Chapter 3: Reignite

Rory tried to sit calmly at her vanity while her daughter brushed her hair. She didn't know why she was making herself up so pretty - after all, this wasn't a date. Did Marty think it was a date? Rory had never gone on many dates; her peer options in the 30-Something Gang held little in the way of sex appeal. That wasn't to say that she hadn't gone on dates; she had gone out with some guys in Hartford casually. Gone back to their place a time or two for a one-night stand. Never anything serious. And Rory had never, ever invited a man back to her place. Her rules with Winnie were the same as Lorelai had made for her: no boys in the house.

All that afternoon and into the evening, Winnie had been surprisingly quiet. She had only asked a few questions about her father: how did they meet? When did they fall in love? On the first question, Rory had related, red-faced, how she had come upon Marty Harrison naked in her hallway, which Winnie interpreted as "so romantic." Awkward, was the word Rory would use. On the second question, the one about falling in love, Rory had nearly choked. She spun some yarn about how she and Marty had tried dating, but it had never worked out. It was kind of true, kind of not - but only if you equated one night of wild sex with the term "dating."

"Now, you are sure you'll be fine here with Grandma and Grandpa Luke?"

"Mom, they'll be watching The Departed all night; I'll probably stay in my room and chat with Auntie April on FaceTime!"

Rory gave her a firm look. "Be sure to text and check with her first. You know your aunt is really stressed finishing her Master's in Germany." But, she was pretty sure that her stepsister would appreciate the distraction. April doted on Winnie. Rory checked herself in the mirror one last time, then turned to her daughter. "How do I look?"

"Really pretty. Daddy's gonna flip!"

The term struck Rory right between the eyes: Daddy. Well, that didn't take long. She shook her head to clear it as Winnie was leaving the room. "Hey." Winnie turned back. Rory smiled. "No regrets: from me or your dad."

"Really?"

"Oh, yeah, no regrets about you. I'm sure there is a disastrous double date that he'd like to expunge from his record, but you - that's a no brainer."

Winnie frowned. "When did you and dad have a disastrous double date?" she asked, not even aware that her mother and father hadn't even been a paired couple that night.

"Ah, ah, ah - another story for another time," Rory smiled tightly, trying not to blush beet red. "Possibly before your first date at Al's Pancake World. Goodnight, babe! Don't keep Auntie April too long!" Mother and daughter kissed cheeks, and Rory left.

Rory and Marty arrived at the Secret Bar pretty much at the exact time. Mother and father to Winnifred eyed each other awkwardly.

"Hi," Marty grinned nervously.

"Hi," Rory murmured warily. She gestured lamely at the Bar. "This is kind of our... resident speak-easy."

"Stars Hollow never kicked Prohibition, huh? I like the open-air space!" Marty laughed, starting to become more comfortable.

You'll understand why in a minute, Rory thought, as Kirk led them over to a table. Hep Alien was playing a gig that night, and from the stage, Lane saw Rory and her date approach. The guitarist looked them both up and down approvingly, smiling encouragingly at Rory with a raised eyebrow. Rory just pursed her lips and shook her head tightly. Tell you later.

Rory and Marty took their seats, placing double orders for red wine and some salads, as they regarded each other by candlelight. The drinks had arrived before either one of them spoke.

"Why didn't you tell me, Rory?" Marty finally broke the silence. "The real answer, this time." His directness startled Rory, and she found herself looking at her lap meekly.

"I knew the minute you learned, you'd come running and be ready to honor that commitment."

Marty's brow crinkled. "And that's a bad thing? Did that scare you?"

Rory gulped. "Yes," she whispered.

"Why?"

Because I was afraid to see you again. Or of what might happen or what I might do if I did, Rory thought. But she didn't dare voice that thought aloud, blushing furiously instead. She would never admit it to anyone, but her night with Marty was still the best sex of her life. The loaded pause was broken by Lane's sudden call of "5-0!"

With lightning speed, the patrons cleared away all the tables and chairs. Marty followed along with confusion, Rory grabbing his free hand as she dragged him into a dark corner of the empty lot.

Moments later, Taylor Dosse's portly form appeared under the streetlight as he peered into what was supposedly an empty alley. In the shadows, Rory noticed that she and Marty were standing unusually close. Her hands had somehow found their way to his chest, as she leaned up against him so that they were both hidden, pressed into the brick wall. Marty's own hands, meanwhile, had made their way naturally to her hips, to help keep her upright.

It was an awkward position, for more reasons than one.

"Clear!" Lane hissed out into the space as Taylor finally moved on. Just as quickly as they had been hidden, the chairs and tables were back, Rory and Marty quickly taking their places. They hardly had time to dwell on the compromising position they had briefly found themselves in.

"You OK there?" Rory couldn't help but laugh at Marty's expression.

"That was... interesting," he confessed. "Would he seriously arrest us?"

"Oh, no, Taylor's harmless," Rory waved away. "Although my stepfather calls him a pompous windbag."

The run-in with Taylor seemed to relax Marty and Rory's conversation just enough, so that when the topic of Winnie came up again, there was not nearly as much tension. Not even when Marty asked, "Will I be allowed to see Winnie?"

Rory blinked. "Of course you can. I would never keep her from you. My mom always left the door open for my dad to see me."

"Would we have to go to court? Hash out visitation rights?"

