Disclaimer: These characters are so not mine. This particular scenario is though.

Thank you to my reviewers:
luvablemilo: I like having Jess, too. Thank you.
DevilPup9: Yes, they can suck at times, though these two seem to be handling it fine. Here's the next update!
Gilmore-Buffy-Fan13: Thank you very much! I think it's the details which really make or break a story.
lukeandlorealilove: Thank you. The carrots work, apparently, since I got out of bed this morning to finish this chapter instead of sleeping 'til all hours of the afternoon.
evengeline b: Mmm, carrots. Thank you.
RogueHoney: As much as I love Rory and Jess, I'm trying to round out the story at least a little with details from the other people in her life. I'm glad you liked it.
gilmore15girl: More Rory/Jess, coming your way. And don't worry, it will happen in the fun way too at some point, heh.
Tookie Clothespin: Thank you so much! You bet I'll keep writing…
Brucasforever: Thank you!

AN: Here's more! I've actually surprised myself at how much comes out when I sit down to write. I originally pictured Luke and Lorelai's wedding to be about the third or fourth chapter, but, as you can see, other important things just keep popping up. Funny how that happens…Enjoy!

I Said What?

Rory woke with a start at a loud crash somewhere nearby. The pounding in her head made her quickly realize that sitting up and opening her eyes was a definite tactical error, so she fell back onto her…wait. Where was she? Not her bed, that was for sure. She shifted around a bit until she recognized the familiar couch. Alright, now she knew she was home and had been sleeping on the couch, but why? She heard another crash, this time realizing it came from the kitchen.

"Mrughluff…"

"Did you say something, hunny?" Lorelai called from the kitchen.

"Wha?…" came a sudden voice from right next to her.

Rory slowly turned her head and opened her eyes to see Lane sprawled out on the floor with a blanket draped over her. As she looked around, she also saw Jess' mother passed out in the armchair. Suddenly, Rory remembered; her mother's bachelorette party had been last night. Rory stood up slowly and made her way to the kitchen. This wasn't the worst hangover she'd ever had, but it definitely warranted coffee and junk food. She was hit with a sudden craving for pancakes, but decided she needed to find out what the crashing in the kitchen was first.

"Hi mom," Rory mumbled as she found her way to the kitchen table.

"Hey there, dollface," Lorelai replied cheerfully.

"What's with the noise?"

"Oh, I'm just packing for the honeymoon and I wanted to see if I could find my funky belt."

"Rhinestones or beads?"

"Beads…I think I hid it in this cupboard somewhere…Oh well."

"Oh…why are Lane and Liz here?"

"Lane wasn't about to go back to Mama Kim's house in the state she was in, and our house is much closer than Liz's, so I kinda let her follow us home."

"Hmmm…Hey, it was your bachelorette party, why are you not in pain this morning?"

"Well, I've learned recently that I'm not as young as I once was, and while you can get up this morning and function, not to mention get up tomorrow and be beautiful, I wasn't going to risk it."

"Aha…"

"It sure was fun though…thank you so much for putting that together!"

"I'm glad you had fun."

"I sure did, I mean Miss Patty singing, Gypsy dancing, you and your little speech..."

That caught Rory's attention.

"Me and my little what?"

Lorelai smiled deviously while raising her eyebrows innocently.

"Aw hunny, don't you remember?"

Rory concentrated very hard on last nights events in an effort to recall any sort of speech she might have given. She remembered Jess telling her that TJ was dragging Luke and him out to a bar. She remembered him winking and telling her to have a good time. She remembered conspiring with Lane to get Lorelai to Miss Patty's without her suspecting anything about a party. She remembered the party getting underway with some of Patty's famous punch. She was even pretty sure she remembered Miss Patty singing, Gypsy dancing, Liz telling a story about Jess, and then Miss Patty making a comment about Jess' ass, but…her face widened in horror as she finally remembered what her mother was talking about.

"Aha! See, you do remember…"

"Umm…I think it may have been something along the lines of how Jess not only had a great butt, but he was also amazing and smart…"

Lorelai interrupted, "Actually, I think your exact words were 'He's the most incredible person you'd ever met and you hoped that someday soon you two would take your relationship to the next level, because you've been wondering what he would be like since you were seventeen."

Rory sunk her head down in her arms on the kitchen table.

"I did not say that in front of his mother and the rest of the women of the town, did I?"

"Just be glad grandma wasn't there, sweetie."

