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Chapter 5

A week had passed and it was the evening before the wedding. Luke could hear Lorelai and Rory chatting quietly in the living room. He had wanted to do the traditional thing of not seeing each other the night before the wedding but Lorelai and Rory didn't seem to grasp that concept so he gave up in the end. To be honest, it felt nice hearing them in the house and not having to worry about moving for the night, especially since Jess and Paris were staying at the diner apartment. He headed down the hallway with some food for them but stopped when he heard Jess' name in their conversation.

"So...you know Jess is bringing Paris tomorrow right?" Lorelai said cautiously.

"I assumed he would considering they can't seem to be apart." Rory said quietly.

"Rory..." Lorelai sighed.

"I know." She sighed. "I know you said there were bigger things to be angry at and that I should give them a chance but I just...I'm not in the mood right now. They really hurt me."

"I know they did. I'm not condoning them hiding it from you for three years but..."

"But what? Why are you suddenly Jess' number one fan?" Rory exclaimed.

"I'm not." She said patiently. "I'm just saying...you're going to be family from tomorrow. I get that you're upset but is it really worth losing them over? You and Paris have been friends since Chilton. I know how much she means to you."

Rory sighed. "Can we talk about something else?" She said.

Lorelai glanced at her daughter and knew she shouldn't push it so she nodded. "Ok." She said.

Luke chose that moment to go in. "Burgers are ready." He said.

"Are you really sure you want me going tomorrow?" Paris said as she and Jess were sat on the couch watching tv.

"What, am I already boring you that much that you want to go back to Truncheon already?" Jess joked.

"No." Paris rolled her eyes. "I just...Rory will be there tomorrow and we haven't heard from her since that fight. I don't want to make things worse and I don't want it to ruin Luke and Lorelai's day."

Jess sighed. "I know Rory and I'm sure she wouldn't want to ruin their day either so I'm pretty sure she won't make a scene." He said.

"Even so...wouldn't it be easier for me not to be there?" She said.

"Not for me." Jess shrugged. "I want you there. You're my girlfriend and I want you there."

"What?" Paris said surprised.

"What?" Jess said confused.

"Sorry, it's just...you've not called me your girlfriend before..." Paris said.

"Well, is that not right? I thought we were dating or..." He smirked slightly.

"No, we are. I just...I don't know, I guess it's just weird to actually hear you say it out loud." She admitted. She smiled shyly at him. "Sorry."

Jess smiled. "I guess we are still new to this. But if I hear you have another secret boyfriend, I won't be happy." He joked.

Paris smirked. "Nope, no secret boyfriend."

"Good to know." Jess smirked, pulling her close to him. "Hey girlfriend." He smiled, leaning in to give her a kiss.

"Hey boyfriend." Paris blushed slightly.

"They look really happy, don't they?" Paris said as she stood by the dance floor in the square, watching Luke and Lorelai dance their first dance.

Jess smiled as he watched his uncle smile at something Lorelai said and then Lorelai laugh at something Luke said in return. "Yeah they do." He said softly.

"It was a nice ceremony." Paris commented.

"Yeah it was." Jess said. "It reminded me of my mom's wedding."

"Really?" She asked glancing at him.

"Well not the wedding in general but she got married in the square as well. I guess that was Luke and Lorelai's first unofficial date." Jess commented. "It was a turning point for me as well..." He admitted.

"Yeah?" Paris asked intrigued. Jess hadn't really talked much about his past.

"Luke came to see me in New York and told me he wanted me there. After everything he'd done for me, I guess I couldn't bring myself not to go. I thanked him that night. For everything." He admitted. "It was a nice day."

"That's nice." Paris smiled softly.

"Yeah." Jess smiled, remembering back to the night he finally plucked up courage to thank Luke.

"Luke and Lorelai would now like to invite other couples onto the dance floor to join them..." Lane suddenly announced from the stage.

Jess glanced at Paris. "Do you want to dance?" He asked.

