Chapter 32 Notes: Thanks for all the great feedback and suggestions you guys have been sending me. I really appreciate hearing all your thoughts on this story. This chapter features a snowy day and some time with Liz's family.

Disclaimer: I own nothing except my own obsession with Gilmore Girls

Jess was spending a snowy evening at home, comfortable in Luke's armchair with a book in his hand, a cup of tea on the coffee table and Winston curled up on the floor by his feet when he felt a nudge against the outside of his thigh. He looked down to see that Jeremy's feet, clad in thick wool socks, had wedged themselves between his leg and the arm of the chair. Jess glanced over at his son, who was ostensibly still focused on his own book, but wearing a small smirk on his face. Jess gave one foot a light pat and rested his hand on the top of it, rubbing it gently with his thumb as he continued to stare at his own book.

"You run out of room over there, on that whole couch you've got all to yourself?" Jess asked.

Jeremy's smirk widened, but he still didn't look up. "My feet were cold. And, there was such a cozy looking spot right next to you that you didn't seem to be using."

"Huh." Jess leaned forward to pull the afghan off the back of the chair he was sitting on. He covered Jeremy's feet and lower legs with it before resting his hand back on the boy's blanket covered feet, holding one foot gently, as he returned his attention to his book. "That better?"

"Yeah, that's nice. Thanks."

Jess shot a furtive glance at his son, small smile on the boy's face, eyes still trained on his book. Jess loved moments like this, when neither of them were working, and they were cozy at home, together. He especially loved it when Jeremy behaved like a normal kid, comfortable enough with Jess to have his own opinion or invade his physical space like this. Jess had come home from the bookstore to find Jeremy in his room with a book. Jess had asked if Jeremy wanted to order pizza and pull out the Scrabble board since it seemed like the perfect night for it, but Jeremy had said he was in a really good place in his book and asked if Jess would mind if he kept reading instead. Jess knew he probably hadn't hidden his disappointment well because the boy had smiled warmly at him and said maybe they could both read in the living room if Jess wanted. Jess had wanted. He had ended up making grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner while Jeremy had heated up tomato soup on the stove and afterwards they had gotten comfortable in the living room and had been reading and drinking tea in companionable silence since.

Jess often felt torn between working as many hours as possible to pay for college, and spending time with Jeremy. Lately, it had been easy to blame the winter weather conditions for not going out driving for Uber more often, but he knew deep down that he really just wanted to spend more time with his kid. The boy seemed to have made a couple of casual friends. Had gone bowling with a group of kids from school one night and to a movie with a girl named Cassidy on another, an outing he had claimed wasn't a date when Jess asked. But, Jeremy was still either home or at the diner more nights that he was anywhere else. And, Jess wanted to capitalize on that while he still could, before Jeremy's downtime was spent in a dorm room in Pennsylvania hours away. Jess was going to miss nights like this. He wanted to make sure he took in all the details. He wanted to be able to store this moment away in his mind, and bring it out later when he was alone to feel how he felt right now, safe and content and loved. He wiggled Jeremy's foot back and forth a couple of times to see if he could get the boy to look up, but all he got was another smirk while the boy stayed focused on the novel in front of him.

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Jess was driving Jeremy over to Liz's to spend time with his grandparents and Doula. The snow had stopped overnight, but there was enough accumulation to build a snowman, which was what Liz and TJ had invited Jeremy over to do with Doula. Liz had of course invited Jess, too, but the streets had been plowed and the sun was shining brightly by the time Jeremy had finished his early shift at the diner and Jess had begged off with the excuse that he was going to pick up some rides for Uber since he figured there would be a lot of people with errands to run who wouldn't want to shovel out their cars in the snow.

"You're going to stay in this area today, right?" Jeremy asked. Jess hated that him driving made Jeremy nervous.

"I'll do my best. I can't really control where my passengers want to go, though."

"But, you don't have to take every ride, right? I mean, you can stay out of the city if you want to."

