A/N: I really hope this chapter doesn't suck. I tried to write Paris and... well, I don't know if I did good, so please let me know, okay?

(For disclaimer, etc. - see Prologue)

Chapter 17

When Jess woke he found Rory already wide awake beside him and not looking entirely happy somehow. One hand rested on her stomach, the other twirled through her hair in some nervous or aggravated gesture. He wondered if she had a nightmare or if she was feeling sick maybe, but then he would hope she would have woken him up if that were the case.

"Rory?" he said as he turned and pulled himself up against the headboard. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"I should be there now," she replied, her gaze not shifting from some spot on the far wall. "Sophomore year."

Jess let out a long sigh, now realising the exact problem and wishing he could fix it. Yale started back up today, maybe even yesterday, he wasn't absolutely sure. Still, it was clear that Rory would be there now if circumstances were different, if she hadn't run to him, if she wasn't pregnant with his child. They had talked about all this, about the possibility of Rory only missing the last semester maybe, but in the end she was the one to say it wouldn't work. School could be stressful, and people could be cruel. She didn't want to potentially harm her child by stressing over school work, or suffer through her fellow students and teachers making a fuss over her pregnancy. She would rather take the whole year out, figure out what she and Jess were going to do and how life was going to be when the baby came. Next year she would go back, but for now she felt she was missing out.

"I wish I could make it better," said Jess honestly, reaching an arm around her shoulders and pulling her close until Rory's head landed on his shoulder. "But things are what they are right now. We decided this was for the best..."

"It is," she sighed. "I know it is, and I don't want to be at Yale right now, not really," she admitted. "It's not that I'm not happy, Jess, I swear."

"I know," he assured her, kissing the top of her head. "But this isn't how things were supposed to be."

Rory considered that statement. He was right of course. This wasn't the plan, not how her life was meant to turn out. She was supposed to complete Yale, go on to have a great career in journalism, and then someday settle down with a man she loved, a family. Everything had got turned upside down and inside out just lately. That didn't change the fact that she was glad Jess was back in her life, in her plans. She would never be sorry about that.

"I don't regret it," she said softly, curling in closer to her boyfriend's side. "When I came to find you, I... I didn't know exactly what would happen, and it's not exactly perfect timing for us to be having a baby and everything," she considered. "But I don't regret you, or us. It seems crazy, and it was never the plan, but maybe this was exactly how it is supposed to be."

Jess smiled at her logic that was almost entirely illogical. All her plans got blown to hell and Rory suddenly decided to believe in fate. He wouldn't argue with her, it wasn't worth it. Besides, for all that he wasn't so sure he put much stock in the whole destiny thing, he did believe in Rory. He told her a few months ago that he knew she was the one for him from the first moment he saw her. That was true, even if he couldn't properly explain it then or now. Rory Gilmore was supposed to be in his life, and him in hers. Now they had a baby on the way and that didn't always guarantee happiness for a couple, but for them, it would be okay. Jess was determined on that.

"Next year you're gonna go back to Yale," he told her, holding her close. "And everybody is gonna be so impressed at how hot you still are even though you had a kid," he said, making her laugh against his chest. "And you'll be top of all your classes, and the best mom in the world at the same time, because you're Rory Gilmore and that's just what you do," he promised, planting another kiss in her hair.

Rory looked up then and met his eyes, as hypnotised by his gaze as she was amused and flattered by his words. This beautiful, wonderful, caring man that loved her, that was determined she was to have the best of everything, her education, a family, everything. It overwhelmed her, and all Rory could do was cry.

"Stupid hormones," she muttered feeling stupid.

Jess moved to wipe the tears away even as they continued to fall. He shifted down to her level and kissed her cheek, her forehead, her lips, promising her in whispered words that everything was going to work out, that he loved her like he never loved anyone before. They were getting completely lost in each other and not caring at all about it when suddenly there was a loud rapping on the bedroom door and loud voices yelling.

"Paris, you can't just..."

