2023 - Autumn

Jess was standing in front of the building, drinking his tea to go and waiting for Emma. She just started school four weeks ago and had sort of an inner fight every morning - she really was eager and zealous to learn new things, but she didn't like to follow the rule of being there on time and waking up very early. Jess smiled. He agreed with her.
Normally it was Rory who picked her up but due to her pregnancy she didn't feel too well this day and Jess kindly stepped in. In fact, it was a nice interruption to the latest script he was editing, that gave him a headache and the desire to punch someone in the face.
The bell rang and kids started to rush outside the doors, babbling, screaming, not taking care of their steps. "Geez", he muttered to himself, while two boys were stepping on his toes.
In a distance he saw Emma and instantly his mood got better. Her normally straight light brown hair seemed a bit fuzzy and her blue eyes were shining while she explained something to the adult next to her. In a second she recognized him and smiled widely. "Daddy!", she yelled and ran into his arms. "Hey pumpkin!", he placed a quick kiss on her hair.
"Hello, I'm Mr. Trivinsky, Emma's sports teacher. Nice to finally meet you." The man with the glasses shook his hand.
"My pleasure. Jess Mariano." Jess smiled politely.
"Mr T, that's my Dad! He's very sporty! He works out and runs for hours. Mummy says he's one crazy cookie."
Both men laughed. A boy in Emma'a age with reddish hair passed by and shot a glance at them.

As Jess and Emma almost arrived at their car, the boy appeared again on his bike and hissed "That's not your Dad, Gilmore. I know from Isabella!" and rushed away. Emma looked after him, speechless.
Jess sighed. "Let's go." He opened the car door for her.
They drove for some minutes and Emma didn't say a word. Jess felt a bit helpless and searched for the right words. He knew that such situations would come up although there are lot of kids that have different family backgrounds, but he also knew, that it was not an easy topic for Emma. She was his daughter and he was her dad, you don't need a DNA test to prove it, it was out of love. But sometimes she felt lost and in between, because there was also the Huntzberger family.
"Hey Em. Say something."
She just stared out of the window.
"Em, don't listen to what mini Ed Sheeran said. You're lucky to have two Dads. You're special."
Out of the corner of his eye he saw that she wiped her eyes. Damn, no tears please.
He sighed and made an u-turn with spinning tires. The girl was startled and looked at him with wide eyes.
"What are you doing?", she shrieked.
"It's Taco Bell time."

Twenty minutes later they were sitting in the fast food temple, eating burritos and wraps and drinking root beer.
She slowly chewed and watched her father. He looked back at her.
"Sweets, listen. There will always be people around you, in school, in college, at your workplace, in your neighbourhood, who want to find reasons to mock you. Some people's lifegoal is to make others feel bad. Sad, but true. But you know what? You're a Gilmore! You're strong and self-confident. Should I tell you something about Auntie Paris?"
Emma nodded.
"She was very mean to Mum when they've been in highschool. She tried to hold her down and they were fighting often. But Mummy tried to look beyond her angry attitude and eventually they became friends."
"So, you mean I have to be friends with stupid Matty?"
Jess laughed. "No, you don't have to. You can decide on your own who should be your friend or not. I just want to tell ya, sometimes there's a reason why others seem to be mean or rude. Don't pay too much attention to it. That fuels the bad behaviour of others."
He smiled encouragingly to her. "And hey, as I said, you have two Dads. That's cool. If you think one is stupid, you still have the other one."
Emma started to laugh. "Yeah, that's kinda cool."
"And we both think that we have the best daughter ever."
The girl still looked a bit concerned. "But Dad..."
"Yeah?" Jess slurped with his straw.
"Soon my baby brother is there, Mummy said so. But he will have only you as his Dad, right? Maybe you'll like him more."
"Oh dear. Stop saying that. You're my first love, okay?"
"But Mummy said she is your first love!"
"Well, she's wrong, okay? But don't tell her, it's our little secret." Both smirked at each other and Emma giggled joyfully.
"So... everything's good?"
"Yeah, good."
"Then let's head home."

When they've arrived at their townhouse ten minutes later, Jess saw a familiar car in front of it. "Oh geez, speaking of the devil." He fumbled out the keys and opened the door.
"Auntie Paris!", Emma screamed and rushed into the house.
Jess followed her and instantly heard the well-known voice of Paris, talking insistently to Rory, shortly interrupted by hugging Emma.
"Hey Gellar, relax, you're talking to a pregnant woman", he stated and leaned forward to kiss Rory.
"That's obvious, Mariano, huge belly, swollen feet and enourmous breasts."
"Paris!", Rory shouted.
"I'm a doctor, I'm totally professional. Don't make a big hoo-ha about it. These are facts."
"Where have you been? Got some problems at school?", Rory asked.
"Nope, there was a Taco Bell emergency", Jess replied and he and Emma shared a knowing look.
"I'm gonna do my homework", their daughter said and disappeared in her room.
"Taco Bell? Seriously?" Paris blew her nose in disgust.
"Hey, be quiet. Remember that it was me who introduced you to fast food. And remember our jolly nights in Bushwick." Jess grinned at the blonde woman.
Rory smiled. She liked those nights in the burger bar, with Jess, Paris and some others, being in their early thirties, all settled in New York, rambling about books, music, families. She was afraid to start a new life, being pregnant, but surrounded with the right people, you always feel like home. They all accepted Emma, she had loving babysitters around that allowed her to have also some alone time, she had Jess and Paris, both always arguing over their love-hate relationship, and they've become a strange, but nevertheless close squad. Oh, those New York days.

Later this evening Rory was laying in bed, trying to read something and finding a position more comfortable for her back. Jess entered the bedroom, rubbing his face, shirtless and Rory caught his eye, smiling at him. "Sorry I've been such an annyoing woman these days." She sighed.
Jess laughed. "These days? What about..."
"Oh, stop it." Rory interrupted him and stared at him, showing her wrinkled fold.
"Sorry, babe. Just kidding." He sat next to her. "You're not annoying. And remember, you're having my son. We have a lifetime to annoy you back."
"Geez, don't remind me of that."
"Oh and hey, I've thought about it. I'm okay with the name. The only requirement is a cool nickname but I've already came up with something."
"You are? Thank you so much! Jess, that means so much to me." She was beaming with joy.
"I know."
"Richard William Mariano. What a great name. Like, he can become anything. The world awaits him!"
Jess smirked. Richard William Mariano. Or Rick, like he wants him to be called. Rick Mariano. His son.
"Now I only have to change her last name into Mariano. Or, let's face reality, Gilmore-Mariano. This woman is stubborn", he thought to himself, while she continued to talk about Rick's great future and snuggled up to him.