"Jeremy." Jess tried to sound reassuring. "No one has ever asked me to drive them to New York before. I really doubt it's going to happen for the first time on a day like this."

Jess glanced over at Jeremy in the passenger seat and saw the boy frowning. "I meant Hartford."

Jess laughed. "Seriously, kid, you've really become a Stars Hollow townie if you're referring to Hartford as 'the city.' I wouldn't repeat that in public if I were you."

"Hartford is a city." Jeremy insisted, still frowning. "And, the roads are dangerous today. There could be black ice. And, I don't know…..I worry about you, ok?"

"Wow, you really sound like Luke right now."

"I am totally fine with that comparison." Jess could hear a hint of humor in Jeremy's tone now and he knew the boy was getting close to letting the topic go.

"I will do my best to stay local. How's that? If I pick up someone with tickets for the matinee show of a live performance in Hartford, I'll try to talk them into hitting the Black, White and Read theater for some driver's ed crash videos instead. If I pick up a couple headed to their anniversary dinner at a swanky restaurant in Hartford, 'the city,' if you will, I'll convince them to check out the chow mein sandwich at Al's Pancake World instead. And if I get a passenger headed to one of the museums in Hartford, I'll drive them over to Kirk's mom's house, so they can look at the creepy diorama that he salvaged from the Stars Hollow musical and set up in the basement. Does that sound like a plan?"

"You're making fun of me." Jeremy didn't sound hurt, more like someone stating the obvious, and it made Jess laugh.

"No, I'm not." Jess waited a beat, then grinned. "Ok, maybe just a little."

"You don't have to take every call. You've told me that yourself."

"Jeremy, c'mon. I'll be fine." Jess hated that Jeremy was looking at a beautiful, sunny, snow-covered day like this and was only seeing reasons to worry.

"And you're sure you have to work today? I mean, I think your mom would really appreciate it if you came over, too. So would Doula. I think Liz was kind of sad the last time, when I went over without you."

"Huh. Emotional manipulation to try to convince me to spend time with Liz. Now, you sound exactly like Luke! The resemblance is uncanny! If you put on a backward baseball cap right now, I would not be able to tell you guys apart." Jess laughed, trying to lighten the mood, but Jeremy's expression had reverted to its former serious frown.

"I wasn't manipulating. I was just saying." Jeremy defended himself. "I know you guys have issues from when you were a kid….." Jeremy trailed off, sounding unsure. "But, I think she's changed. I mean, I know she's kind of…...out there, but she's nice now. I can tell she has a good heart and that she really loves you."

"Wow, I hope Liz is paying you well for the PR campaign you're running for her."

Jeremy sighed. "I'm just saying. You still have a mother. That's all."

Jess schooled his expression into concerned seriousness, knowing this would always be Jeremy's trump card in arguments with anyone who didn't appreciate their parents. He reached out a hand to the boy's knee, squeezing gently before he pulled back. Jess gentled his voice. "I'll come in and say hi when I pick you up, ok?"

Jeremy nodded. "Ok. And, you'll be careful, right? I worry about you. I only just got a dad….."

"I know. I will be very careful. I promise."

They drove in silence for a few moments before Jeremy spoke. "Jess, do you ever think about college?"

Jess laughed. "Only everyday. Why do you think I'm heading out to work right now?"

"Um, because you think it's a valid excuse to not hang out with your mother." Jeremy was smirking when Jess turned to look at him. "Did I get it right?"

"No, smartass. I'm heading out to work so that I can help pay for college. So, to answer your question, yes, of course, I think about college."

"I know you think about college for me, but I meant, like….." Jeremy voice became more hesitant. "Do you ever think about college for you?"

Jess glanced quickly at Jeremy before putting his eyes back on the road. "What are you talking about?"

Jess saw Jeremy shrug in his peacoat out of the corner of his eye. "I don't know. I'm just curious, I guess. I mean, I know that was the reason that…..things happened the way they did at Truncheon…." Jeremy sounded nervous now, like he was worried he might have offended Jess.

