Chapter 41 Notes: This chapter contains Jess's birthday and a surprise visitor to Stars Hollow. Also, for the reader who was concerned that Jeremy had Rory on too high of a pedestal, that's about to change. :) Thanks to everyone who is still reading this story and for all the reviews and feedback I received for the last chapter.

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

Jeremy was lying on his side on the couch, one arm dangling down, hand gently rubbing Winston's upturned belly where the dog lay on the rug on the floor. Jeremy was staring at the television, when he felt Winston move under his hand. It wasn't until after the old dog had slowly rolled himself to his feet that Jeremy heard the footsteps on the stairs. Jess must be home. The dog trotted over to the door, tail wagging, to wait for Jess's entrance.

"Who is it, Winston? Who is it?" Jeremy asked in a high, urgent voice that always got the dog even more excited. "Is that your daddy?"

The dog let out a high-pitched whine, putting his nose close to the bottom of the door, his tail wagging frantically.

The door opened slowly and Jess took a step inside. "Hey, buddy!" He greeted the dog. "Back up, boy. Let me open the door." Jess carefully maneuvered around the excited dog until he was inside the apartment and closed the door behind him, crouching down to give Winston some pets. "How's it going, pup? How's my good boy?" He up looked toward Jeremy on the couch. "Hey, Jeremy. How was work?"

Jeremy pulled himself to a sitting position and clicked off the television. Jeremy was pretty sure Jess would never say anything about it, but it felt rude to address the man from where he had been sprawled out, half watching TV. "It was good. It was super slow, so Cesar had us close like half hour early."

Jess shook his head slowly, his affectionate tone belied his words. "Wow. Luke takes his eyes off you two for five minutes, and you guys slip right out the back door, huh?"

Jeremy smiled. "Luke's closed early before, too. I don't think he'll mind. How was your dinner?"

"It was good. Next time we go out, we'll take you with us." Jess gave Winston one final pat and stood up. "Your eye looks good. It's nice to see you finally looking like your normal, handsome self again." The bruise had lingered for weeks due to the trauma underneath, first as a dark purple, then a lighter blue and lastly an ugly greenish yellow. Jeremy had noticed the absence of the discoloration for the first time that morning as well. "How does it feel?"

"It feels normal. It's felt normal for a while. Now it just matches on the outside, too. Maybe we can go out with the bike again sometime soon."

Jess frowned. "I think we should wait until the summer to be safe. The doctor said that we shouldn't take the healed bruise to mean that your bone fracture is fully recovered. I'd like you to wait a bit longer before you do anything that could re-injure your face. Will you agree to that, or do we need to discuss it more?"

"Yeah, that's fine. I agree to not do anything stupid." It was the answer Jeremy had expected, even if it wasn't the one he wanted to hear. "So, what did Luke want to talk to you about? I mean, if you want to tell me. But, if it's something private, I get it."

Jess walked over to the couch and sat at the opposite end from Jeremy and faced the boy. "Actually, a big part of what he wanted to talk to me about concerns you, too. I think we should talk."

"Ok." Jeremy turned his body, positioning himself to face his father, feeling a little nervous. He knew Jess had been curious about what Luke wanted to talk about. He had been, too. But, the last thing he would have guessed was that it had anything to do with him. "Is it something about the diner? About how I'm doing my job?"

"Yes." Jess's expression was serious. "He heard that you sneak out early whenever his back is turned." Jess grinned. "C'mon, you really think Luke's such a wuss that he needs to use me as the bad guy to give you a poor performance review?"

Jeremy could feel his face warming slightly and knew he was likely blushing. It always happened easier when he was already nervous. "No. That's not what I meant." He protested. "I was just asking-"

"Too late!" Jess said with a smirk. "I'm telling him you said that."

Jeremy smiled, knowing his father was only joking. Jess teased him a lot, but he knew the man could be trusted to not embarrass him in front of other people. "So, what was it then, that he wanted to talk about?"

