Chapter 5: The Stand-In Dad

Winter soon turned into spring. All throughout the early months of the new year, Rory retrofitted the Potting Shed to make it look more like home. All the while, she would write her memoirs in the cozy little abode by night.

Everyone supported her in whatever they needed. Lorelai and Luke would sometimes bring meals out to her if she was on a roll in her writing. April texted and Facetimed her stepsister from Germany, asking for updates on Rory's pregnancy. And of course Jess started to come more and more weekends from Philly to help Rory edit her manuscript and give her networking connections for publishers. He and Rory had tried to accomplish all this digitally and long-distance at first, but it had soon become too much of a strain for both of them.

One evening, in the Shed, Rory was rubbing her baby bump and perched on the single armchair she owned, watching Jess as he sat there and made notes on the latest bundle of chapters she had completed. He would be sleeping in the spare guest bedroom of what had come to be known as the Main House (Number 37 Maple Street) before heading back to Philly in the morning.

"You don't have to do this, you know," Rory murmured quietly, ever grateful that Jess was taking time out of his own writing career to help her.

"I want to, and actually I do have to. Uncle Luke told me all hands needed to be on deck to help you. Besides..." And Rory felt his gaze go to her. "I just want you to be happy. That's all I've ever wanted."

Rory's breath caught and her eyes filled with tears. There had once been a time - now heavily detailed in her manuscript - where precious few were able to ingratiate themselves into Jess's orbit of People He Cared About. That Rory was still one of those after all these years, and all her mistakes, made her feel eternally grateful and blessed.

Deeply moved, she kissed him. And though it had been years since they had been together like this, though their dynamic had shifted into the realm of quasi-family with the marriage of their parental figures, the old heat that had lain dormant came roaring back as Jess kissed her back. Clothes were shed, skin slammed on skin and Rory soon felt her weight - laden with the baby - collapse back onto the simple bed. She brought Jess down with her, but he didn't seem to have any intention of getting up. Heatedly kissing, Rory just managed to get out "Damn hormones!" from behind Jess's lips. He chuckled, his breath tickling her bare skin and warming her from the chilly spring night.

"Just do you, Rory. I can roll with it." Pretty soon, the pair were making love, capturing each other's lips between the groping of their sweaty limbs...


They lay tangled in each other's embrace early the next morning, both of them barely managing to fit in the tiny bed. Jess never even remembered to go back to the Main House for the night.

When Rory began to stir, Jess kissed her awake. She beamed at him. "You're glowing," he told her. "Why didn't you think of pregnant sex earlier? Or tell me about it? It's amazing!"

Rory giggled. "I had no one to do it with!" Then, on a dime, her eyes began to pool with tears and they began to fall.

Jess stared at her, distressed. "Rory? I'm sorry, did I do something wrong?"

"I HATE THIS!" Rory suddenly blasted out with no warning or preamble. She did not give any explanation as to what the 'this' was or why she was feeling this way. At least until she had calmed down from a round of hysterical sobbing. She looked down at her nakedness, remembering the feel of Jess's hands and mouth on what made her a woman. Even during the act of him taking her between his lips, she had feared he would think it was gross. The thought made her pout like a child. "I'm ugly," she whined.

"What?!" Jess spluttered in disbelief.

But Rory just stomped out of the bed and over to a mirror against the wall. "Look at me!" she spat, scowling at her bloated figure. "I'm fat and ugly! I look like a pig!"

Jess just chuckled as he rose off the bed, finally beginning to understand. These were the pregnancy hormones talking once again. "Rory. You are the most beautiful creature I've ever seen."

Rory blinked in surprise and glanced away, self-consciously tugging at her hair as she tried to untangle it. Jess just smiled and sauntered over to her, taking her in his arms. She stared up at him plaintively. "Don't go," she begged. "Will... will you stay?" She looked down at her growing womb between them. "Even with... the whole... Logan thing. Even for..."

Jess made her look him in the face. "Of course," he smiled.


Luke was surprised and slightly wary of Rory and Jess rekindling their romance, and Jess's plans to eventually move to Stars Hollow and help Rory raise the baby. Luke demanded that his nephew treat Rory like a queen, or he would answer to him. The town, however, seemed relieved that the baby Gilmore would have some kind of father figure, and even if the residents of Stars Hollow had once deemed Jess unsuitable for their angelic pride and joy, they were pleased that Rory would be further taken care of. Obviously, the new blossoming romance led the town rumor mills to start a whirring as spring heated into summer.

"You'd think they'd all have something more interesting to talk about," Jess scoffed, as he leaned against Rory's legs on the floor of the Potting Shed, while the rest of the family gathered around her tiny TV set to watch a movie. "Three new ordinances from Taylor in a week, and all Miss Patty asks me if it's true you have Leonardo DiCaprio tattooed across your chest."

Both Luke and Lorelai snickered; Rory ignored them.

"And what did you tell her?" the expecting mother asked.

"I told her it was Matthew McConaughay," Jess replied, flipping to another page in the magazine he was reading. "Much more my style."

"Thanks. And, uh... what did you say Luke has?"

"A picture of your mom, but I didn't say where."

Luke scowled at the deadpan as Lorelai rolled around the floor, laughing. He pointed a finger at the two youths. "Watch it! Just because I gave you my permission..."

"Your permission?" Jess rolled his eyes. "Please. You said so yourself that you would rather Rory was with me than Logan or Dean!"

Caught there, Luke just frowned and tried to turn his attention back to the movie.


It was the middle of August when Rory's water broke.

Her screams from the Potting Shed had Luke and Lorelai come running. Luke had gallantly picked her up, bridal-style, like a knight would his princess, and rushed his girls out to his truck. Babette saw the whole fiasco from the window next door, and put her skills to excellent use; the whole of Stars Hollow knew within minutes. On the drive to the hospital, Luke called Jess.

"It's time. Get your ass down here from Philly."

"The baby's coming?!" Jess had yelped.

"Yes. Congratulations. You're going to be a father without having done any of the work."

Rory spent hours in labor, screaming and wailing and pushing and holding onto her parents' hands for dear life. Jess sprinted in just fifteen minutes before the baby started to crown. And soon, there was another Gilmore girl to dote over and fall in love with. Rory named her Lorelai (the fourth so named in their family) but went with Laurie as a nickname.

Out in the hallway, Luke - the proud grandpa - stepped away to have a moment. He pulled out a locket on a chain around his neck and clicked it open. Four small compartments were inside, three of them filled with pictures of his girls: Lorelai on their wedding day, Rory, and April at her graduation from MIT. The fourth compartment was blank for now, but it wouldn't be for long... There was a new girl to fill its spot...