"Lorelai, this is important!"

"Paris?" Rory gasped as she pulled out of Jess' grasp. "What is going on?"

"Not what I hoped," he muttered, climbing out of his side of the bed and reaching for his pants.

He had only just managed to get them on and turn around to see Rory tying her dressing gown around her when the door flew open and in stormed Paris Geller in full flow.

"Geez, you couldn't wait five seconds?" gasped Jess, grabbing at the nearest shirt.

"So it's true," said Paris without paying him a moment's notice, looking directly at Rory still. "You dropped out because the James Dean wannabe knocked you up?"

"Paris!" Lorelai snapped from the doorway.

"It's okay, Mom," Rory assured her. "You should go to work, we'll be fine," she urged her.

Lorelai looked from her daughter to Paris and then dared a glance at Jess now he was a little less naked. He nodded reassuringly that he had Rory's back and that seemed to be good enough for her. Lorelai warned Paris off stressing Rory out and then left.

"Well?"

"Paris, can we just... let's go sit down," said Rory, pushing her hair back off her face as she encouraged her friend to follow her to the living room.

Jess hung back a minute, ran both hands back through his hair, and looked down at what he was wearing. Some socks might've been nice, time to shower and all before visitors descended. Sure, it was only Paris, but he was having trouble getting his bearings at all after what he and Rory were almost doing when she showed up. By the time Jess made it through to the living room, Paris was already tearing Rory a new one about not being back in school, about her irresponsible behaviour in first running away and then getting pregnant. Jess was about to lose it with the freak of a study-crazy princess when Rory took matters into her own hands.

"Paris, enough!" she yelled at her, cutting her off completely. "Now, I'm sorry you're upset that I won't be at Yale with you this year, and I'm sorry if you think I'm an idiot for being with Jess and having his baby, but I am not going to sit here and listen to you rip my life apart. I was so non-judgemental last year when you were dating a guy the same age as my grandfather!" she reminded her, not even noticing the way Jess recoiled at that particular piece of news. "Can't you just be even a little bit happy for me?"

Paris stared slack jawed and bug eyed at Rory. She wanted to tell Gilmore to keep her hormonal mood swings in check, or tell her their situations were so very different, it wasn't even funny. None of those words made it out of her mouth. A darkness came over her expression and Rory was actually worried until finally Paris spoke again.

"Well, you don't have to worry about me and my embarrassing older man relationship anymore," she said flatly. "Asher died this Summer."

"Oh, Paris. I'm so sorry," said Rory then, reaching to offer comfort.

At first it didn't look as if she would accept the hug and then quite suddenly she did so. Over the top of Paris' head Jess mouthed to Rory, checking that Asher was the old guy she'd been dating. She nodded yes, and then made vague gestures for him to go make coffee. He agreed with a nod and wandered off to the kitchen, still feeling like this was the weirdest morning of his life so far, and that was really saying something.

"It was fast," said Paris then as she pulled out of Rory's arms having shed all of one or maybe two tears it seemed. "A heart attack. One minute he was with me and the next, gone."

"Oh," said her friend, biting her lip awkwardly. "Um, well, you two weren't..."

"No, we were not having sex when he died!" Paris snapped, yelling so loudly she manage to startle Jess into almost dropping the cups in the kitchen. "God, why is the assumption always that a great man can so easily be brought down by a vagina!"

Rory winced at the terminology, quickly apologising for her mistake. Jess couldn't hear anymore of the conversation after that and he was glad too. It was creepy enough having to imagine Paris having sex, and having sex with some professor of pensionable age, that was just a leap too far. Thankfully, by the time he got back to the living room with coffee for the girls, the conversation had moved on to Rory's plans and Yale.

"I am coming back, Paris, I promise," Rory was insisting, though her friend looked less than convinced, arms folded across her chest and sour expression firmly in place.

Jess hadn't spent much time with Paris Geller but he was almost convinced that was the usual state of her face no matter what was going on. He was pretty sure the only thing he ever saw make her genuinely smile was mac and cheese - that was just weird.