"He, uh. He sold the ice cream shop to Taylor." Jeremy furrowed his brow in confusion. "I mean, I guess to give you the proper background here, you need to know that Luke kind of blames himself for me not finishing high school or going to college. Which is stupid. He shouldn't, and I told him that. I didn't finish high school because I was a little shit who thought he knew everything and was too stubborn to listen to anyone else. I didn't pursue college for pretty much the same reason. It wasn't his fault. I was eighteen and it's not like he could force me to go if I didn't want to, right?"

Jeremy nodded. "I guess not."

"He couldn't." Jess said it more emphatically, and Jeremy wondered which of them he was trying to convince. "I mean, unless he was willing to come to every class with me and make sure I attended and did all my work. You really can't make someone do something they don't want to do."

"Yeah. I guess you're right." Jeremy agreed, even though he had always thought that was exactly what parents could do. Jeremy couldn't picture himself ever saying no to Jess about anything the man asked him to do, especially something like college that was for his own good anyway. Sneaking off to New York with Melissa had been one thing, but open defiance felt like another thing all together.

"I am right. But, Luke sees it differently." Jess paused, and Jeremy could tell he was thinking carefully about what to say next. "He thinks he let me down by not being able to make me finish school and go to college. It's bugged him for a long time. When I was in my mid-twenties, maybe, Luke thought he might have cancer, and one of the things he wanted to do then was send me to college. He considered it unfinished business that he wanted to take care of before he got sick. I politely declined the offer."

Jeremy wanted to ask why, but wasn't sure if he should ask questions or just let Jess finish.

"And, he's been thinking about it a lot again lately, since I lost my job at Truncheon for not having a degree. And, he's really serious about it this time. He even sold the ice cream shop to Taylor so that he could pay for it."

"Wow." Jeremy didn't know what to say. He loved the idea of Jess getting a degree. But, if Jess was going to school, too, and not working, he didn't know where that would leave him for help with his own education. He instantly berated himself for how selfish he was. If Jess was going to go to college, too, he wouldn't be able to help Jeremy, and that was fine. Lots of kids had to pay for college all by themselves. And, he had it better than a lot of them, because of the free roof over his head. Maybe he'd have to only go to school part-time to afford it. It might take him longer, but he would figure it out. He'd work his ass off and figure it out. He was happy for Jess. He hated the idea of Jess not being able to get an education because he was stuck paying for Jeremy's. "That's great, Jess. You're going to do it, right?"

"I told him I would, yeah." Jess was giving Jeremy the warm sincere smile that Jeremy always felt grateful to be on the receiving end of.

A scary thought hit the boy then. He felt a slight panic at the implications this could have for their family. "Uh, you're uh, going to stay local for school, though, right?"

Jess's expression was serious. "Nope, sorry kid, I'm ditching you and getting a dorm room at a party school somewhere on the west coast. Maybe I'll even pledge a frat. That's ok with you, right?"

Jeremy smiled at Jess's response.

"Yes, Jeremy. I'm staying local. I was thinking of applying to WCC for my first set of classes in the fall if I can still get it. Would you be ok with that?"

Jeremy grinned. "With us being classmates? Of course! I'm not sure if that will be really weird, or really fun, but I'm ok with it, either way."

"Really weird? Oh, c'mon! Rodney Dangerfield went to college with his kid and no one thought that was weird. They had a pretty good time if I recall correctly."

"I'll have to take your word for it because I have no idea who that is. I'm fine with us going to the same school. I'm really happy for you that you're going to do this, Dad."

"Thanks. I'm kind of happy about it, too. And, don't worry, I'm thinking I'm going to take the online program and go part-time so I can still work and help you with school and everything, so unfortunately, I won't actually be sitting behind you in class, kicking the back of your chair and flicking rubber bands at your head or anything."

"Oh." Jeremy felt a twinge of relief that made him feel like a jerk. Jess shouldn't have to go part-time for him. Jess had already given him so much, he didn't need to make any more sacrifices for Jeremy. "Are you sure? I mean, you don't need to worry about helping me. I can be the one to go part-time. That way I could work and pay for my classes as I go, and you could go to school full-time. You've already waited so long to get to go, don't you want to get through it as quickly as you can?"