"I lost my job because I didn't go to college." Jess felt a familiar tension creep into his neck and shoulders at the memory. "It's ok, Jeremy. You can say it."

"So, because that happened, I just wonder sometimes if you would be using this time to go to college yourself if you didn't have me…... Do you ever think about going back to school?"

Jess felt an unexpected lump form in his throat, and he tried to swallow the feeling down. Jess was about to respond with a definite no, that he did not think about going back to school. But, the truth was that he did. Every so often. When he was thinking about his life, often during a sleepless night, worrying about what his future would look like without the perfect opportunity he had been fortunate enough to find at Truncheon, and wondering about his limited career options and whether he would ever get back to anywhere near where he had been in Philadelphia without a degree. But, not at Jeremy's expense. Jeremy might be right, that school was something Jess would have considered seriously if he didn't have Jeremy to support and put through college. But, he did. And, he couldn't afford to do both. So, it was a moot point. Luke had offered to support him through college as a teenager if he could make it through high school and again in his twenties when Luke had thought he might have cancer. Jess had had two chances at college and squandered them both. It was Jeremy's turn now. And he didn't want the boy to feel guilty. He chose to deflect the question with sarcasm rather than out and out lie. "Oh, c'mon. Can you honestly see me in college? I'm way too old. And I was never all that good at studying even when I was in high school. Ask Luke."

Jeremy's frown was deepening. "You're not too old. You're only thirty-three. Lots of people older than you go back to college."

Jess changed course. "Can I just tell you how adorable I think it is that you want your dad to go to college with you, Jeremy? Maybe we could be roommates! I could sit next to you in class and cheat off you during tests, steal your girlfriends, do all the fun college stuff I've seen in the movies. Hey, do think they'd let me pledge a sorority?"

"Stop it. I'm being serious and you're blowing me off. I hate when you do that."

Jess hated the hurt he heard in Jeremy's voice. He sighed. He really didn't want to have this conversation, but he didn't want to spend the rest of the day feeling like an ass either. "I'm sorry, Jeremy."

"And, I don't like it when you put yourself down. It's not ok. You wouldn't need to cheat off me if you went to college."

Jess nodded, feeling properly chastised. "You're right." Jess pulled the car to the side of the road in the shoveled out space in front of Liz and TJ's driveway and turned to face his son. "I'm sorry for that, too. To answer your question. I think about college once in a while. Just as a passing thought. Nothing serious. I had my chance, ok? I was too dumb to take it, and I can make do with my life as it is. But, right now, these next four years are about getting you through college. Nothing else. Do you understand me?"

Jeremy nodded, slowly and hesitantly, as if to acknowledge that he knew, but wasn't happy about it.

"Can I get a hug before you go in?" Jess leaned toward his son and Jeremy met him halfway, letting himself be pulled into a tight, if awkward, embrace above the gear shift. "I love you, kid."

"I love you, too, Dad."

Jeremy pulled back first and Jess let him go. "Have fun with your grandparents and Doula. Tell them I'll be back in two or three hours, ok?"

"Ok." Jeremy smiled then, and Jess could see some mischievousness there.

"What?"

"Nothing. I'm just not sure why you think you'd be stealing my girlfriends in college when I'm the only one who's even been on a date since I came to live with you." Jeremy's smile had turned into a full-on smirk.

"Oh, wow! It's like that, huh?" Jess smiled back, glad to see his kid in a playful mood again. "I really hope no one sneaks up on you in two or three hours and whales you in the face with a snowball!"

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Jess knocked again, and was about to give up and head around back when he heard Liz yelling inside, something he couldn't make out, except for the 'sweetie' at the end, which meant, she could be addressing him or Doula, or maybe even Jeremy at this point. The door opened and Liz greeted him with a smile. "There's my kid!" Liz closed the door behind him and stepped toward him with her arms out and Jess let himself be hugged briefly before taking a step back. "C'mon in, Jess." Jess followed Liz from the entryway in the front hall into the kitchen. He could see Jeremy through the window, bundled up and out in the backyard with TJ and Doula, one small snow person looking complete while they worked on a second one beside it.

