A/N: Hey, happy Literati reader peops! Hope you're not all getting bored with this fic now we're into the happy stuff rather than the drama? Thanks to those who did leave reviews on the previous chapter. Now, who wants to know more about the Rory/Jess baby and their new home? :)

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 16

"So," said Rory as they stepped out into the fresh air, her hand held tightly in Jess' own.

"So," he echoed back, "we're having a son."

"Apparently so."

They were both smiling like loons at the prospect, which was nice. Honestly, Jess wasn't sure what he was hoping for when the latest scan involved finding out the sex of the baby. The whole fatherhood thing still kind of blew his mind sometimes, it didn't really matter whether he was going to be raising a son or a daughter, but now they knew it was a boy that Rory was carrying, and weirdly, he was thrilled about it.

"You sure you're okay with this?" he asked her then, in spite of her sunny smile. "I mean, it's not like we can change it anyway, but I figured you and Lorelai were hoping for a third generation Gilmore girl, maybe one you could name after the two of you."

"You really thought that?" she asked, eyes a little wide.

"Are you seriously telling me the thought never crossed your mind? Because I'll bet anything you want that your mom has the idea somewhere in the back of her head."

He wasn't kidding. He really was that certain that he was right, he would happily put cash money on the table to bet on it. When he looked across at Rory then and realised she couldn't look back at him, Jess knew more than ever that there had definitely been a conversation.

"So, maybe mom mentioned that Lorelai IV might be an option if we had a girl," she admitted, "but I'm pretty sure she was at least half-joking."

"And I'll bet she wasn't, but we can agree to disagree." Jess smirked at her.

Rory sighed. "Well, it's all political now. We're not going to call a boy Lorelai, that's for sure."

"However, we could potentially call him Rory."

When her eyes suddenly seemed to fire daggers at him, Jess knew that was the wrong suggestion, even in jest.

"Would you like me to suggest we name our son after you? Because I know how you feel about your name."

"Touché," he countered, pulling her by her hand to bring her closer and wrapping his arm around her shoulders instead, kissing the side of her head when she nestled into him. "Maybe we should leave the whole name thing alone for now."

"Agreed," said Rory as they walked along. "There are a lot of other things to think about right now. You know, like moving in to our new house tomorrow."

Jess took a deep breath in and out before he answered her. "Yep, that's tomorrow."

It wasn't that he didn't feel happy about the whole living together thing. The house was great, barely even needing any fixing up, the rent was really low compared to Philadelphia prices, and of course, he wanted to be with Rory. What had Jess rattled was less tangible than that, less definite. It was more the whole idea of living with somebody, being committed that way. He wanted to do it, he really did. What scared him most was that he couldn't follow through.

"Jess?"

Rory's prodding him in the arm with her finger got his attention as much as they way she said his name with some urgency in her voice. She looked worried when he glanced her way, making him wonder how long he had zoned out for. Judging by that and the distance they had travelled, it had been a while.

"Sorry." He shook his head. "Just thinking."

"I was afraid you were going to say that," said Rory, pulling them both to a halt and moving to face him. "Talk to me, Jess."

"About what?" he asked, as if he didn't know.

Of course, the serious look in her eyes, that withering stare she had always been so proud of but that they both knew could be dangerous, told him she really wasn't messing around. Talk to me. He had got better at it over the years. The verbal thing still came and went, but when it was important, he had learned to use his words, most of the time. With Rory is was paramount. He really could not afford to screw this up, not now, not this time.

"I'm not... It's just weird, okay?"

"Weird, how?" she asked, frowning some.

Jess shifted his feet, looking down at the watch he had forgotten to put on, then up at the sky, then finally at her. It ought to be easier, after all this time, to just tell her what he was feeling. Sometimes it was, when what he had to say was almost guaranteed to be taken well. When it wasn't, he got that terrible itch to just run as fast as he could in the opposite direction, or to turn things around and get mad at her, even though it wasn't her fault. Not this time.

"Moving in together, it's a great idea and I wanna do it. You know that, right?"

Rory nodded slowly, biting her lip, which proved she might not know as much as she should. Jess felt like a heel and sighed heavily because of it.

"Just because I wanna do it and it's a great idea, that doesn't mean that it's not... weird," he repeated awkwardly. "It's you and me, Ror. That's a big deal, especially now, and even if it wasn't us, I've never done this. I'm pretty sure you've never done this either. I know there were times when we were a little distant from each other, but nobody ever mentioned you living with a guy."

"Well..." Rory squirmed a little. "I moved in with Logan for a while, back when I was still at Yale, but that really wasn't the same thing. It was more a place to stay than anything else, especially since, after the first few months, he was mostly in London," she explained, even faster than she would normally talk, presumably because she knew what a sore subject Huntzberger could be. "It was never a plan and we never actually got a place together. I never did that with anybody. I just... It never happened. I never wanted it to."