Jess laughed. "Thanks for pointing out that I'm old, but you're not going part-time. You're going full-time. I'm not going to let your education get derailed in any way because of my shit. Plus, I've been out of school for a pretty long time, and I was never a great student to begin with. I think I need to ease back into it. And, I need to work. Even if Luke's paying my way for school and not charging me rent, I need to be bringing in money that I've earned myself and taking care of my kid in order to keep at least a modicum of my self-respect intact. So, thank you for the offer, but just so you know for the future, I'm never going to agree to any situation that involves you sacrificing something for me. Not your education. Not even the last cookie. Not anything. It's my job to take care of you, not the other way around. Got it?"

"Ok. If you're sure." Jeremy realized he had known Jess would turn down his offer, and he wondered if that was why he had felt safe making it.

"I'm sure." Jess nodded. He looked sure.

Jeremy smiled. "Maybe you could take one class on campus, so that we could take it together. I think it would be kind of cool. How many parents and kids get to do that?"

"Again, only Rodney Dangerfield comes to mind."

"Wouldn't that be fun, though?"

"It could be." Jess admitted. "We'll see."

"However you do it, I'm really glad you're going back to school. I like seeing you like this."

Jess raised an eyebrow in question. "Like what?"

"Just, happy like this about something for you. I feel like you're always doing stuff for me, and it's nice to see you getting something that's just for you."

Jeremy got the warm smile directed at him again. "Thanks, Jeremy. You're a really good kid. I hope you know that."

Jeremy smiled, hoping he wasn't ruining the moment by blushing again. "I should. You tell me enough."

"Good." Jess paused, his expression turning serious. "Hey, do I hug you enough?"

"What?" Jeremy was thrown off by the topic change. He laughed softly. "Yeah. I think so. I mean, you hug me like every day."

Jess nodded slowly, processing. "What about everything else? Telling you I love you? Spending time with you? Listening to you? Making you feel loved? Do I do all that stuff, enough?"

Jeremy huffed out an awkward laugh. "Uh, I think so. I mean, I guess I don't really know how much is enough, but I don't have any complaints if that's what you're asking." Jeremy stopped to collect his thoughts, wanting to give Jess a meaningful answer to his questions. "I think you spend a lot of time with me. And, I know that can't be easy because of how much you work. And, you always listen to me, like really listen to me, when I want to talk. Even if you're doing something else, you'll shut your laptop or put your book down and really pay attention to me. And, you tell me you love me all the time, like at least every night when I'm going to bed. And, other times, too, sometimes. You definitely tell me more than anyone else ever has."

"Yeah, but it's enough, right?" Jess asked earnestly. "I mean, I don't just want to do those things more than other people in your life have. I want to do them enough to make you feel loved. Do I?"

Jeremy was starting to feel concerned at the intensity of Jess's questioning. "Yeah. You do. I think you hug me enough. I think you tell me you love me enough. You're always kissing me on the head. Patting me on the shoulder or the back. I know you love me. I feel loved. Why are you asking me all this?"

Jess studied the boy for a moment. "Just checking, I guess. Something Luke said tonight made me wonder. I know I'll have regrets about things I should have done differently for you. From what I understand, most parents do. But, I don't want this to be one. I want to make sure I'm always clear on how amazing I think you are and how I love you so much more than I ever thought it was possible for me to love someone."

Jeremy gave Jess a small, tentative smile. "I'd say that was pretty clear, right there. You make me feel loved, Dad. Honestly."

"Ok. Good." Jess reached out one arm, directing the boy closer with a wave of his hand. "C'mere, kid."

Jeremy scooted down the couch toward Jess, who pulled him into a hug once the boy was within arms reach. Jeremy let himself be held against Jess's chest, feeling safe and loved. It struck him that maybe he needed to share his feelings with Jess more, so the guy would feel more secure about his parenting. Jeremy wrapped his arms around Jess's waist, rested his head on the man's shoulder. "You make me feel safe, too. I know you didn't ask about that, but just in case you were wondering." Jeremy felt a kiss land on top of his head.

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"So, I hear you two are going to be classmates at my old alma mater in the fall. That's exciting!" Lorelai enthused, smiling at Jess and Jeremy from across the dinner table. "WCC is an excellent choice, I have to say. I got a lot out of my time there, even just going part-time. I really felt ready to open the inn after I got my associates degree there."

