A/N: Here endeth my first ever Gilmore Girls fic. I actually think it turned out pretty good... In fact, I'm already working on another one ;) To anyone who has given me feedback on this fic, thank you so much. New fandoms are scary and I really appreciate the support :)

(for disclaimer, etc, - see chapter 1)

Part 5 of 5

"How you holding up, kid?" asks Lorelai in a whisper as they head back down the aisle behind a grinning Sookie and Jackson.

It's been a heck of a day so far, all kinds of high emotions running free. Lorelai's main concern ought to be her best friend's happiness, but honestly, her attention is split between this wedding and her daughter's welfare. The break up with Dean just three days ago hit her hard and yet she seems to be handling today pretty well.

"I'm okay," Rory smiles bravely, though somewhere behind her eyes tears are waiting, Lorelai is sure.

She doesn't ask anymore questions, just gives her little girl a brief one-armed hugged and hopes her plan for later is going to work out okay. They are headed for the reception at the inn next, complete with food, dancing and speeches. It is all very traditional and maybe a little over the top, but still much less extravagant than Sookie had once been planning. Lorelai still hasn't quite gotten over her mother's interference that almost ruined everything.

Within thirty minutes, they're at the inn. Rory is listless and awkward, speaking politely to anyone who talks to her, trying to quickly remove herself from sympathy. Most people want to feel bad for her over the break up. A few want to know what happens next, if she'll get back together with Dean, if she'll be dating Jess next. Rory has no good answers, none she wants to give anyway. She removes herself from company as much as possible.

Rory seeks out Lorelai, but maid of honour is a big role and she's buzzing around making sure everything is running smooth. Trying to keep Sookie out of the kitchen, and her parents happy. It's a lot for her, and usually Rory would help, but honestly, she just can't right now. She wants to run, but that seems childish. Going outside for just a little while should be okay, she thinks, just for a breath of fresh air and some space.

At the door, Rory literally runs into Luke.

"Hey," she smiles up at him. "I didn't know you were coming."

"I wasn't," he confesses. "That is, Sookie said there was room and would we like to, and y'know, your mother had her persuasive attitude in play so..."

He's rambling and they both know it, though only Luke knows why. Rory is left bemused until suddenly Luke makes a beeline for Lorelai across the reception area. Suddenly there's another figure in the doorway and Rory just isn't ready for it.

"Jess," she says, momentarily stunned, not just because he's here but because he's actually dressed for the occasion.

"Wow," he gasps, taking in the sight of her, and then he smiles. "You look beautiful."

"Oh. Thank you," Rory flounders, blushing profusely. "You look..."

"Like a dork?" says Jess, shifting uncomfortably in his suit.

It'd be cute if Rory wasn't so self-conscious herself right now. Still, it's wrong to let him think he looks bad at all. The truth is he looks so hot she's not breathing right.

"No, you look... good," she admits eventually, fingers lacing and unlacing.

Never were there two more awkward people, and they're both very much aware of it. They wanted to be here for so long, in a place and time where they could be together, and yet taking the big step is as scary as anything has ever been. Jess clears his throat, gestures out the door.

"You wanna...?"

"Yes, please."

They step outside and the fresh air feels good, as Rory predicted five minutes ago. Now she forgets what she was running from in there, only what she was headed towards. She had wanted to be alone, and now she's very glad she isn't.

"So... I'm sorry about Dean and the punching," she says eventually as they walk along together. "I didn't..."

"Not your fault," Jess interrupts, glancing her way.

"Not yours either," replies Rory, meeting his eyes more by accident than on purpose. "Er, my Mom, she said you didn't even say anything and Dean just swung at you," she says, tucking her hair behind her ear, then hugging herself, not knowing where her arms or hands should be. "I never thought he was like that, but I guess there's a lot of things I've been wrong about lately."

"You think you were wrong to break up with him?" asks Jess, hands in his pockets, eyes anywhere but on her for a while.

He's dreading the answer as much as he ever dreaded anything.

