A/N: Sorry this has been a while coming - and I promise Friday Night Dinner is next up.

Also, I don't own Gilmore Girls. Surprisingly enough.

Chapter 6

"He's coming?"

Lorelai was standing in Rory's bedroom doorway - one high heel on, the other off - looking at her daughter with no little incredulity. Rory turned from her dressing table, foundation on her fingertips and shook her head disbelievingly.

"Yes, Mom, that is what I said."

Rory had called upstairs five minutes before, imagining that she was reminding her mother that they would need to collect Jess from the diner, where Rory had left him. It had clearly not been a reminder and as such, she was now facing the patented Lorelai Gilmore (the II) third degree.

"Are you sure? Is he sure?"

Rory sighed exasperatedly.

"Yes I'm sure and I checked with him: also sure."

"But last time…"

At this, Rory rolled her eyes and continued with her abandoned makeup.

"I know what happened last time, Mom. I was there."

"Well I can tell you now that your grandmother will also remember. That, and any other infringement - of which there were many, let's not delude ourselves - committed by Jess when he dated you before and when he was just an unconnected scourge on Stars Hollow society."

"He was never unconnected. He was Luke's."

Lorelai went to speak but Rory stopped her, continuing with a meaningful look:

"Plus…" She wiped left over residue from her hands with a makeup wipe. "I thought we were done with the Jess-bashing."

It was Lorelai's turn to sigh now.

"We are, Ror. I was exaggerating for effect. But you can't forget your grandma's incredible memory or her equally incredible ability to hold a grudge - or just be downright prejudiced."

Rory stopped with mascara half way to her eyes to give her mother a look.

"I know things are better with Luke now," Lorelai conceded. "But that wasn't easy. And Luke had never been anything but nice to us."

Rory turned back to the mirror. Lorelai was right of course. But it wasn't as if that hadn't been on Rory's mind pretty much ever since she'd found out that she and Jess would be in Stars Hollow together over a weekend.

"It'll be fine, Mom. Jess is… Jess is the reason… We all owe Jess a lot." Rory's voice was tense but just thinking about how much both Jess and she had grown since the last time he'd been her boyfriend relaxed her.

Lorelai looked confused: "What do you mean, Ror?"

Realizing what she'd said, Rory hurried to continue,

"I just mean, I learnt a lot from my relationship with Jess y'know…"

"I don't think that means I owe him anything, Ror." Lorelai was loosing interest and had moved away to find her other show. "Except maybe a punch."

Rory shook her head and smiled. One day, she'd tell her family exactly how much they really owed Jess: her college degree, her job now… She didn't really know why she hadn't already, just that she wasn't exactly sure that Jess would want them to know. He did have something of a bad-boy act to preserve after all.