AN- Here is the next chap. Hopefully I will get another up today, but no promises. Thanks for the reviews. Please keep them coming.

Chapter 2

Kirk casually mentioned the incident with Jess and his daughter at the diner he had witnessed to Lulu as they passed Doose's Market, where they were overheard by Taylor. Taylor rushed after him, confirming it was true and called Miss Patty first thing. She ambushed Kirk and Lulu as they passed the dance studio and got details, which she relayed to Babette.

Once the trio of gossipers was informed, the news spread over Star's Hollow like wildfire. It was the juiciest piece of news that there had been in quite a while and even those who did not know who Jess was, were talking about it.

As soon and Jess and Amber left the diner to check into the inn, Luke picked up the phone and dialed Lorelai's cell number.

"Hey Luke," she answered.

"Lorelai, I just wanted to give you a heads up, but Jess is headed to the inn right now."

"Okay."

"…And I know the answer to your 'two beds in one room' mystery."

"Really! What is it? Did him and his girlfriend have a fight? Or is she really religious?"

"Are these theories?" asked Luke incredibly

"Yes," answered Lorelai in a dignified way.

"Did you send all day on them?"

"Yes…, but that's not the point."

"Well, it's not a girlfriend."

"Oh my god, he has a boyfriend!"

Luke thought he might develop a headache at his point, "No, Jess does not a have a boyfriend…He has a daughter."

There was a silence on the other end of the line, "Wow, I would have never of guessed that…How old?"

"Nine, almost ten."

"And the mom?"

"I didn't ask, but it doesn't look like she is involved."

"Wow, this is not funny at all. This is serious."

"Yeah, I know, but hey, I invited them over for Christmas diner, is that okay?"

" 'Course. I'll tell Sookie, but she probably has more food than we could ever eat, plus them, already."

"I wouldn't expect anything less. Gotta go, customers are coming in."

"Okay, see you tonight."

"Bye."

Lorelai hung up her phone and walked into the kitchen, "Hey Sookie, I have discover the answer to the Jess and the two beds mystery, with a little help of Luke's. Apparently Jess has a daughter."

Sookie looked up fro the deserts she was decorating, "You hadn't heard that already. Fifteen minutes ago Babette called me, ten minutes ago Jackson delivered fruit and told me, and five minutes ago, oh, and Michel came in for tea and told me."

"Michel knew before me! When did I drop to the bottom of gossip chain?" Sookie shrugged and returned to her work.

Lorelai scoffed and filled herself a mug of coffee and returned to the front desk as Jess and his daughter entered, dragging bags along.

Jess let out a sigh and approached the front desk as Lorelai said with a fake smile, "Welcome to the Dragonfly Inn."

"Hi, Lorelai."

"Hello, Jess. If you could sign in, please. Here's your key, your in room six."

Jess signed in and looked up and said, "If the gossip runs as fast as I remember, you probably know who this is already," nodding at Amber.

No longer with her fake smile, "Well, yeah."

"So, I guess it's time for formal introductions. Lorelai," he said stepping back from the counter, "This is Amber," he said putting a hand on her shoulder, "My daughter as I'm sure you've heard. Amber, Lorelai, Luke's wife…what the hell, you're my aunt. When did that happen. I know I was at the wedding and everything but…"

Lorelai put a hand up to stop him, "Trust me, it scares me more than you."

Amber giggled, and Lorelai's eyes went to her. She was a petite girl, but had a look of maturity about her. Her dark hair and tanner skin like her father's contrasted sharply with her bright blue eyes. She had definitely had not gotten them from Jess, must have been from the mother.

"It's nice to meet you, Amber," said Lorelai to the young girl with a genuine smile.

"You too," she replied sweetly.

"Room six right?' asked Jess."

"Oh, yeah," said Lorelai, handing him the key, "Need help with the bags?"

"No, we can manage," he handed the key to Amber and told her to go on ahead. She went up the stairs.

"Um, Lorelai, Luke invited us to Christmas diner at your house, is that okay with you?"

"Yeah, it's fine." Jess began to walk towards the steps, but turned and asked, hoping to sound nonchalant, "Is Rory gonna be there"

"…Yeah she is," answered Lorelai softly.

Line

Amber was an acute kid. When her father had sent her on ahead she knew it why. It was a typical things adults did. When they had to discuss something of a sensitive or secret nature, they always sent the children out of ear-shot.

She went partway up the staircase, out of sight, ad leaned against the wall, listening. Jess asked about the dinner. Jeez, what a thing to send the kid out for, not interesting at all.

Amber was poised to run up the stairs as her father approached, but he stopped and asking something else, "Is Rory gonna be there?" There was the juicy stuff. Amber didn't even hear the answer. All she could thin about was who this Rory was.

Amber sprinted quietly up the stairs and into the hallway, and waited for her dad.

"Hey," she said as he reached the top of the steps.

"Hey," Jess echoed as the walked towards room six.

"Sooo…, who's Rory?"

Jess gave her a look, "Eavesdropping is a nasty habit."

"Yeah…so who's Rory?"