"How have you been?" Jess couldn't remember the last time he had been alone with his mother, without Luke or even TJ as a buffer. He forgot the awkward feeling of a bond that should be strong, but just wasn't. He had thought he had gotten to a decent place with Liz a couple of years ago, that he had moved on from their shared past and would be able to peacefully coexist, to live and let live. He had read somewhere that having a child made people become more forgiving of their parents' mistakes as they started making their own, but Jess had found the opposite to be true. Having Jeremy in his life, so young and vulnerable and wanting to be loved, if anything had made Jess recognize the true magnitude of his mother's wrongdoing. He couldn't imagine treating Jeremy the way she had treated him as a kid, or even worse, allowing someone he dated to treat Jeremy how so many of Liz's boyfriends had treated him. Fatherhood had made him even less understanding of how Liz could have looked at him as a child and not wanted to do anything in her power to protect someone so small and vulnerable.

She smiled brightly. "I've been good, Sweetie. Very good. I had a Reiki session this week to get my chakras rebalanced, and I'm feeling very healthy and clear right now, and just very attuned to the world around me, you know? Like, I've been picking up on vibes and details that aren't always in focus for me. It's been great. Very eye-opening. I really needed it."

Jess forced himself not to roll his eyes. "That's great."

She nodded earnestly. "It is. It really is. Hey, do you want a cup of tea?" Liz lifted the tea kettle off the stove and walked over to the sink, filling it with water. "You know, you should try it sometime. I think you would really benefit from it." Jess assumed they were back on the Reiki and that she wasn't recommending that he give tea a try. "And, I was telling Jeremy about my session earlier, and he seemed very interested. You two should both go and get your chakras rebalanced. It will change your life and give you a whole new outlook. I promise you that. You want the number of my guy? I could get it for you."

"Uh, no thanks." Jess realized that Liz hadn't asked him how he was. Social niceties had always been lost on her. He took a deep breath and tried not to let it bother him. "I'm good, too. Mostly just working and hanging out with Jeremy."

"That's great, Sweetie. Jeremy was telling us about the adoption. It sounds like it was a beautiful day." Liz was holding the forgotten tea pot with two hands, one on the handle and one cradling the base of the kettle.

"It was a good one, that's for sure."

"I hadn't realized Luke was going to be there for it." Jess watched Liz's smile fade, and he felt preemptively angry and got ready to defend himself.

"That was who Jeremy wanted there. He's very close to Luke. It was his choice."

"Oh, I know." Liz nodded, her expression serious. "I know it was Jeremy's choice. Luke's crazy about him. I know they're close. It just made me a little sad to think that if it had been up to you, you would have made the same choice."

"That's not true. It ended up being really nice having Luke there, but if it had been up to me, I would have wanted it to be just me and Jeremy. But, it wasn't about what I wanted. It was about Jeremy."

Liz was studying him hard. "Ok. But, if you had had to pick one person to be there, you would have picked Luke not me, wouldn't you have? Every since I sent you to live with him, you've valued your relationship with him more than the one you have with me. And, it's ok. I get it. It used to bother me more, but I get it."

"Oh, yeah? What do you get?" Jess felt a guilt trip coming on and he was trying to remain calm and not let her get him angry.

"I wasn't always a very good mom to you. We aren't attached the way a mother and child should be. The way Lorelai and Rory are."

Jess hadn't expected the genuine sadness and regret he saw on his mother's face. He couldn't argue with what she said, but he wanted to give her something in exchange for her admission. "Well, I'm not exactly sure they're the poster family for healthy parent-child attachment either."

A small brief smile crossed Liz's lips. "I would kill to have with you what Lorelai has with Rory."