Jess felt the momentary panic he always felt at having his life dissected, or even commented on, by people he was not particularly close to. He had told Luke that he had been accepted a couple of days ago. Jeremy a week before that. And, he had been the one to insist that he didn't want Luke to keep his college plans a secret. He should have expected it to come up at his birthday dinner.

Jess kept his voice light and playful. "That's right. So, go on. Hit me with all the Rodney Dangerfield and Billy Madison jokes. I can take it."

"Aww, it's so much less fun when you ask for it." Lorelai said.

Jess smiled. It felt good to be with his family without feeling tension.

"I think it's so great that you boys are doing this together, sweetie." Liz said, signing quickly as she spoke. "I always thought you should go to college! I know you always hated school, and I mean really hated it, but it's not like you don't have a decent enough brain."

Jess turned to Jeremy. "Do you hear that, Jeremy? That's high praise from your grandmother, right there. I have a decent enough brain." Jess signed to include Doula and made a face at his mother's description of his brain. Both kids smiled at him.

"I just mean that it was always a motivation issue with you, not an intelligence issue." Liz continued. She turned toward the rest of the table. "Getting this kid to do his homework was a nightmare like you would not believe!"

Jess didn't remember a lot of fights about his homework. Most of the fights he remembered from his childhood were over much more serious things. The lack of groceries in the fridge. A jerk of a boyfriend picking on Jess. One of them not coming home at night. Jess was trying with Liz. He knew she had regrets from how she raised him. He also knew that she had trouble acknowledging the things she had told him privately at her house, in front of Luke and Lorelai. He knew Liz saw them as good parents and responsible people and she seemed to go into revisionist history mode around them. He saw it as partially involuntary and was doing his best to cut her some slack.

"I mean the arguments we used to have about school! Oh, boy! I could tell you stories-"

"I think they get the picture, Lizzie. But, Jess is going back now, so that's something." TJ cut in with a small smile in Jess's direction, and Jess smiled back, reflecting on how strange it felt to find that TJ had his back. He knew it had more to do with TJ wanting to help Liz preserve her relationship with her son than it did with protecting his feelings, but still, it felt oddly nice.

"It sure is." Liz smiled proudly. "I just mean, I get it. School was like that for me, too." She turned toward her brother. "Remember, Luke? How Dad could never get me to study?"

Luke nodded. "I remember. You drove that poor man crazy."

"But, now I run my own jewelry business and I turned out just fine."

"You sure did, hon." TJ said.

"Life is so crazy. Hey!" Liz said, clearly excited now. "Maybe I should go to college with you guys, too! I've thought about going back to school myself. Wouldn't that be so much fun?"

Liz turned expectantly to Jeremy and Jess, who had just put a large bite of pasta into his mouth and chewed silently.

"Yeah." Jeremy agreed. "That would be so much fun, Grandma."

Jess narrowed his eyes at his disloyal little shit of a son. Doula laughed at that, too. "See that?" TJ said. "Three generations of one family all going to college together. Rory, they should be in some kind of human interest story in the Gazette, don't you think?"

Liz laughed. "Oh, c'mon, I don't know about that."

Rory smiled. "I'll see what I can do, TJ. So, do you guys know what you're going to be studying yet? Do you think you'll actually have any classes together? That would be really cute!"

"The cutest!" Lorelai agreed.

Jess kept chewing as Jeremy answered the question. "Neither of us is a hundred percent sure what we're going to study, but that's ok because we have to take a bunch of gen ed classes at the beginning anyway. Jess is in the part-time program and he wants to do most of his classes online, but we're going to try to take the very first class of the program, composition one: college writing, together on campus our first semester."

"That's so great." Luke said. "I love that you guys are going to be in a class together."

"Me too." Jeremy agreed. "I'm excited for it."

"I'm going to have to get a first day of school picture of you two guys headed out of the house in September." Luke chuckled.

Jess opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off by Liz. "What about life coaching, honey? There's a huge market for it right now." Jess wanted to say that he hadn't seen that as a program offered at WCC. "And, you could be your own boss so you couldn't get fired again!" He took another bite of pasta, instead. "And, you really only need to know basic life stuff. Like how to listen to people and motivate them. I'm actually considering becoming a life coach myself."