"None of your bee's wax."

"Bee's wax? What are you, nine?"

"Maybe. Where're the keys?"

"Right here," said Amber, holding them up. Jess took them from her and unlocked the door to their room, "Who's Rory."

Jess ignored her and threw his bags on one of the beds.

"You know, if you don't tell me, I can just ask Aunt Lorelai later."

"When did you start calling her Aunt Lorelai?" asked Jess curiously, Amber just shrugged.

"So, who's Rory?"

Jess sighed, "Lorelai's daughter," he answered cryptically.

"So, your cousin?" conformed Amber curiously, pulling off her jacket.

"Step-cousin. Lorelai had her before she was with Luke."

Amber plopped down in the other bed, "How old is she?"

"My age."

"That old, huh?" said Amber. Jess glared at her, but she just smiled innocently.

Jess began to put their bags away properly as Amber lay on her bed, staring straight up at the ceiling. A silence filled the room…

Only to be broken again, "Why did you ask about her?"

"Huh?" said Jess, looking up from his stuff.

"Rory, why did you ask about her?"

Jess rolled his eyes and went back to his work but commented, "You know, curiosity killed the cat."

"Good thing I'm not a cat then…why did you ask about Rory?"

Jess stood up straight and looked at her, "You can be really annoying sometimes?"

"Why thank you, I learn from the best," Amber answered, sitting up and looking at him pointedly.

"Really, I didn't know you were taking lessons."

Amber scoffed and asked again, "Why did you ask about Rory and why did you have to send me out of the room to do it?"

Jess sighed and sat down next to his daughter on the bed, "Rory was like my best friend when I lived here, but we got in a fight and when I left, we weren't on good terms, so things might be a little tense between us…" Jess felt horribly guilty for lying to his daughter flat out like this. It had some truth in it, he rationalized. He just couldn't tell her that Rory was his ex. He supposed it would come out eventually and it would be worse. Amber was a smart kid, Rory was his ex-girlfriend. He had not had a lot of girlfriends. Amber would suspect, she would ask questions and Jess would cave.

Rory had left. Rory had kept it a secret. She had the privilege and the curse to tell Amber and everybody else who she was and why she left. She had left, she had to come back. The truth was Jess didn't know who he'd handle Amber finding out who her mother was and it being someone she knew. It was just too complicated…

That is why he didn't want to come back here in the first place…

Somewhere else, in a big city…

Rory Gilmore just sat down in a small café when her cell phone began to ring. She sigh and began to dig threw her purse. She checked the number, it was her mother.

This was long distance.

Rory answered, "Hey Mom."

"Hey, Ror? What's up?" her mother asked on the other end of the line cheerfully.

"I just got out of his big meeting, my head is pounding. I need coffee, but I can't find any as good as Luke's."

"Bummer."

"Yeah. The only good substitute is this little hole-in-the-wall café I found, but I haven't gotten to order yet. "

"Why?"

"Because you called."

"Oh, sorry. You're going to get back in time for Christmas, right?"

"God bidding, yes. Everything is going on schedule, miraculously, so far. So forbidding a giant, random, unpredicted snowstorm that delays my plane, I'll be their."

"Good...um, Jess is coming to Christmas dinner at our house."

"Okay," said Rory, trying to sound offhand, but stunned inside. She should have guessed it was going to happen. But if Jess was coming…

"And, big shocker, the town gossip of the year award material, he is bringing his daughter with him."

"Wow?" said Rory, trying to act surprised.

"Yeah, I know, she's pretty cute though, but I only meet her for a minute."

"Cool…," said Rory, her heart pounding with guilt, her own mother meeting Rory's daughter before she did. "So, how's Jess?" she asked, trying to sound casual, but a sense of weakness, easily detectable by Lorelai, slipping into her tone. "

Thankfully Lorelai didn't point it out, but rather answered, "He seemed pretty good. He sort of had a freak out at the inn when he finally processed I was his aunt. It was kinda funny."

"I bet it was."

There was a sound of something crashing and several voices yelling, including one with a French accent over the line.

"Is every thing okay!" asked Rory urgently.

"I gotta go. It seems there was an accident in the kitchen. But checking one more time first, you're okay with Jess coming over for Christmas?" said Lorelai speedily.
"Yeah, it's fine," Rory answered, worried.

" 'Kay, bye." Rory hung up her cell phone. This was thin ice she was treading on here. Jess and his daughter, her daughter, their daughter, was going to be in Star's Hollow, at her own house. Everything will probably come out. Everyone will rethink their opinions of Jess and herself after they find out who stayed and who left.

Rory put her head in her hands, she could just imagine the look of disappointment and hurt on her mother's face when she learned the news. She had lied to her mother, to her whole town, and abandoned her own child and abandoned Jess. Rory hurt with how horrible she had been. She had always hated the way her own father was never around, but here she was even worse then him.

She could barely remember why she had left. It was so confusing. She it was something as vain as not wanting to be the topic of rumors and gossips and not face the embarrassment and disappointment of others. It was only worse now...