Rory's face was burning in embarrassment; she didn't know how she could face the town, or Jess, ever again.

"At least they reacted well," Lorelai suggested supportively.

Rory glared at her mother.

"Hey, I mean Miss Patty cheered and Liz gave you hug and called you a great catch for her little boy…"

"There is something very wrong with this whole situation…"

Lorelai went over to Rory and pulled her into a hug. Then she pulled back a bit so she could look Rory in the eyes.

"You really like him, don't you babe?"

Rory nodded.

"Well then, I want you to be happy. Just promise me one thing?"

"What?"

"Just be careful, and don't rush things, okay? You're just getting your life back on track…"

"He helped…"

"I know he did, hunny, but there are some things you have to figure out for yourself, and I want you to be able to stand on your own two feet, and not necessarily build your life around a guy."

"He doesn't want me to do that…"

"I'm not saying he does, I'm just saying that you two have a better chance of working out if you both know what you want and need out of life first."

"I guess…"

Lorelai put her arm around Rory in a half hug and asked, "Is it time for pancakes, yet?"

Rory began to nod, but then stopped and shook her head.

"Why not?"

"Because Jess is out there, along with the rest of the town…Can you imagine how fast word of last night will get around? No way. I'll nurse this hangover with coffee and pop tarts."

"You can't hide forever."

"I can try, though."

"Actually, no you can't, because the wedding rehearsal is tonight at five, followed by the rehearsal dinner at Sniffy's. Sorry kid, but it looks like you're going to have to face up to this one, and soon."

Rory made a face and a small whining noise before getting up to pour herself some coffee.

"Well, I may not be able to hide forever, but I'm going to hide as long as I can. I'm going to take a nice long shower."

She downed her mug of coffee and set off in search of a clean towel.

By the time Rory finished her shower, dried her hair, and threw on some clothes, she was starving. She ransacked the pantry, but found only stale pop tarts and other food that needed to be cooked before consuming – damn Luke and his actual food shopping. Now, Rory had nothing to eat. Taking a quick look around the house, Rory realized that no one was home anymore: not Lorelai, not Lane, not Liz. Returning to the kitchen, Rory saw a note on the kitchen table that she hadn't noticed before.

Rory,

Hiding won't solve anything. At Luke's for lunch. Sure you won't join me?

Lorelai

P.S – I smell snow, so I'm sure something good will come of this.

Rory weighed her options carefully: starve at home, or brave the town to get food. She could kill her mom for leaving her in this situation.

"Fine. She can have it her way," Rory whined in frustration as she went looking for her jacket and purse.

Outside it was cool and overcast, but Rory couldn't quite smell the snow her mother claimed to predict. Her senses, however, were not nearly as honed as Lorelai's, so she couldn't be sure for now.

"So far, so good," Rory muttered as she made her way across the town square.

So far, no one had stopped her to talk, or looked at her funny, or done anything remotely out of the ordinary. She was almost starting to hope that maybe it hadn't actually been a big deal and everyone would just let it slide, but the rest of her knew that wasn't a likely possibility in this town.

Luke's was fairly busy when Rory entered, but she quickly found her seat next to Lorelai and was surprised to find Jess placing a mug of coffee in front of her already. She smiled up at him in quick thanks before turning her concentration to the coffee in front of her.

"From what I've heard of last night, I'm surprised you're even here right now," Jess stated plainly.

Rory hoped the heat rising in her cheeks would be attributed to the hot beverage in front of her, and she tried her best to find her voice so she could respond.

"Oh? And what did you hear about last night?"

"Actually, I just figured that with Miss Patty's punch things must've gotten kinda crazy. Plus, you're looking a little like you're in desperate need of hangover food."

Rory relaxed a little as she realized he hadn't heard any details, yet.

"Although…"

Rory's heart nearly stopped until Jess continued.

"As much as I want to attribute it to the inherent craziness of this town, people sure have been acting weird this morning."

"Weird? How?"

"Well, I'm used to Babette and Miss Patty coming in and whispering while staring at me, but today, I swear Patty was wiggling her eyebrows at me. Lane stopped in too, and she could barely look me in the eye without blushing. And do you have any idea why my mom would come in here, pinch my cheeks, and tell me 'what a lucky boy' I am?"

Rory nearly choked on her coffee, and Jess leaned in to finish his comment.