"Really?" Lorelai asked. Jess watched Lorelai, appreciating how adept she was as suspending her disbelief around Liz, and wondering why it had taken him so long to recognize how kind she was.

The doorbell rang. Luke and Lorelai exchanged a quick puzzled glance before Luke rose to go to the door.

Liz didn't miss a beat. "Yes. Life coaching is huge right now! And, I've heard that a lot of the people who want coaching are interested in starting their own businesses. And, I have experience with that. I could help them."

"Rory, come here a minute please." Luke called from the hallway, his voice raised and tense.

Rory turned to Jess to hand off Leelee. "Here you go, Leelee. Go hang out with your Uncle Jess for a while. Mommy will be right back. She has to go see what Grandpa's yelling about."

"You're sure you broke up with Paul this time, right, hon?" Lorelai smiled brightly as her daughter walked behind her chair as she left the room.

Rory laughed. "That's so not funny!"

Jess looked down at the baby on his lap, her big blue eyes inquisitive as always as she stared up at Jess and smiled. He could hear quiet murmuring from the hallway, mostly drowned out by Liz's conversation with Lorelai. Then the table went silent. When Jess looked up, his eyes locked on Logan Huntzberger.

"Is that my girl? She looks just like you, Ace. Well done." The blond dick was all smiles, as if he hadn't just missed the first six months or so of his daughter's life. He looked much as Jess remembered him. He was wearing grey pants, and a crimson dress shirt under an open jacket, but his clothes fit perfectly, in that rich person way, dripping with money and quality tailoring. The smirk on his smirky little face was the very same that Jess remembered from that night in the bar in Hartford when Logan had goaded him about his book and his past with Rory. He still hated that smirk.

"I can't take all the credit. She's got some of her daddy in her, too." Rory was standing beside him, one hand laying gently on his arm, her expression a combination of happiness and shell-shock. Jess wondered what, if anything, was still going on there.

"Hi Logan." Lorelai smiled, clearly off guard as she got to her feet. Winston came trotting in from the living room to investigate the new person, sniffing at Logan's legs and wagging his tail when Logan lowered a hand for him to sniff. Another member of Jess's family acting like a disloyal little shit. He would have thought the dog would have better instincts.

"Hi Lorelai. It's good to see you. I apologize for barging in on your family dinner. I was at my parents' house in Hartford and I wanted to swing by and meet Leelee in person. I wanted to surprise Rory, but now I'm thinking I should have called ahead." Jess watched Logan give Lorelai a fake sheepish smirk, the kind that guys like him gave to appear charmingly apologetic when they were actually anything but.

"It's no problem, hon." Jess watched Lorelai mentally debate whether to go to Logan and greet him with a hug, and as much as he felt for her in the position she was in, in a way it felt good seeing her discomfort caused by someone other than him, like he and Lorelai were on the same side.

Lorelai decided to get the baby first. Jess readily handed Leelee off to her grandmother. He got it, babies made good buffers. Lorelai carried the baby across the room and handed her to Rory. "Here's our sweet girl." Lorelai said.

Rory kept the baby in her arms, but angled herself so that Logan could check out his kid. "Look who it is, Leelee! That's your daddy."

"Would you like to join us, Logan?" Lorelai asked. "We're just having a little family celebration for Jess's birthday, but you're more than welcome join us. The more the merrier. I can round up another chair. I think we have some more in the garage don't we, hon?" She addressed this last part to Luke, who was standing a few feet away from the blond dick, his expression unreadable. "Hon?"

Luke snapped out of it and looked at Lorelai. "Huh? Oh, me hon?"

"Yes, you. Want to go see if you can find another chair for Logan?"

"It's ok, mom. I think we'll just take Leelee outside for a while." Rory turned to Logan, who was still smiling broadly as if he wasn't uncomfortable in the least. Jess still hated that smirky face of his. "Let me just put a jacket and hat on her. I'll be right back." Rory headed to her room with Leelee.

Lorelai turned back to her table of guests. "Logan, I'm sure you remember Jess, Luke's nephew."

Logan raised a hand toward Jess in a small wave, making no effort to approach him as Jess made no effort to stand to shake hands. "Hello, Jess. It's nice to see you again."