"Until now?"

"Until now," she said, a half-smile pulling at her lips as she nodded her head. "And you're right, it is weird," she admitted then. "I've lived in a bunch of places, but mostly with family or friends and room-mates. Of course it will be weird living together, I'm pretty sure it's supposed to be, but I'm also sure it'll be good."

"Me too," he assured her, stepping in closer and tucking her hair behind her ear. "I'm sorry, I'm being dumb."

"No, you're not," she promised, her hand coming up to cover his own at her cheek now. "This is all pretty huge, Jess. You're allowed to be scared. I'm scared too. Happy, but scared."

He smirked at the way she phrased it, he couldn't help it. "Yeah, happy but scared. That works."

"From what Mom told me, it's normal. She and Luke had teething troubles when they first lived together. I'm sure all couples do."

"I guess so," Jess nodded, feeling better for having shared, for knowing she was on the same page as he was himself.

People always said a problem shared was a problem halved. Jess never found it worked that way, but then, he supposed, he never did try really sharing his problems. He was more the bottle it up until you explode type, though it usually didn't work out well for him. Maybe he could blame his genetics for some of that, but he knew well enough that he had the power to override the instinct to be too much like the parents who had failed spectacularly in raising him. Better to go with 'WWLDD?' he suspected. 'What would Luke Danes do?' Much as it would pain him to do so, these days, Luke would probably tell Lorelai if he had a problem and they would work it through together. That was how it would have to be for Jess and Rory, he suspected, but it really was going to take some getting used to.

"You're quiet again, and a little frowny," said Rory, narrowing her eyes at him. "Should I be worried?"

Jess made a point of flattening out his expression and shook his head a little. "You really shouldn't. I promise, I'm fine. It's just an adjustment, that's all."

"It's a lot of adjustment," she agreed, turning back into his side so they could carry on walking together as they had been before, quickly kissing his cheek before they fell into step again.

"So, we should go tell Luke and Lorelai about the baby, right?" Jess suggested. "I mean, I know there are a million people on the list that will wanna know..."

"But they are definitely at the top of that list," said Rory with a smile. "Let's go."

The first day of the new month meant it was finally time to move into their new home. Rory was equal parts excited and nervous, which was fine. After what Jess had said yesterday about finding the whole situation a little weird, she figured that her nerves were as understandable as anything he was feeling. It was kind of strange, knowing they would be living together from now on. Not at the lovingly named Crap Shack or in the apartment over Luke's Diner, but in a cute little house all their own. It was certainly a new experience.

Of course, everybody pitched in to help with the move. Luke and Jess did much of the heavy lifting, with Zach on standby if they needed a third pair of hands. There was some furniture that Rory was bringing over from the Gilmore house, but also a bunch of items donated from neighbours and friends, plus a handful of new things. Jess' belongings were picked up from Philly in Luke's truck a couple of days before and along with Rory's boxes were carefully stacked into the new house by the guys, plus Lorelai and Lane. Rory was hardly allowed to lift or carry a single thing.

"Hey, you already have enough of a load to haul," her mom told her definitely, gesturing to her ever-expanding baby bump. "My grandson takes priority, okay?"

It made Rory smile to hear her say that, though it was a little odd to think of Lorelai Gilmore as a soon-to-be grandmother. To Rory, her mom would never seem old enough for something like that. Not that she really felt old enough to be a mother herself most of the time, despite being over thirty. Age was just a number, after all.

"At least let me carry something light," said Rory, holding out her arms for Lane to hand something over.

"Okay," her friend agreed, passing three pillows out of a box in the back of the truck.

"Wow. How will I cope?" Rory deadpanned.

"Well, if I didn't already know you were spending a lot more time with Jess, I do now." Lane smirked.

Rory laughed. "I'm going to be spending even more time with him, now we're going to be living together."

"That's true. Wow, you're going to be like me. The only woman in a house full of males," said Lane as she hopped down from the back of the truck to join her friend. "Well, when this one comes out into the world, obviously," she said of the baby.

"It will be strange," Rory agreed, "but I'm okay with it. Honestly, I'm more than okay. Weird as it is to be moving into my own home with Jess and having a baby and everything, it feels right. It feels like... I don't know, like I'm finally where I'm supposed to be. Does that sound corny?" she asked, frowning some.

"Not at all." Lane smiled widely. "I'm just happy you're happy."

"Well, I am."

"Me too."

They were both grinning at each other like fools when Jess suddenly appeared from the front door, pushing his sleeves further up his arms and looking like he may not be the happiest clam in the world.

"Wow, happy mood officially ruined," said Rory, noting his scowl. "What happened?"

