concern, she quickly closed the paper and looked at Paige. Then cheerfully said "you ready, we have a drive ahead of us, so we should get going"

"What were you looking at… who was that?" Paige said without thinking

"Um…that…um old friend…we should get going. Do you have your book?"

Paige loved to read as did her mother she was what you could say was the spiting image of her mothers personality, but look wise, her love for authors hated by her mother, and the part of the strange confidence was all her father.

Getting off the subject quickly she said, " No, I finished the book I was reading last night…uh do you have one I could read?" she was way beyond her years in reading she could comprehend almost the same things her mother could.

"Ok, I will see what I have, make sure you have everything you need for this weekend." As her mother disappeared Paige stared to look for the page her mom was looking at. When she saw it she suddenly noticed the man on the page. The resemblances was uncaning it was scary. The eyes. The hair. The chin. They were almost the same as hers. She ripped the article out and she slid it in the pocket of her jeans. Right then her mother walked in with two books.

Here I think you might like these…I did and your…well never mind" she handed Paige the books she started to flip through them the first book she looked at was titled Howl and the other called The Fountainhead each of the books had little notes in the margins.

She looked at Rory and smiled wanting to ask who wrote the notes but deep down she new who.

The car ride was quite for the most part because Paige was reading, she read The Fountainhead first she got done with the first chapter and set it down next to her and graded the next book. She started to read Howl when her mother asked her "hey what was wrong with that book?" pointing at The Fountainhead.

"Nothing I just do not like, its that the person who wrote it must have to be completely crazy" Paige spat

"I figured you would say that"

Paige looked up at her mom confused. How could she know Paige would think that. Her mother did not seem like herself since she looked at that article. The man in the picture was not just an old friend she knew something was up.

The rest of the car ride she couldn't put the book down. Rory shook her head mumbled something, but Paige couldn't hear what she said all she got out of it was the word 'Father'. Then she thought she saw a tear coming down her moms face but didn't say anything about it.

When they got to Stars Hollow they first stopped at Luke's to get some coffee and to see if Lorelai, Rory's mother was there. She wasn't in there she was at the inn, the Dragonfly which she owned with her best friend Sookie.

They stopped at the inn next to say hey and to ask when Lorelai was getting off.

"Not for a while…did you see Luke he was dieing to see Paige, hey where is Paige anyway?" her mother announced

"Oh she is out in the car she will not put the book she is reading down."

"Like mother like daughter, what book is she reading this time?"

" 'Howl' and it is actually more father like daughter"

"What?…Wait what does that mean?"

"Well I gave her two books the one she is reading and The Fountainhead she started out with The Fountainhead then stopped and said 'the author must be crazy' it was like total deja vu."

Right then Paige walked in and asked "what was like total deja vu"

Lorelai looked at Rory, Rory looked at Lorelai what was Rory going to say. She couldn't lie. Maybe seeing that article on his book was a sign. She needs to know, she needed to tell her daughter about him. What frightened her most was what her daughter would say and would she want to meet him. As these thoughts raced trough her mind Paige just looked at her all-innocent. Yes. No. Yes. No. What could she do she was confused and need help from her mommy.

"Hun can we talk about it later" like never Rory thought

"As if later means later today then ok" Paige said, her mother isn't getting around it this time.

"Ok then, I need to talk to grandma for a minute ok" Rory said as sweet as she could at that moment

Paige knew that was code for 'I need to talk to Lorelai so shoo'. Paige told Rory she was going to the bookstore and left.

Rory turned back to her mother then frantically yelled "wha… what am I going to do?

Lorelai looked her daughter in the eyes and gently said, "you have to tell her"

Rory sighed and mumbled, "I was afraid of that"

Paige was walking toward the bookstore, she new this town just as well as anyone that lived there. She was almost at the bookstore when she literally ran into someone she did that a lot. Most of the time when she ran into someone she was tunnel vision and books were involved. What she didn't realize was whom she ran into.

"Sorry" she said then finally noticed the guy she ran into

"Its ok" he said and he then also knew who ran into him "Oh hi… is your mom around?" Dean said as innocent as he could.

"She is at the inn with my grandma" Paige said in a matter-of-fact tone and a little to rudely. "I don't know why she would want to see you" she said under her breath but loud enough for him to hear. She new the stories between her mom and Dean some were good, others bad. Paige just never liked him.