"Hi, Logan."

"And, this is Jess's son, Jeremy." Jess watched the guy's eyes widen momentarily at the introduction as he extended a hand for Jeremy to shake.

"It's nice to meet you, Jeremy."

"You, too."

"And these are Jess's parents, Liz and TJ. Liz is Luke's sister." Jess wasn't sure how he felt about TJ being lumped in with Liz as his parent, but this didn't seem like the right time to correct Lorelai. "And, their daughter, Doula."

Logan shook hands with Liz and TJ and returned the ASL sign for hello to Doula. Jess could tell the guy thought he was pretty charming, and it irked him even more.

"You have such beautiful blue eyes." Liz was telling the blond dick. "Those are Leelee's eyes. That's where she gets them from. I'm very good with differentiating shades of colors. I have to be in my line of work."

"Thank you." Logan leveled his smirky smile at Liz. "That's very kind of you. I'm glad to know I've contributed something to my little girl."

"Or, you know." Luke said, his tone gruff as he walked past Logan to stand next to Lorelai. "She gets them from Rory. Rory has beautiful blue eyes, too."

"Hey, you're both right!" Lorelai said, her smile bright. "Her blue eyes could have come from anywhere." Jess didn't think he had ever seen Lorelai this uncomfortable, almost nervous. "I have 'em. My grandmother had them. He has 'em." She gestured toward Jeremy with one hand, then crouched down so that her head was at the same level as the boy's, next to his, facing Logan. "See? Blue eyes all over the place. This family is lousy with 'em."

"When you're right you're right, Lorelai." Logan continued to smile, unphased by the tension or Luke's less than hospitable manner.

"Ok." Rory emerged from the bedroom wearing a light jacket and carrying Leelee, who was now properly outfitted for the outdoors. Rory was glowing. "I changed her, too. Just in case. We don't want to poop on Daddy the first time we meet him, do we, Leelee?"

Logan smiled warmly at Rory. "You two are a picture, Ace. I've never seen anything more lovely than this." Logan turned back toward the table. "Again, I'm sorry to interrupt. Thank you for your hospitality, Lorelai." He turned his head to encompass Liz, TJ, Jeremy and Doula. "It was great to meet you all, and to see you again, Luke. Enjoy your dinner. Oh, and happy birthday, Jess."

"Yeah, thanks." Jess tried to keep his voice level and unaffected, as if blond dicks crashed all his birthday dinners.

Logan smirked and followed Rory out the door.

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"Luke, do you want to come back to the apartment with us, and get out of here for a while?" Jess asked. Jeremy was standing next to him at the front door, a tupperware container holding two pieces of cake in his hands, trying not to be obvious as he stared into the living room, where Rory and Logan were seated close together on the couch, talking quietly and playing with Leelee.

"Thanks, but I think I'm going to stay here. In case she needs anything." Luke was also eyeing the little family on the couch. They had come back in after it had started to drizzle outside, and the awkwardness of Logan's presence had brought the evening to an end before dessert. Even Liz and TJ, who usually seemed pretty clueless to social cues were quick to make their exit and give Rory and Logan time alone with Leelee.

"Here you go." Lorelai walked up with a pint of ice cream in one hand and a gift wrapped shirt box in the other. She stacked the ice cream on top of the tupperware container already in Jeremy's hands. "Some mint chocolate chip to go with the cake." She turned to Jess. "And, this is for you from both of us. Happy birthday!"

Jess accepted the gift. "You guys didn't need to get me anything. I think the whole paying for school thing is enough."

Lorelai shrugged. "It's just something small that we wanted you to have." She smirked. "If you like it, I picked it out, and if you hate it, Luke did." Jess huffed out a laugh. Jeremy watched the exchange, thinking about how much better his dad got along with Lorelai and even Liz, than he had when they had first moved to town. Jeremy liked it. It felt comfortable, the way he had always imagined having a family would feel.

"Sorry to give you guys the bum's rush like this, especially on your birthday." Luke said.

"It's ok, Luke." Jess said. "Thanks for having us over to begin with." Luke and Lorelai hugged each of them before they left and Jeremy noticed the happy smile on Luke's face as he watched Lorelai and Jess pull back from each other.