"Nothing much," he told her, shaking his head. "Apparently, I was using the screwdriver wrong, but hey, those things are complicated, right?" he snarked.

Lane made a face then quickly moved past Jess to get to the house. She ran into Zach halfway down the path and immediately encouraged him to go back the way he came, leaving Rory to deal with her boyfriend alone. Not that she minded, it was probably better that way.

"Luke is only trying to be helpful," she said carefully.

"Oh, it's not Luke. Luke knows that I'm an adult who can handle all the tools from the toolbox," said Jess crossly, even as he hefted another box down from the back of the truck, a really heavy one that was doubtless full of books. "Guess who sneaked in through the back door and decided to be 'helpful and handy'?"

"Ugh, TJ," Rory groaned. "But we tried so hard to discourage him."

"Yeah, well, we failed," Jess told her, huffing out a sigh, though Rory suspected the weight of the box was as much to blame as TJ by then. "I'm fine, I just need to not engage is all."

"Then we'll keep you guys apart, until Luke finally gets so mad at TJ that he tells him to leave before he flattens him. Doesn't normally take more than twenty minutes, right?"

"Pretty sure the record is only six, so there's hope yet." Jess smirked.

Rory was happy just to see him look less mad. The last thing this day needed was anger. It was supposed to be a happy occasion.

"How is this truck still mostly full? We've been moving in for hours," said Jess, glancing back.

"Well, I don't actually think I have that much stuff, and you certainly don't, but the town of Stars Hollow is infinitely generous. I swear we're going to find we have six toasters and twenty-nine potato mashers when all this is done."

"Could be worse." Jess shrugged, hefting the box higher in his arms and beginning to walk down the path.

Rory followed on behind, hugging her light load of pillows to her chest and trying not to feel bad that everybody else was having to do so much more than she was. No lifting, minimal bending or stretching, and she was only halfway through her pregnancy. She wondered if anyone was even going to let her stand up at all as time went on. Well, she was going to make sure that they did, that was for sure.

They were barely in the front door when somebody knocked on it and Rory dumped the pillows, taking her chance at getting to do at least one small task in her own new home. She was surprised to open the door and be greeted by a large display of blue balloons.

"Rory?" called a voice from behind all the mylar and helium.

"Right here, Kirk," she confirmed. "Did you really buy me balloons?"

"Oh, no, I'm just delivering the balloons," he called to her, eventually managing to make a space between them and poking his head through so she could see him. "There's a card right here," he explained, showing her where it was attached, as he handed over the balloons and promptly left.

"Hi, Kirk. Bye, Kirk," she said to herself on realising he was long gone - he really never did get any less weird.

"Wow, that's an impressive balloon bouquet," said Lorelai as she came down the stairs and caught sight of it. "Blue for a boy?"

"I guess so," Rory agreed, pulling out the card to read it. "Aww, it's from Chris and Matthew. You know, the guys at Truncheon?"

"That's so sweet!" Lorelai enthused.

"'Rory and Jess. Congratulations on the baby boy and the new home. Good luck with everything. Don't be strangers'," she read aloud. "That's so nice."

"It really is," her mom agreed. "And yet, sad face. What's up, sweets?"

"Nothing," Rory assured her, shaking her head. "Seriously, Mom, I'm fine. It's just a lot, you know? The scan yesterday, letting everybody know about him being a him," she said of the baby, "then moving in today, with everybody being so generous and everything. I mean, I know it's the Stars Hollow way, but still. Even the guys at Truncheon sent a gift. Even Grandma was being supportive on the phone yesterday. It's great, it's just..."

"Not the natural order of things," Lorelai finished for her,."Well, not that last part about Emily anyway. Of course, in among all the supportive, you notice she was also dropping big hints on names for the kid, right?"

Rory rolled her eyes. "She just thought it might be nice to honour Grandpa, that's all. You know I already told you, me and Jess aren't discussing names yet, and even when we do... I don't know, I'd feel weird calling him Richard or Luke or any name that is so much somebody else's name. No offence," she added fast, realising she wouldn't have gotten her own name, if not for her mom sharing her own.

"Hey, none taken, babe," she promised, her arm around Rory's shoulders as she kissed her temple. "You and Jess have the right to name your kid however you want and to raise him however you want. We're all here for you, sweets, always, but I swear, I will not butt in on stuff that's not my business. That's not me."

"I know." Rory smiled, hugging her back. "I love you, Mom."

"I love you too, kid," she said with a grin, the both of them well aware that today was proving, in a myriad of ways, just how much Rory was not a kid anymore.

That was okay. No matter her age, or other roles in life, she would always be Lorelai Gilmore's kid, and Rory was more than proud of that.

To Be Continued...