"No," she smiles, because it's nice to realise she's not the only nervous one here. "I don't think I was wrong to come find you in New York either. I'm glad I did."

"I'm glad you did too."

They've stopped walking. Standing outside on the grass beyond the inn, just looking at each other, smiling like idiots. Rory isn't sure what she's supposed to say or do next, and she never saw Jess look so oddly unsure of himself. It's strange, but comforting in a way, that he's as lost as she is for now.

Rory finds her attention taken by music starting up, and Jess' gaze follows her own. They peer in through the open French doors into the ballroom where Sookie and Jackson appear to be sharing their first dance as a married couple.

"Aaaaw, they look so happy," Rory sighs, a huge smile filling her face.

Jess isn't watching the newlyweds, only the girl beside him who never looked more beautiful. Well, maybe once when she showed up unexpectedly in New York...

"You wanna dance?"

He asks the question without really considering what he's doing, such is the effect of Rory Gilmore. There is a genuine smirk on her lips now as she switches her attention to his face.

"You dance?"

"I can, I usually don't," he admits. "But since Luke forced me into this monkey suit... When in Rome?"

"Or more accurately, when in a monkey suit," she smiles, putting her hand in the one he offers her.

They head inside and then the moment has arrived. Rory's never danced like this with anyone but Dean, but she wants to. She wants to know what it's like to be in Jess' arms, to actually date this guy who has haunted her dreams so long. It's awkward at first, when his hands find her waist and her arms rest stiffly around his neck. Then they relax into it, let the music move them in a perfectly pleasant slow dance. Still, Rory feels like it's all a little too intense in its silence. She needs to be talking.

"So, are you happy you came back?" she asks, still feeling dazzled and overcome by the intensity of Jess' gaze and his body this close to her own.

"I guess," he shrugs like it's no big deal but that annoyingly sexy smirk is back on his lips. "Stars Hollow has its perks," he tells her.

Rory blushes, because she knows what that means. She ducks her head away a moment, and then when their gazes meet again, they're just too close to let the moment slip away. She knows he's going to kiss her and she never wanted it more. It feels different, strange but right somehow. Rory remembers somewhere in the middle that they're in a room with a whole lot of other people, and this is Jess with his lips on hers. She pulls back suddenly, startling the both of them.

"I'm sorry," he tells her, visibly hurt. "I thought..."

Rory's lips are back on his in a second, cutting of whatever Jess might've said. He thought right and she wants him to know it, she just doesn't have words. She ought to have known the kiss was coming, she did know, but she never expected the rush that came with it. On her own terms, she is prepared, and so they both get lost in their moment, and it feels good.

Neither Jess or Rory know they're being watched. They should probably guess in a room stuffed full with people, but they don't. Lorelai doesn't really need to see her daughter getting familiar with the town pariah, but she knows how much Rory wants this relationship. Lorelai isn't Jess' biggest fan, maybe she never will be, but she'll learn to deal for her little girl's sake.

"Young love, huh?" she says aloud, gesturing across to the kissing couple.

Luke follows her pointer finger and sighs.

"Yeah. You think they'll be okay?" he asks, leaning in near Lorelai's ear. "I mean, I know I said Rory will be good for Jess, I know that, but he's not... I hate to say this about family, but I wouldn't exactly say he was good enough for our Rory."

Lorelai smiles at his use of 'our' for her daughter. There are so many times she's thought, she's dreamt... but now is not the time. Maybe no time is the right time. She grabs Luke's hand and pulls him onto the dancefloor without a word of explanation. They are dancing, she has decided, and though he opens his mouth to argue about it, in the end he keeps his silence. Lorelai fits in his arms perfectly, but Luke tries not to think about that.

"He came back for her," she says of Jess then. "He didn't go all Rocky on Dean's butt when I reminded him Rory wouldn't like it," she adds with a look. "That's something."

Luke looks across at the young couple kissing and laughing together, then at Sookie and Jackson, so very much in love. Eventually his eyes return to Lorelai, and the sight of her there before him, her arms around him as they dance. It's his favourite view of all.

"Yeah, that really is something."

The End