Jess didn't know what to say to that.

"I know I never will. And I do understand why. I'm sorry for how you grew up, Jess. for all the drinking and drugs. For all the men, especially the ones who didn't treat you very well. I know I've never really said that. And I should have, years ago. The older I get, the more I seem to reflect on my past. I was a mess for most of your childhood and I'm sorry. But, I'm better now, and I really want to be a part of your life."

"You are. You're my mother."

Liz gave him a sad smile. "It doesn't always feel like that. I'm not trying to make you feel bad. I know it's my fault. But, I want to do better. I'm glad you're back in Stars Hollow and that you're giving me this chance. I'm sorry I couldn't be for you the mom I am for Doula."

"I'm sorry you couldn't, too." Jess watched Liz's face fall, and he felt like he should explain himself. "Because I think you're a really good mom to Doula, that's all I meant."

"Thank you, Sweetie." Liz smiled at him again and Jess was surprised at the relief he felt that she didn't look sad anymore, just hesitant. "Are you going to go out and get Jeremy? They aren't done yet. I know because Doula hasn't come in to ask me for a scarf or a carrot and buttons yet."

"I have time. I'll let them finish." Jess started to take off his jacket.

"Jeremy's a really good kid, coming over here to play with Doula like this. Not every teenage boy would do that. And, she's just crazy about him."

"He really likes her, too."

"And, learning sign language like he's been doing. We all really appreciate that. He knows more every time we see him and he just really seems to care about making Doula feel comfortable. He's a good boy."

Jess nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, he's a good kid."

They stood in silence for a few moments. Jess watched the clock on the microwave log another minute, and wondered how many other people have moments this awkward with their mothers.

"Was there anything I did right, Jess? Do you have any good memories of me as a mom?"

Jess was a little caught off guard by the question, but he didn't need to rack his brain. "Yeah, of course." There was one memory that had been on his mind since Jeremy had come to live with him. "Remember the winter I was twelve and we lived in that apartment where that nasty smell came up the vents every time someone did laundry in the basement?"

Liz laughed. "That place was terrible. How could I forget?"

Jess thought about all the other terrible things she had forgotten from his childhood when she'd been drunk or high, but he pushed that thought aside and continued with his story. "You were going to AA and you were clean and you had sworn off men for at least a year."

Liz huffed out a shaky breath and Jess knew she was thinking about how short-lived both things had ended up being, a little over six months maybe, but nowhere near a year.

"I was really into Scrabble then, and we must have played a hundred times that winter. You'd make a cup of tea for you and a cup of hot chocolate for me and we'd sit on the floor in the living room because we didn't have a table, playing Scrabble and eating Pizza Rolls and Chips A'hoy cookies. Looking back now, I'm thinking you used to let me win, because I won almost every game, but at the time I just thought I was really good at Scrabble. I still think about that winter sometimes…..It's a good memory."

Liz's eyes were wet, and when she spoke her voice was a little off. "I don't think I had to let you win. I think you were just really good at Scrabble. That's a good memory for me, too. Thank you, Sweetie."

"Sure." Part of Jess debated calling Liz 'mom' but in the end he couldn't make himself do it. It didn't feel right, and he knew he would only be doing it to make her happy. Jess gestured toward the tea kettle Liz was still holding. "You want me to get that tea while we wait for these guys?" Jess angled his head toward the backyard.

Liz looked down at the tea pot in her hand as if surprised it was still there. She looked up and smiled at her son. "You sit down, Jess. I'll get the tea. Doula and I made cookies last night. I'll grab us some of those, too."

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"Hey, guys. How goes the snowman building?" Jeremy watched Doula signing quickly with her gloved hands as she made a beeline toward Jess once they got inside, wrapping her arms around his waist in a quick hug before pulling back and continuing her rapid hand movements with a toothy grin on her face. Jeremy still had trouble keeping up when the girl was excited and signing this quickly.