"Hey, if you don't believe her, believe me," said Jess as he put the coffee down on the table and threw himself into the arm chair. "Rory is not giving up her dreams just because we got into a situation."

"Fine words, Kerouac," said Paris pointedly, not even so much as a thank you as she picked up her coffee and took a long drink.

Jess knew what she meant. It wasn't just a call-back to an earlier conversation about literature that made her use that name, it was his tendency to leave town. He wasn't going to rise to the bait, after all, he understood that Paris was just looking out for Rory's best interests in the end. For all that she was a freak and a pain in the ass much of the time, Paris had been a good friend to Rory for a while now.

"Yeah, well, I'm not planning on getting back out on the road again any time soon," he said definitely, letting her know he got the reference. "Me and Rory are in this for the long haul."

"And baby makes three," said the blonde, looking back at Rory. "I still can't believe you were that dumb, Gilmore."

"Hey, not dumb!" she countered. "Slightly irresponsible, maybe, but I'm due a little of that after all these years," she smiled. "Seriously though, we're going to make this work, Paris, and then I will be back at school," she told her definitely, sipping her decaff beverage with some distaste. "In the meantime, you know you can call me whenever you want and come visit sometimes. By month nine, I'll probably be craving the company and talk of anything but swollen ankles, Braxton Hicks, and all those other scary things that Mom was warning me about."

"Oh, you've got it all to come, missy," Paris warned her, pointing out her pre-med status and advising Rory on not reading too many medical books on the topic of pregnancy, lest she be scared out of her mind.

They talked a little longer, mostly Rory and Paris with Jess listening in. It was weird how much like a friend the blonde could be when she put her mind to it. She still said the most inappropriate things at times, but Rory seemed to indulge her and just let it go, because that was Paris. It was almost amusing from Jess' point of view, but only almost.

"Well, I should go," said Paris eventually. "Some of us have new room-mates to adjust to and a reading list a mile long," she sighed. "It's going to be strange and lonely at Yale, without you, without Asher."

She looked so sad, and since everything was already making Rory cry lately, it didn't take much for the tears to come. She hugged Paris on instinct and the awkward woman on the other side of the moment hugged back, albeit briefly and as if she would rather be anywhere else right now.

"Take care of yourself, Paris," Rory advised. "And remember, call me, whenever you need me, okay?"

"I'll bear it in mind," she nodded, before heading for the door.

Rory followed with Jess at her side, his arm around her waist. When Paris looked back at them from the door she smiled.

"Who'd have thought that you were right?" she said to Jess. "Austen really could love Bukowski."

He smirked at her remark, amused and weirdly flattered that not only did she remember that one intense conversation about books so well, but also because it meant she believed in him and Rory being together. So few truly did, that actually meant something.

"Always a pleasure to see you, Paris," he smiled.

"Yeah, well, it will be, so long as you take care of her," she said pointlessly. "Screw up, Mariano, and your ass is mine, no matter how far you run."

He nodded that he understood, even though they both knew it was a threat that would never need to be carried out. Jess was going nowhere this time, not a chance.

"So, that's what waking up to Paris is like," sighed Jess when she was gone. "No wonder her last boyfriend died."

"Jess!" Rory snapped at him for being so thoughtless, though she ought to be used to his sense of humour by now.

"What? I happened to have been enjoying myself before she interrupted," he reminded her, pulling her into his arms. "And I didn't exactly hear you complaining either."

They shared a kiss but just as soon as he tried to get her robe off, Rory pulled away.

"Now we don't have time," she told him regretfully. "Isn't Luke expecting you at the diner, like ten minutes ago?"

Jess was cursing as he rushed off to the bedroom to finish getting dressed. Rory tried not to giggle but failed miserably. It really had been a heck of a morning so far as it wasn't even nine o'clock yet. She wondered how she would spend the day. With no studying to do for school and no job of her own, she was already starting to get bored. When she was more heavily pregnant, she supposed she would have to get used to it, but for now she figured she could have a job of some kind. If there was something in Stars Hollow itself that would be ideal so she wasn't wasting money on gas driving back and forth. She decided to wander into town later and see what she could find.