Rory giggled and shook her head. "Marty, you're her father. It's not like we're divorcing." The thought made her ache, even as the hypothetical thought of her and Marty married in the first place sent an oddly pleasing rush through her body. "I marked your name as her Father on Winnie's birth certificate." Not even her mom and Luke knew that. For the longest time since Rory told them she was pregnant, they had assumed the baby was Logan's. It was only after Winnie was born - and seeing that she looked nothing like Logan - did Lorelai and Luke give up that notion, both of them happily. Luke had never liked Logan, and Lorelai only marginally better.

Kirk arrived with the bill, and Marty paid, over Rory's protestations. "It's not often I get to treat a beautiful lady." Rory felt her face grow very red, a smile gracing her face.

They shut down the Secret Bar, and walked back along the quiet streets of Stars Hollow, punctured only by the street lights and the cicadas. As Rory and Marty passed by the closed front of Luke's Diner, one writer turned to face the other.

"Rory. You know I will always love and be so grateful for Winnie. But when you learned you were having Winnie, and that she was mine, why didn't you get an abortion, or put her up for adoption? You seemed to make it pretty clear that night that you slept with me that you didn't... have feelings for me. That it was pity."

Rory bit her lip in thought. "I thought that by... being with you, I could help you be free of your... feelings for me. As to your question... I went through with the pregnancy because... because I felt honored to be carrying your child. To know that our baby's father was a nice, wonderful guy." The kind of guy I should have dated at Yale. The guy that got away.

For a moment, there was silence. Then, suddenly...

Rory was being pushed up against the glassy window. Her head was titled back, cradled in warm hands before Marty's lips crashed down on hers in a fiery kiss. To her gradually diminishing surprise, Rory didn't push him away. Instead, she pulled him closer with a pleased, satisfied groan. Closing her eyes, and draping her arms lazily about his neck, Rory kissed him back.

Mouths quickly opened to tongues. Hands wandered dangerously lower. When Rory felt Marty's fingers heavily caress her bum through her dress, she audaciously raised her leg to his waist, hooking her thigh around his torso.

"Up... Mmmmm... Upstairs," Rory gasped between frantic kisses. "Key's... Oooooh..." she sighed as Marty trailed kisses along her face. "under the mat."

Marty lifted Rory off her feet, so that she folded her legs around his waist. Still kissing madly, Marty stooped and managed to dig the key out from under the mat. Unlocking the diner, the couple stumbled back into the eatery. Rory gave just enough guidance so Marty could find the stairs to the loft; she was too busy kissing his face. They staggered up the steps and into the vacated apartment of Luke Danes, upholstered with only the most basic amenities.

Marty threw Rory down onto the bed and clambered on top of her. The pair were still making out, Rory groaning incessantly. "Mmmm... Hmmm..." She furiously rocked her pelvis into Marty's groin, clearly communicating her hunger and need for sex. It had been so long since she had had really good sex...

Rory and Marty's hands tore at each other's clothes. Marty helped Rory shimmy out of her yellow sundress, and she spread her legs wide for him eagerly.

A belt clanged as Marty dropped his pants. Rory's underwear was thrown down past her hips and pooled at her ankles. Marty's magical mouth was now suckling Rory's neck, and she keened into him.

"Uhhh... Marty..." she crooned from underneath hooded lids. "Please..."

He showed mercy, obeying her wish as he plunged his manhood into the warm petals of her sex. Rory cried out happily, and though it had been years since they had last made love, she recognized the feeling of him almost carnally. The bed creaked as Rory and Marty rocked and slammed against each other frantically, their sweaty bodies slapping.

"Hmmm! Mmmm! Uhhh! Uhhh! Fuck! Jesus Christ!" Rory let a stream of sounds and curses fall from her swollen, very kissed lips. Their hips wriggled and rammed against each other faster and faster.

"Rory..." Marty huffed. "I love you... I... never stopped..."

She gasped, tears pricking at her eyes. And since it had been so long that she had sex with love involved, she let out another plaintive cry of his name. "MARTY!" And she exploded, squeezing her legs tight about him, her heels digging into his buttocks as she rocked against him, surfed her way through her orgasm.

"Ohhhh... Rory... Rory... I'm gonna..." He made some kind of strangled sound and seized up, pulsing his seed deep inside her as he came. His head drooped down into the valley of her breasts, and Rory felt his lips tenderly kiss each one.

"I love that you're... the mother of our baby. You must have looked so gorgeous carrying our baby..." Rory felt her face grow hot, smiling shyly at his sweetness. Marty finally emerged his face from her breasts, gazing down at her.

"I love you," he murmured quietly, staring at her helplessly.

She gazed back, her brown hair fanning her face like a pillow as she reached up to caress his face. "I know." The words were pulled from her effortlessly.

"Will you marry me?"

Marty's popping the question caught her completely off-guard, so that Rory's mouth unhinged into a perfect 'O'. When she didn't answer right away, Marty glanced away, appearing embarrassed and maybe a little crestfallen. Cupping his cheek, Rory turned his face back so she could cover his lips in a sweet kiss.

"Not yet. Let's have a couple dates first. And then... ask me again sometime." Behind her gentle eyes, there was a promise. The promise that when he did propose to her again, she just might say Yes.

Marty's eyes went wide in astonishment, and then he beamed. He kissed Rory's lips once, then again, the pecks becoming more brief and desperate as the couple fell asleep in each other's arms.