Jess turned to him. "All right, kid. You ready to blow this popsicle stand?"

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As far as Jess was concerned, this was the perfect ending to his birthday, sitting on the couch with Jeremy, eating cake and ice cream and watching TV, while Winston slept on the rug at their feet. It reminded Jess of how they had ended Jeremy's birthday in Philly, and even though it hadn't been planned tonight, it felt like a tradition of sorts.

"So, that was Leelee's dad, huh?" Jeremy asked.

Jess nodded. "Yep. That was him."

"Luke hates him, doesn't he?"

Jess thought about that. "He doesn't hate him. Or, at least, he didn't always. Luke was able to tolerate the guy pretty well when he dated Rory in college. But, well, don't repeat this to anyone, ok?" Jess looked seriously at his son and waited for the boy to make eye contact.

"I won't. I promise."

"Logan was engaged to another woman when he and Rory were seeing each other. He's married to her now. I'm guessing that's why Luke started hating him."

"Oh…..that sucks." Jeremy paused to think this over. "And, Rory didn't know about his fiancee? And, now she has to share her baby with him. That's terrible. Poor Rory."

Jess nodded his head. "It's a tough situation on a lot of levels, for sure. But, Rory did know about Logan's fiancee. Rory actually had a boyfriend of her own while she was seeing Logan."

"So, they were both cheating on people?"

"From what I understand, yes." Jess wasn't sure if all this detail was necessary, or if he just wanted to tarnish his son's view of Rory a little bit, after the way the boy had taken her side when he had learned about how Jess had left her to go to California. He could still remember the boy's disapproving expression as he told Jess that he was lucky that Rory still spoke to him. He felt a twinge of guilt at the disclosure of Rory's affair. Fuck it. It was his birthday. If this was the kind of parenting misstep he would regret later, he could live with it.

"That really surprises me. I can't picture Rory doing something like that."

Jess restrained his eyes from rolling. He considered himself too much of a gentleman to point out all the other cheating Rory had done over the years, including breaking up an actual marriage. Jess genuinely liked Rory, and he believed her to be a good person, a kind person, in many ways, but when he looked at the pattern of her relationships, both those he knew about and those he had heard about from Luke, cheating seemed to be her greatest weakness. "People are nothing if not surprising. That's for sure."

Jeremy finished his cake and ice cream and set his empty plate down on the coffee table. "Can I give you your present now?"

Jess took in the boy's eager face. "You didn't have to get me anything, Jeremy. Just having you for a son is gift enough."

Jeremy laughed, and stood up. "You're so full of crap. I'm going to go get it."

Jeremy returned with a large box, maybe a foot and a half tall, wrapped in shiny green and yellow paper. He set it on the couch next to Jess. "Can you open the one from Luke and Lorelai first, though? I want mine to be last."

"Sure. Hand it over." Jess put his almost empty plate on the coffee table and waited for Jeremy to hand him the gift from Luke and Lorelai. "What do we think it is?" Jess asked, as he picked up the package and shook it near his ear.

"I already know what it is. They got me one, too, but I wasn't supposed to say anything until after you got yours."

"Huh. I'm not sure I like you and Luke always being in cahoots behind my back." Jess laid the box on his lap and gently peeled back the paper on one end and slipped the box out. He lifted the lid to reveal what looked like a grey hoodie. He practically lived in the hoodie he had bought at the Goodwill back in Philadelphia after the fire, so this seemed like an odd choice. He felt a small ember of annoyance at the idea that Lorelai was trying to replace an item in his wardrobe that she didn't think was good enough.

"Take it out. You have to see the whole thing." Jeremy prompted.

Jess pulled the sweatshirt out of the box and held it up. There was a small navy blue insignia that he didn't recognize on the left side of the chest. He flipped it around, and found deliberately faded navy blue letters spelling out Wollaston Community College across the back. While he wasn't the kind of person who would buy a school sweatshirt on his own, Jess found himself surprisingly touched by the gift.

"Mine is the opposite, navy blue with grey writing, so we won't look too goofy if we happen to wear them at the same time. Lorelai said that Luke wanted to get us both this one, but she made him buy two different ones."