In the meantime, Rory wanted to go see her Mom. She would be at the new inn by now, since she had a meeting there with Sookie and Tom. Though they were living in the same house and had been for almost three weeks now since her return from New York, Rory didn't feel like she had spent enough time with her Mom, not alone anyway. It would be good to do so, and by the time Jess came barrelling back through from the bedroom, fully dressed and ready for work, she had quite decided that she would go and surprise Lorelai with coffee after her meeting so they could have a real mother-daughter talk about things just like they used to. It seemed entirely overdue.

"Did I ever tell you that you're my favourite daughter?" asked Lorelai as she chugged down great gulps of her coffee from Luke's - the very best kind of coffee, in her expert opinion.

"That would be flattering if I wasn't your only daughter," replied Rory, sipping her second decaff of the day and not entirely appreciating it. "But it's still nice to hear, I guess."

They were sat out back of what would one day be The Dragonfly Inn. Even in its state of ill repair, the building was beautiful and the views all round were exquisite. Though the weather was getting chillier as Autumn deepened, on days like today with the sun shining, it was still nice to sit outside so long as a person was wrapped up enough. Rory was totally comfortable here with her Mom, just talking about normal things for a while. They discussed the inn, and how things were going with their respective guys. Rory explained why Paris had come over and what had been said, and then talk turned to the baby.

"It is weird to think that this time next year I'll be back in school, but that I'll also be a mom," she said thoughtfully. "Kinda scary."

"Yeah, I remember," Lorelai smiled nostalgically. "I'm not gonna lie to you, babe, there's a whole lot of scary when it comes to having kids, but it's a beautiful thing too. There is no feeling in the world like looking down at this little bundle in your arms and knowing that's your baby, always connected back to you, no matter what. Kind of amazing."

"Sometimes I wonder what he or she will look like," Rory giggled, feeling silly just saying it. "I mean, I know this early he or she isn't going to look exactly like a baby with a smiley face and all, but when he or she is born, I wonder if they'll look like me, or like Jess, or some weird combination of the two."

"Maybe it'll be a real beauty of a girl, y'know, looking just like me," Lorelai joked, hugging her daughter close.

"Maybe," she laughed lightly. "I don't really care. I just hope he or she is okay, y'know, healthy and everything. I guess when we go to the scan next week we find out more stuff, like if it all looks okay in there."

"That's the idea" he mother agreed. "I, er... I meant to ask you about that, the scan," she said then. "I know Jess will go with you because hey, father of the baby, but I wondered if... and you don't have to... but if you wanted..."

"Yes," Rory cut in, looking her mother in the eye. "Please, yes, I would love for you to come with us too," she smiled widely. "Jess is being incredible and I wouldn't want to do any of this without him, but I still need you too Mom. You've done this before, you know all the pregnancy stuff and I... I just feel like I don't know anything about what I'm supposed to be doing or feeling, about what's safe and what's not. I mean, I know not to drink normal coffee or carry heavy things, but that's about it so far," she shrugged helplessly.

"Oh, honey, you know you can ask me anything at all," Lorelai insisted. "And y'know they make pregnancy books, we can get you a couple of those, but anything that looks scary or that you don't understand or have questions, I'm right here to help. Always, you know that."

Rory felt tears running down her cheeks and cursed herself for being so dumb. Some days it seemed like all she did was cry and others nothing affected her at all. Lorelai understood completely, that was the point. She couldn't promise her daughter that everything was going to be okay or smooth sailing from here on out. There were parts of pregnancy that were hard, some scary, some physically painful, and things could go wrong. All Lorelai could say for sure was that she was going to be here with Rory, every step of her pregnancy and beyond. That was a promise she could make and would keep, without question.

To Be Continued...