Note: Welcome to the new story followers, and thank you to all of you that have reviewed. It's been longer than normal since I've updated, and I feel I must warn you that I'm not a fan of this chapter. Please forgive any typos. I knew that if I spent any more time with this one, editing and proofing, that I would probably scrap it altogether. Oh well, I did label this one Romance/Angst. Hope you stick with me and the story after the next few chapters.

Chapter Twelve

"Does your Mom know that you're leaving tomorrow?" Jess asked, having made peace with the idea of Rory leaving. They slowly climbed the steps to the front porch, pausing just in front of the door.

"No, but I did tell her that I'm leaving New York."

"How did that go?"

"Not as bad as I thought it would. Sometimes I forget that I am an adult, and that I capable of making my own decisions without fearing judgment. I'm just lucky that she realizes it."

"Speaking of making decisions without fearing judgment, what do we tell them about us?"

"Believe me, we won't have to tell them. Lorelai Gilmore has a sixth sense when it comes to you and me."

"Luke too. You know, he gave me a lecture at the hospital about not screwing up this time, like I'm 17 again. I'm not going to, by the way, just in case you were wondering."

"I know." She leaned over and kissed his stubbly cheek. "You do realize that they're probably inside watching us, right?"

"If they're not, Babette surely is. She probably thinks I'm gonna kidnap one of her gnomes, again."

"Don't do that. That's not who you are, and everyone knows it now. Luke, being the proud uncle that he is, has told anyone that would listen. They all know that you're not who they always believed you to be."

"Because of you." He snaked his arm around her waist and pulled her close.

"We have to go in, Jess." Rory said, finding it difficult to maintain her composure.

"I guess we do, don't we?" He lifted his hand to brace her neck, slowly drawing her to him until their lips met.

"Whoa! Guess we still need that code word!" Lorelai yelled, shielding her eyes as she swung open the door.

"Somethings never change." Jess muttered, only loud enough for Rory to hear.

Rory playfully slapped his arm and glided towards the door. "I'm so glad you're home, Luke." She walked past both Lorelai and Luke. Luke turned and followed her inside.

Lorelai inched out onto the porch, closing the door behind her. "Thank you, Jess for staying with Luke last night. I know he thought it was silly, but I felt better knowing that he wasn't alone."

"That's what family does. You don't need to thank me."

"But I do, and I have to apologize to you too, because what I'm about to say makes me feel like my mother. I know you've turned things around for yourself. I know that you're not the same kid that stole a beer from my fridge and disrespected me in my own house."

"I was hoping that you had forgotten about that." He joked nervously.

"My point is that Rory is really messed up right now. She's walking away from everything that she's ever wanted." Lorelai rambled. "And I know that she's an adult and that I have absolutely no say over what she does with her life, but she's my baby, Jess. She always will be, and I can't stand to see her get her heart stomped on again."

Jess stood completely still, his eyes fixed firmly on the floorboards of the porch. "We should probably go inside."

He slid across the porch, held the door open for Lorelai.

"Luke?" She yelled out from the foyer.

"In here." Luke shouted back from the kitchen. Lorelai made her way to the kitchen, while Jess wandered through the living room, pausing to look at the photographs of young Rory on the mantle.

"Jess?" Rory walked up behind him, wrapping her arms around him.

"Hey." He picked up a framed photograph of a costumed Rory from the 3rd grade. "What is this?"

"Oh, I couldn't decide between being a turtle or a bird for Halloween, so Mom made me a turtle bird costume. It was the most original costume."

"I can see why." He placed the frame back on the mantle.

"It was cute."

"Uh huh."

"I'm sure you never had an embarrasing Halloween costume."

"Never." He smirked. "Hey, your mom just gave me the don't hurt my kid speech outside."

"Oh god, really? What did you say?"

"Nothing. What could I say? As much as I had hoped that things would be different between us, she doesn't trust me. Can't say I blame her."

"I-I don't know what to say. I'm sorry. I had no idea."

"I know and it's okay. I just don't think that me being here is such a good idea. At least for now."

"If you leave, you'll be proving her right, and I don't think I could take that. Stay, please."

He thought about it for a moment, and wrapped his arms around her. "For you." He whispered, knuzzling into the soft curls that framed her face.

"Now, come on!" She grabbed his hand, and pulled him into the kitchen.

Rory and Lorelai spent the rest of the day running through their Christmas traditions, M&M flavored cereal, "baking" cookies, decorating those cookies and drinking peppermint coffee.

Jess and Luke cleared the house, allowing Lorelai and Rory their mother/daughter time. "So, you and Rory, huh?"

"Yeah. You can spare me the talk though. Lorelai already got to me." Jess leaned against the rail of the front porch.

"She told me. Sorry about that. She kinda had a freak out moment seeing the two of you out here this morning." Luke sat down on the long forgotten porch swing.

"I'm not going to hurt her again. My god, when I look back at how I treated her before...If I could go back and kick my own ass, I would."

"You were kids, Jess. I wouldn't spend too much time worrying about it, and don't worry about Lorelai."

"I don't think Rory has told Lorelai yet, but she's going back to New York tomorrow."

"So soon? Where does that leave things for the two of you?"

"I don't know. We'll figure it out. We owe each other that much."

"You know, you don't have to stay here and take care of the diner. Cesar can handle things, and I can still take orders. Not that I'm trying to get rid of you, but that would give you time. You could go with her."

"I'll think about it." Jess fidgeted. "Man, I don't know how you do it here. It's so quiet. I know you've always kinda been into the quiet and all, but this place is just a little too Waltons-esque for me. I'm gonna get out of here for a little while."

Jess walked down the stairs and set off on foot down the drive. He turned, just before disappearing around the corner. "Tell Rory I'll talk to her later."