Paris glanced over at Rory who was on the opposite side of the dance floor, sat at one of the tables. She hadn't said anything to them the whole day. She really hoped she would have wanted to at least talk but she had just ignored them. She glanced back at Jess and smiled softly. "Sure." She said. Why should she not have fun?

Jess led her onto the dance floor and they started dancing slowly to the music. He saw Paris glance over at Rory again who was now on her phone. "You've been watching her all day." He said.

Paris sighed. "She's been too quiet." She said.

"Well like I said, she was hardly going to make a scene on her mom's wedding day." Jess said.

"It's not that though. I passed her in the morning before the ceremony when I went to Doose's to get us some food and she didn't say anything. I expected she would at least make a little spiteful comment but she didn't."

"Maybe she got out all the spiteful comments she could think of last time." He shrugged.

"She seems distracted." Paris said. "I've known her since high school and I've always known when something was wrong with her. You know her too. Can you honestly tell me she's been herself today?"

Jess glanced over at Rory and he realised that Paris was right. He had glanced over at Rory every so often throughout the day and she hadn't said much to anyone. He'd watched her smile and congratulate her mom and Luke just after they were pronounced husband and wife but other than that, she'd kept herself to herself. "No." He sighed. "You're right."

"See!" Paris said.

"What can we do about it though? She's not even talking to us." Jess shrugged.

"Jess, I know you care about her. You've said you don't but I know you do. Rory was a bit part of your life and despite the hurtful things she said, I know you're upset things have gone sour between you two." She said softly. She glanced over at Rory. "We need to make things right."

Before Jess could answer, Lorelai appeared beside them. "Sorry Paris, but do you mind if I steal Jess for a dance? Since Luke's dancing with my mother, I figured I'd dance with the best man. And you can't say no because I'm the bride and I get anything I want today." She grinned.

"Now that's a sight I never thought I'd see." Jess smirked as he watched Luke dance with Emily Gilmore.

"I don't mind." Paris smiled. "I'm going to grab a drink anyway."

"Thanks!" Lorelai grinned. She smiled sheepishly at Jess. "Sorry, I know this is probably your worst nightmare and something you never thought would happen but I didn't want to be left by myself looking like a loner." She joked. "Besides, it takes my mind of the fact that my dad's not here today because right now, I would probably be dancing with him."

Jess smiled sympathetically knowing how much Richard's death affected her, and Rory for that matter. "Nah I don't mind." He said. "Although you will owe me." He smirked slightly.

Lorelai laughed. "Oh I'm sure I will!"

Jess was quiet for a moment before glancing at her. "You're going to make him happy, right?" He said.

"What?" She said confused.

"I mean, I know you're happy. It's obvious. But you've also had your problems and Luke's a good guy. He deserves to be happy." Jess said hesitantly, glancing down at the floor.

Lorelai smiled softly, understanding what Jess was trying to do. "I'm not planning on hurting him, Jess."

Jess glanced up at her again. "Good." He said. "Because you two work. I saw it when I first arrived here years ago and then went on to insult you that night." He said causing Lorelai to smirk slightly. "You're good together." He said. "I'm glad he finally got off his ass and did something about it."

Lorelai laughed. "I'm glad too. Because your uncle...he's the best thing that's ever happened to me." She said sincerely. Jess smiled and subtly glanced over at Rory. Lorelai noticed this. "She'll come round." She assured him.

"Yeah?" Jess sighed.

"She's still hurting and you know how stubborn she can be. I guess she got that from me. But she will come round, I'm sure of it." Lorelai said.

"I hope so." He admitted. "I know I didn't always treat her right but she was a big part of my life and she was a big part of me turning my life around. I do still want her as my friend. And I know Paris wants her back as well."

"It might take some time but I'm sure it'll turn out ok." She said. She glanced at him. "So how is it going with Paris? I hope this doesn't come across as rude but Paris was one person I didn't exactly picture you with."

"Me neither." Jess admitted. "But we became friends and we got close. I guess we have a lot in common. We certainly didn't plan it, it just happened. But...I really like her."

Lorelai was surprised that he was opening up so much to her. "Well...Paris is Paris. I know we've joked about her being intense and crazy but...she's been there for Rory through some tough times. She's been a loyal friend to her. She's unique."