"Not only that, but even Gypsy came in and made what sounded like a suggestive comment, but, I mean, it's Gypsy, right? And Sookie stopped in and couldn't stop giggling the entire time she was in here. I swear I should have this whole town committed."

Rory wished the ground would swallow her whole at that very moment.

The only words she could squeak out were, "Huh, weird."

"Yeah, I guess. So, did you want to order anything?"

"Ummm…pancakes, please, and mashed potatoes…oh, and applesauce…"

As Jess rolled his eyes at her order and walked off, Rory's head once again sunk into her arms on the table. Lorelai reached over to rub a comforting hand on her arm.

"That wasn't too bad hunny, he's chalking it up to the town being crazy. I wouldn't worry about it too much."

"Yeah, sure…"

At that moment, the bells on the diner door rang again, and Rory looked up to see Liz coming in. Once again, Rory could feel the heat rising her cheeks as she suddenly became intensely interested in a small nick in the surface of the table in front of her. Liz, however, apparently didn't embarrass easily.

"Rory!" she cried out as she crossed the diner and pulled her into a hug.

"How are you this morning, cutie-pie?"

Rory squirmed a little in her seat at the attention she was receiving.

"Umm…I'm okay…"

Jess came over looking a little disturbed at how his mother was acting with Rory.

"Weren't you already here this morning?"

"That was just to stop by and say hello. I went home to get TJ, but wouldn't you know, he's still passed out. You boys must've had a real good time last night," Liz said as she winked suggestively and gave Rory a knowing look, "I know us girls did."

Jess rolled his eyes again, and said dripping with fake sincerity, "Sure, we had a real blast. It's a darn shame Jackson stayed home with the kids and had to miss out."

Liz rolled her eyes at Jess' sarcasm.

"Fine, be that way. We don't have to tell him the fun things we talked about last night, do we Rory?" Liz suggested teasingly.

Rory absolutely wanted to disappear at that moment, but she tried to manage a weak smile as she choked out, "No, I don't think we do."

Jess shot a perplexed look back and forth between Rory and his mother. He looked to Lorelai for some explanation, but she just shrugged her shoulders and sipped her coffee

"Well, it's about time I got something to eat," Liz said suddenly.

She stood up and headed over to the counter, where Luke was clearing plates and serving customers, leaving a very confused Jess at the table with Rory and Lorelai. Rory was refusing to make eye contact with him, which made him even more curious.

"Okay, seriously, I feel like I missed something here. You wanna tell what's going on here, Rory?"

"Ummm…Not particularly."

He shot her a questioning look and asked, "So there is something going on I should know about?"

Rory sighed heavily, "How about you let me eat breakfast first, and I'll tell you all about it later, okay?"

Jess nodded slowly, and went back to serving customers, giving Rory a long lingering look as he walked away. Rory looked at her mother, helplessly.

"What are the chances I'll get struck by lightning before I finish eating?"

Lorelai paused to look out the window and check the sky before answering.

"Slim to none, kid. Look at the bright side though; if you tell him, you don't have to worry about him finding out some crazy exaggerated story from anyone else."

Rory let out another sigh; she wasn't exactly looking forward to this conversation.

An hour later, Rory had finished eating, Jess had taken his break, and the two were walking towards the bridge. Rory was still unsure what to say, so she waited for Jess to speak first.

"So, are you feeling okay?"

"I'm doing better now; the food really helped, and I took a couple aspirin before I left the house."

"That's good"

"Yeah…how was your night?"

"Eh, TJ got really drunk, but it wasn't too bad hanging out with Luke."

That's nice."

"Yeah"

They walked in silence again for a minute or two as they came to the bridge and sat down.

"So, do you wanna tell me why everyone is acting so strange?"

"It's really embarrassing."

Jess took the opportunity to scoot closer to Rory and take her hand.

"C'mon Ror, you know you can tell me anything, right?"

Rory nodded and began slowly, "Well, last night, we all went to Miss Patty's…everyone was having a great time. Anyway, I guess I still haven't learned my lesson about Miss Patty's punch, either."

"What happened?"

"Well, someone mentioned something about Valentine's Day, and I said that I had been having a really bad Valentine's Day until you made it better by being my Valentine."

Jess smiled a little and squeezed her hand, giving Rory a bit of courage to continue.

"Then, your mom told a story about a Valentine you made for her when you were seven…I guess she still has it. Anyway, then she said how proud she was of how you turned out, and how she thought that sending you to Luke's was the best decision she'd ever made."