Dean heard loud and clears what she said then to himself said "like father like daughter"

But before she could ask what he meant by that or if he knew her dad, Rory came up behind her and said "I thought you were going to the bookstore?" as she smiled up at Dean and from the look on his face she was baffled. "What is going on… did I miss something?"

There was silence Paige glared at Dean like her father did when he seen him. As Rory looked between the two of them she wanted to know what was going on. So she asked Dean "What did you say to her?" afraid that he told Paige, because it was a small town everyone knew. But at the same time knew not to say a word.

He didn't say anything, then Rory looked him square in the eye "What did you say?" more motherly then the last time "Answer the question"

"Fine I just said like father like daughter" those words floated in the air only has she ever said it and after he did 'like FATHER like DAUGHTER' rang in her ears and hit her hard.

At this time Rory was tearing up "she is nothing like her father!" she snarled at him

"For your sake hope she's not" and with that remark he turned around and walked off.

Paige new she never liked him and now she has a good reason. Now it was her turn to say something "mom" she whispered, "Are you ok?"

Tears streaming down Rory's face she says simply "come on we need to talk" with these few words they turned around and headed towards Luke's.

When Rory and Paige walked in to Luke's diner Rory's eyes were blood shot red, puffy, and glossy. Paige had never saw her mother like this, and it made her upset to see her mom so broken. Once they walked in Luke rushed right up to them and asked what was wrong. Rory simply said, "It was nothing… I am going to tell her" as she gestured toward Paige.

"Ok…are you sure?" Luke asked quietly and Rory nodded her head "Ok go up stairs so you can have some privacy."

With that Rory headed up the stairs with Paige following close to her. Feeling relived, frighten, nervous, and every other feeling you could think of. She was going to find out who her dad was.

They are up in Luke's old apartment; Rory has not been up there since her last encounter with Jess. How was she going start? How was she going to tell her baby about what a lying jerk that was her father? And how hard and how fast she fell for that idiotic jerk. And how happy they were together. How.

She looked at her daughter and started to swell up. She saw him in her, she saw Jess. She needed to say something so she just started and hopefully words would just keep fallowing out.

"I am so sorry I never told you who your father was, is before this." she stared to stutter she had to keep going or she would never get through this. "His name is Jess…Jess Mariano" it was hard for her to say but she said it.

"As in J.M. Mariano" Paige's face was in shock "but he is the author on the New York Times best sellers list" she exclaimed "so that is why you never let me get any of those books" she said as if everything started to make since.

"Can I go on" Rory asked as a rhetorical question. And Paige nodded her head and kept quite.

"I was17 when I met Jess I was dating Dean at the time, Jess always flirted, we talked about movies, music, books, he loved to read. About half a year later Dean an I broke up and I was with Jess." She stopped as she remembered everything she went through, what they went through. She smiled as tears rolled down her face. And started to talk again. "No one liked him, because they never got the chance to know him or wanted to for that matter. He was the bad boy around town but I loved him. Six months after I was 18, that is when I got pregnant but you knew that. The plan was that we would get married, I would tack a couple of classes at Yale and have a part time job, he would get his GED, work, and if he wanted he could go to collage too." Rory started to really cry but she need to finished she had to get it all out. "Then… then one day before I started my classes at Yale no one could fine he vanished only leaving be hind a book with a note in it to me and…you."

"the note read" Rory new the note like the back of her hand, she recited to Paige.

" 'I am so sorry. This might have worked but I am to afraid that it might not. I would end up hurting and disappointing you and our daughter more then I am now. We would end up resenting each other and ourselves so I am trying to save you more heartbreak then you might have now. I never meant to hurt you. You can tell our daughter about me or not it is up to you and her. I will always love her and you more then you can know. As I am writing this letter it hurts but it has to be done. One last thing Good-Bye, felling like I have failed you and myself.

Love you always I will never stop,

Jess'"

As Rory said those last few words she put her hands on her head and started to cry again. This time she was not the only who was crying, Paige had tears in her eyes. She went up to her mother and they held each other. Who knew much pain Jess could inflict on there tight knit family. Thought Luke who was standing outside the door listening to the whole thing.