"I have to say this is pretty snazzy." Jess pulled the sweatshirt on over his t-shirt and zipped it partway up the front. "I feel like a real college student now."

"It was super nice of them, right? Like, really thoughtful and everything."

Jess looked at the happy expression on his child's face and thought about all the ways his family had added to his kid's happiness. He had to agree. "Yeah, this is great. They are definitely thoughtful people."

"Ok. Open mine, now." Jeremy said.

"Ok, here goes." Jess ripped off the paper and found himself staring at the box for a brand new Vitamix blender. He felt a swirl of emotions, as his mind went back to that morning in Philadelphia, coming home from a run, standing in the kitchen when Jeremy told him about his allergy, the panic, the complete and total panic that he could have accidentally killed the kid, then the anger later in Stars Hollow, and Jeremy's breakdown by the side of the road. "Jeremy." Jess's voice was thick with emotion. "You didn't need to do this."

Jess looked at his son, who was watching him seriously, and maybe a little nervously. "Yes, I did." The boy's voice was quiet. "I owed it to you."

Jess was taken back to another conversation, then. He could hear his twenty-one year old self telling Luke the same thing at the bookstore in Philadelphia, when he pressed the check into his uncle's hand, repayment for the money Luke had hidden in his car to cover the cost of repairs. Jess insisting that he was just paying what was owed. And, Luke allowing Jess to push past his resistance, accepting the check and allowing Jess to hold on to some of his self-respect. It had been a lot of money for Jess back then, as this had been for Jeremy, now. But, Jeremy was right. Jess knew he would feel the same in Jeremy's shoes. As much as Jess didn't like the idea of accepting such an expensive present from his teenage son, as much as his instincts told him to admonish the boy for wasting his money on something like this when there was an ancient but perfectly functional blender in the kitchen, he was proud of Jeremy for wanting to make reparations for what he had done, and he didn't want to take away from the kid's moment. "It's perfect. I love it. Thank you."

The boy grinned and Jess knew it had been the right thing to say.

"I know that you forgave me for that whole situation, but I just really wanted to do this. I wanted to try to make things as right as I could for what I did. I still feel bad, and just so stupid, whenever I think about it." Jeremy paused, looking down at the couch cushion between them. "I was so scared the day you found out. I mean, I felt physically sick. I was so sure I had ruined everything with you….When I think about that day, I still get sick to my stomach."

"You think you were scared. Try dealing with a teenager having a roadside mental breakdown."

Jeremy huffed out a laugh, but he looked up and met Jess's eye. "Thanks for keeping me and being my dad, even though stuff wasn't always great in the early days."

"You're welcome, but that goes both ways. Thanks for staying with me and being my son, even though I didn't really know how to be a dad in the early days."

Jess could feel himself grinning. "What?" Jeremy asked.

"Nothing. I was just thinking how cool it is that we've been a family long enough to have early days to look back on."

Jeremy smiled. "Yeah, that is pretty cool."

"So, did you have a good time tonight?" Jess asked. "I mean, before the blond dick came along and ruined everything with his stupid face."

Jeremy huffed out a laugh. "Yeah. I did. I always have a good time when we do family stuff. What about you? Did you have a good birthday?"

"I did. Except for one thing."

"The blond dick?"

"Honestly, Jeremy, try to be a little more respectful of your elders." Jess fake scolded the boy, and Jeremy laughed softly. "I was actually referring to what a little kiss ass you were with Liz." Jess put on a high, overly enthusiastic voice. "I think it would be so much fun if you went to college with us, Grandma! Maybe we can all major in life coaching together! That would be the best!"

Jeremy laughed. "What was I supposed to say? She's my grandmother! And, you weren't any help, sitting there with your mouth full, not saying anything. Besides, I think she means well and she just wants to spend more time with you."

Jess chuckled. "Don't try to rationalize being a disloyal little shit, Jeremy. That only makes it worse."

Jeremy barked out more laughter, then let it trail off. "Do you think she'll really do it?"

"Absolutely not. She'll be on to something else in five minutes." Jess scoffed. "Life coaching. I pity the poor souls who would pay good money to get life advice from my mother."