Jess sighed a little at the memory of that Valentine, one of the last times he'd really still thought of Liz as 'mom'. Not too long after that, she'd married her second husband, and things had never been the same. He also couldn't help but shake his head a little at the thought of her decision to send him to Stars Hollow. He'd hated her for it at the time, but sitting here on the bridge with Rory, holding her hand, he couldn't help but be a little grateful for Liz sending him away.

"I still don't get how this is embarrassing, for you, at least…"

"I'm getting there…So, then Miss Patty made a comment about the town missing a fine addition if you hadn't been here, in terms of her having better eye candy…"

"Ah, jeeze…"

"Yeah, sorry about that…though she swears you have a better looking butt that all but two of her husbands."

"Ugh, Rory!"

"Hehe, sorry, I couldn't resist."

"Again, still not seeing how this is embarrassing for you."

"Well, I guess the punch must've really kicked in by then, because then I made a comment about your butt."

Jess raised an eyebrow and smirked.

"Oh, did you?"

"Yes, I did…but then…I…"

"You what, Rory?"

"I kept going."

"Oh?"

"And I may have possibly suggested that I…find many of your…attributes…pleasing. I may have then…ugh…I can't say it…"

"Sure you can!" Jess encouraged her.

He was really curious now. Rory stopped, glanced at him and then looked away to stare off into space.

"I may have said that I was looking forward to…ahem, being with you…because I may possibly have been wondering what it would be like with you since we were seventeen," Rory finished quickly.

Jess, try as he might, could not suppress the smirk on his face or the chuckle rising in his throat at this revelation. He leaned in close so he could talk quietly in her ear.

"So, you've been wondering have you?"

Rory pulled back and shot him a withering glance before giving in just a little and letting a very small smirk find its way to her face.

"Maybe. I kinda wish I hadn't announced it to the whole town and both of our mothers though."

"Who cares what the town thinks! And Liz was clearly thrilled at the prospect, so I don't think you should be too concerned with her. What did Lorelai say?"

"That she wants me to be happy. Although, she also hopes we don't rush into anything because I'm just getting back on track and she wants me to feel capable of independence."

"I want that too, you know."

"Yeah, that's what I said. She didn't doubt it, either, she just suggested that we have the best chance of…uh, working out…if we both know what we want and need first."

"I never thought I'd say this, but I agree completely with Lorelai."

"You do?"

"Well sure, I mean, do you know what you want? I know you want journalism, but do you still want to be an international correspondent? That's a choice which would have a pretty serious effect on our, uh, future together, were we to decide to have a future. I mean, I had you to give me several pretty firm wake up calls in the last three years, so I've had a good amount of time to really be thinking about what it is I want to do with my life. You got your kick in the ass pretty recently; you deserve some time to think, too."

"I already have thought about it, I've been thinking about it for almost a year now."

"Well, yes, but have you come up with any answers?"

"Umm…well, sort of. I know for sure I want to be a journalist. I'm going to put myself out there, win or lose, but I think I have a real chance of succeeding."

"I do, too."

Rory paused to appreciate his sincere confidence for a moment before continuing.

"Although, I guess I still don't know for sure whether I want to be an international correspondent. I know I still want to travel and see the world, but I'm starting to really appreciate what it means to have a home and roots. I think I would feel like I was missing out on something if I were on the road all the time, and that makes me question whether or not it's something I really want.

"Okay then, again, I can't believe I'm saying this, but Lorelai may have a small point here."

"I guess she might…"

They sat for a few moments in silence, enjoying each other's company.

"Well, I think this was a highly productive conversation," Jess said as he began to stand up.

Rory smiled as he helped her up and they began walking hand in hand back to the diner.

He leaned in again to whisper in her ear, "Now I know I'm not the only one who's been wondering for years."

Rory blushed and kept walking, trying her best to suppress the giddy feeling rising inside her. When they reached the town square, she stopped suddenly, bringing him to a surprised halt next to her. She was looking around curiously, but when he was about to ask her what was the matter, she held her finger up to quiet him. After a moment, he noticed a small smile spreading on her face, and when he looked up, he realized there were flakes of snow falling from the sky.

"Snow?" he asked.

"Snow. Snow is always a good sign," she assured him, and she took his hand and began leading him back to the diner.

AN: More tonight? I hope...

Reviews are love, thank you very much.