"Sure." Jess was signing while he spoke. "I would love to see your snow people. Let me just throw my jacket on."

Jeremy watched Jess pull on his jacket as TJ walked in the door after him and Doula. "Hey, Jess! It's good to see you, kid." TJ clapped Jess on the arm. "You coming out to meet the snow kids? We built one Doula and one Jeremy. Excellent craftsmanship if I do say so myself. And, I do." TJ laughed loudly at his own humor.

Jeremy watched Jess listen to his stepfather. "I wouldn't miss it." Jess turned back to Doula and signed. "Lead the way." As they walked by Jeremy standing by the door, Jess smiled at him. "Are you coming out with us?"

Jeremy shook his head. "I'm going to stay inside with Grandma. It's getting cold out there."

"Ok. We'll be right back." Jess patted him on the arm before giving in to the tugging on his hand and following his little sister out the back door.

TJ pulled off his snow boots and left them by the door. Jeremy did the same as TJ announced he was going to go change his clothes and walked out of the room.

Liz turned to Jeremy then, with what he had come to think of as her nervous-mom smile, the one she used when she wanted to ask for something of Jess or ask Jeremy something about Jess. She never seemed to use it with Doula as far as Jeremy could tell. It was the look that made Jeremy's heart hurt for her the worst. The one that said she knew she had fucked up with Jess, as a mom, and she wasn't really sure where that left her now, or what she was allowed to ask her son for. "Did you have fun, Sweetie?"

Jeremy smiled. "Yeah. I had fun. TJ's a really good snowman, or sorry, snow person, builder."

Liz laughed. "He should be. He really gets into it. Once a few years ago, I caught him watching a YouTube video on how to make the perfect snowman. It was going to be the first winter he made one with Doula and he wanted to make sure everything went well. I think he wanted to impress her."

Jeremy smiled back. "That's really nice of him."

"Yeah, he's a good dad." Liz was studying him then. "Hey, why don't you take off your coat? You guys don't have to run right out the door. Maybe you could stay for dinner." There was something so overly casual about the request that it made Jeremy think she had been waiting to ask him alone and get his buy in before presenting the idea to Jess, to lower her odds of being rejected. "Would you be ok with that? I was just about to ask Jess when you guys came in."

Jeremy obediently took his coat off and hung it on the rack by the door, removing his hat and gloves as well. "I'm fine with it, as long as Jess is." He hoped Jess would agree to stay. He was having a good day, and he knew their staying for dinner would make Liz happy.

The back door burst open and Jess and Doula hurried inside and shut it. "Brrrr!" Jess made an exaggerated show of how cold it was for Doula's amusement. "It is getting cold out there now!"

"Jess, Sweetie, Jeremy and I were just talking about you guys staying for dinner. What do you think about that?"

"Uh." Jess sought out eye contact with Jeremy before committing. Jeremy appreciated that Jess always checked with him before committing his time to something. He tried to look encouraging, nodding his head slightly to show he was fine with staying. "Ok, sure." Jess said. "Let me just call Luke and see if he can feed and walk Winston, but it shouldn't be a problem." Jeremy was sure Luke would help with Winston, especially if he knew that they were at Liz's house. Luke was always trying to subtly encourage Jess to spend time with Liz. "You know what I'm thinking?" Jess was speaking and signing to Doula now. "What about a game of Scrabble after dinner?"

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TJ had pulled out the Scrabble game and Jess was setting it up on the dining room table while Liz put away the leftovers in the kitchen. Jeremy had offered to help her, but she had told him that she had it under control. She had handed him a plate of cookies that looked homemade from the irregularity of their shapes and asked him to bring them out to everybody.

Jeremy was watching TJ, who was standing a few feet away from the table, signing silently with Doula. Jeremy was struck, not for the first time, by how cool it was that this family had their own, if not secret, at least not commonly understood language, that allowed them to have relatively private communication even in a crowd. He hoped he got good enough that he and Jess could have that, too. Jeremy wasn't trying to eavesdrop, but he made out the signs for nap and tired from TJ and saw a sad look on Doula's face. TJ had been his loud boisterous self outside, but he had become subdued at dinner, leaving most of the conversation to Liz and Jess. Jeremy wondered if his grandfather wasn't feeling well.