Jess chuckled at her description. "Yeah she is. But I guess that's why I like her."

"Well then I hope you're happy together." Lorelai smiled.

"Thanks. That...uh...that means a lot coming from you." He said. "But tell anyone I've been talking about my feelings to you, I will make you pay." He smirked.

"My lips are sealed." Lorelai grinned.

Paris took a deep breath before slowing walking over to Rory, holding two drinks. "Can I sit?" She asked nervously.

Rory looked up and was surprised to see Paris stood there. She was quiet for a moment before slowly nodding. "It's a free country." She said.

Paris sat down and pushed one of the drinks over to her. "I got one for you." She said quietly.

"Thanks but I'm ok." Rory said. She saw Paris' face deflate slightly and felt a bit guilty. "It's just I'm not drinking at the moment." She said.

"Oh. Ok." Paris said. She glanced over at her. "I hate this." She said after a moment. "We've been through so much since Chilton. I don't want to lose. You've been the best friend I could have asked for. Well...you were my only friend really. You made me feel like I actually mattered. Everyone at Chilton thought I was a freak and then so did everyone at Yale but you were always there for me and you were always there to remind me that it didn't matter what others said or thought. You always made me feel like I was worth something." She said. "I'm really sorry I didn't tell you about Jess as soon as I got the job. I should have but I can't change that now. I just want my best friend back." She said quietly. She sighed when Rory still hadn't said anything but she was surprised when she looked over and saw Rory looking like she was about to cry. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"I'm pregnant." Rory admitted.

"What?" Paris said shocked.

"You were right. I should never have reconnected with Logan because now I've messed up big time. I'm pregnant with his baby and he's about to get married and I have no idea what to do." She said tremulously. She glanced over at Paris. "I'm sorry I said those things to you. I was angry and upset and I guess I was hormonal as well although I didn't know it at the time. I know that's not an excuse but that's all I've got." She said quietly, sniffing. "I know I don't deserve it but I could really do with all the friends I can get at the moment. And...well you were always the friend who would tell me straight."

"You've taken a test right? I mean, you confirmed you're really pregnant?" Paris said trying to get her head round it.

"Yeah. I've got a doctor's appointment next week but I took a test last night and then two more this morning to be sure. They were all positive." Rory said quietly.

"Wow." Paris said quietly. She glanced at her. "Does Logan know?"

"No." Rory answered quickly.

"Well I think that's the first thing you should do." Paris said cautiously. "He deserves to know." She said. "And then you go to the doctor's appointment. I'll come with you if you want."

"Why are you being nice to me?" She said quietly. "I was horrible to you. I said such horrible things to you and Jess. Why are you even still bothering with me?"

"Because that's what friends do." Paris said quietly. "You may have said I wasn't your friend but you never stopped being mine."

Rory blinked back some tears. "I'm sorry." She said tremulously.

"It's ok." She said softly. "We were both in the wrong. Let's just focus on moving forward. That is, if you want to?" She said nervously.

Rory gave her a small smile. "I could really do with my best friend right now." She admitted.

"Well she's right here." Paris gave her a small smile. "Hey look over there, Jess has been grabbed by Miss Patty." She said smirking slightly as Patty insisted on dancing with him and Jess was trying his hardest to get away.

Rory smirked slightly. "Poor Jess..."

Paris glanced at her. "Should we save him?" She said.

"He's your boyfriend, your choice." She said.

Paris glanced at her but saw she was smirking slightly as she said that so she relaxed a bit. She glanced over at Jess and then smirked at Rory. "I say leave it a minute."

Rory laughed. "Poor Jess."

"I think he can handle himself." Paris smiled. She glanced over at Rory. "Hey...it's good to have you back."

Rory smiled softly. "Yeah, you too."

"Anything you need, I'm here ok?" She said sincerely.

"Thanks Paris." Rory said gratefully. "I don't deserve it but thanks."

So I hope you liked it! :) Please keep letting me know what you think by reviewing! Your support really does mean so much to me so thank you! :)