Liz joined them in the dining room and called over to TJ and Doula as she sat down across from Jess at one side of the table in front of an empty tray. "C'mon, you guys. We're ready to play!"

Doula came running in with a smile on her face while TJ followed in slowly behind her, stopping at the threshold to the room, signing as he spoke. "I think I'm just going to take a nap while you guys play, Lizzie. These two kids wore me out today."

"Oh, c'mon, Hon!" Liz was smiling at her husband, but Jeremy could hear the sincere pleading in her voice. "You can nap after Jess and Jeremy go home. How often do we all get to do something together like this?"

Jeremy became curious as he watched TJ shoot a quick glance at Jess, whose attention was on the game in front of him as he dug through the box for a pencil to go with the score pad. Liz noticed it, too, and frowned.

"You guys go ahead." TJ insisted. "It's only a four player game, anyway. I don't want to be in the way or anything."

Doula was signing rapidly to her father. "I'm ok." He signed back silently. Jeremy had missed Doula's question. "It's fine."

Without looking up from the score pad where he was writing out everyone's names across the top, Jess joined the conversation, his tone casually playful. "C'mon, TJ, don't be such an old man. I'm sure you can manage to keep your eyes open for a couple more hours. It doesn't matter that there's five of us. You can play on a team with someone."

Jeremy watched TJ break into a grin. "All right. You guys convinced me." TJ made his way over to the table, where he pretended he was going to sit on Jess's lap.

Jess looked up startled and pushed the man off him before he could actually sit down. Liz and Doula were laughing hysterically at TJ's antics, and Jeremy smiled as he watched them. "Jeez, TJ!" Even Jess was laughing through his annoyance.

"What?" TJ, still standing next to Jess's chair, feigned innocence, but winked toward his daughter and Jeremy with a smile as he signed and spoke. "I thought we should sit together if we're going to be a team. We can both see the letters that way."

"You're ridiculous!" Jess's expression was part amusement, part scowl, but Jeremy could tell the scowl was put on, a force of habit in dealing with his stepfather, and that there was no real heat behind it. "I meant someone else's team. Go be on your wife's team. If I remember correctly from when I was a kid, she could use the help."

Jeremy watched Jess meet Liz's eye across the table and share a smile with his mom.

Jeremy got a warm cozy feeling that all his families were getting along. He had come to think of his family in terms of subsets of people, little mini-families. His core family was Jess and Winston, with Luke in a category of his own, just beyond the core border. Then there was Luke's family that sometimes included just Luke and April and sometimes spread to Lorelai and Rory, as well. Then there was Liz's family with TJ and Doula. Each family started, from Jeremy's perspective, with Jess and rippled out to his other relatives. Jess was Jeremy's key person, his forever person, and he would always side with Jess against anyone, about anything. But, Jeremy was glad to see a break in tension between Jess and his grandparents. He knew it might be selfish, but he wanted as many family members and happy family moments as he could get, to make up for the last fifteen years of going without. He liked seeing Jess like this, happy and playful and enjoying Liz's family. He knew Jess had valid reasons from his childhood to hate Liz and exclude her from his life, but the woman Jeremy knew now seemed nice, if a little odd, and it was obvious she loved Jess and was sincerely interested in repairing her relationship with her son as best she could. And, Jeremy knew that no one was guaranteed a mother for any length of time and it would have hurt him to see Jess lose his without ever having let her make amends for his childhood. He loved Jess so much and wanted him to have all the good things he possibly could.

"Hey, Jeremy." Jess prodded him out of his thoughts, holding the maroon velvet bag of tiles out to him. "Pick to see who's first."

Jeremy smiled and reached into the bag.