A/N: As promised – the rehearsal dinner!

Disclaimer: Go back to a previous chapter, read that disclaimer. It still applies.

Ch. 17 – Almost Man & Wife

Rory pulled up to the front of the inn, only to see her mother standing on the steps with her arms folded across her chest. She threw the car in park and jumped out, leaving Jess to laugh as he took the keys out of the ignition. He sauntered up behind his fiancée just in time to hear Lorelai's tirade.

"You'd better have a good excuse for being late. My mother is blaming this on me. Me!" she exclaimed. "She says if I had only stressed the importance of punctuality to you, this never would have happened. You've been late what, like twice in your whole life? Neither of which were my fault."

"Mom, I'm so sorry. We would have been on time, but we ran into Dean" Rory interrupted.

"Oh," Lorelai said, shooting a nervous glance at Jess. "Everything okay?"

"Everything's fine," Jess assured her. "Now can we get this over with please?"

"Oh yeah, hurry inside" Lorelai directed.

She ushered them inside, only to have them stop again before they could be seen by any of their guests.

"And now, the moment you've all been waiting for," Lorelai announced as she entered the sitting room ahead of the couple, "the stunning bride-to-be and the luckiest man in the world!"

Rory and Jess walked in, holding hands. There was a surprisingly loud round of applause, which made both of their cheeks a little warm. Rory did a little half-curtsy and Jess nodded his head to Luke. Lorelai led them to their seats and addressed the room again.

"Okay, so we're going outside to run through the ceremony a few times and then Sookie has prepared a delicious dinner for everyone in the dining room. I need the bride and the bridesmaids to come with me and the groom and his groomsmen can go with Luke. Everyone else, follow Miss Patty" she instructed.

The groups parted ways, but not before Jess squeezed Rory's hand one last time. Lorelai, as matron of honor, led Rory and her bridesmaids (Lane, Paris, and April) to the inn's front yard. Rory had GiGi and Doula as junior bridesmaids, but they had stayed inside to watch Lily and Evan. The twins were the obvious choice for flower girl and ring bearer, but they would never cooperate with the plan if allowed outside to play beforehand.

"Okay, as soon as the boys have perfected the art of seating the guests, Rory's dad will come get us so we can practice our entrances. If nobody trips, we get to eat sooner, so walk well ladies" Lorelai explained.

"I can't believe this is actually happening" Rory mused, letting the reality settle in.

"You can't believe it? I can't believe it," Lorelai exclaimed. "My baby is getting married! To a former ruffian, nonetheless."

"Ruffian?" Rory questioned with a laugh. "How much have you had to drink tonight, mom?"

"Oh shut up, that's a perfectly acceptable word."

"I think you've been hanging out with grandma too much" Rory teased.

"Bite your tongue" Lorelai retorted.

"I kind of like the word ruffian," Lane chimed in. "I think you should incorporate it into your vows."

"She's kidding, right?" Paris asked Rory before turning to Lane. "That was a joke?"

"Yes, Paris. That was a joke" Lane said, shaking her head.

"Ladies?" came a voice from the porch. "I think it's show time."

The girls headed back inside and Rory locked arms with her father and let him lead her through the inn. They stopped at the back door, where Miss Patty, GiGi, Doula, and the twins were waiting for their arrival.

Lorelai greeted her toddlers with a hug and a kiss for each. She addressed her son first.

"Okay Evan. Here's the plan. When Miss Patty says go, you're going to walk nice and slow right down there and stand next to Daddy, okay?" she said, making clear gestures so he would understand. "And don't drop the pillow."

He nodded and looked up at Miss Patty with anticipation. As soon as she opened the door, Pachelbel's Canon in D started playing out of nowhere. Small speakers had been hidden all across the yard, so the music was audible no matter where you were.

"Ready Evan?" she asked and waited for another nod, "Go!"

He headed straight for Luke, who was standing in the best man position. It was not a slow walk, like his mother had requested, but it wasn't a run, either. She decided to take that as a win.

"Lily, you do the same thing your brother did; only when you get to the end, just go sit by your grandma. Tomorrow you'll get to throw the petals, so tonight you can just pretend they're in the basket" Lorelai explained.

"Okay, Mommy" Lily replied.

"Whenever you're ready, Lily. Remember to smile big" Miss Patty said, making another checkmark on her clipboard as the little girl wandered down the aisle. "Now where are my junior bridesmaids?"

"GiGi and Doula, reporting for business" GiGi saluted, as she and the younger girl made their way to the exit.

"GiGi, make sure you stay with Doula, you need to walk together." Christopher instructed his daughter.

"Duh. I'm not an idiot, dad" she responded, rolling her eyes before heading out the door with Doula in tow.

"They grow up so fast, don't they?" Lorelai commented, giving Christopher a sympathetic smile.

"Your turn, April," Miss Patty said. "On the count of three, I want you to glide, not walk, down the aisle and take your place. Pink X, remember that. One, two, three."

April nodded and headed out the door. She "glided" surprisingly well, earning a beam of pride from her father.

"Paris, honey, you're next," Miss Patty said, guiding her to the doorway. "You're the blue X. And don't forget to smile."

Paris nodded and gave her best attempt at a genuine smile.

"And… walk" Miss Patty instructed, giving Paris a small push out the door.

She gathered up Lane next and gave her the same instructions as Paris and April, only she was to stand on the green X. They had marked everyone's standing positions with colored tape for the rehearsal so it would look as close to perfect as possible for the actual wedding.

Once Lane was almost to the end of the aisle, it was Lorelai's turn. She gave her daughter a hug and a kiss on the cheek before beginning her journey to the red X. She was trying her hardest not to cry.

When all four women were in perfect position, Miss Patty turned to Rory and motioned for her to start walking. Rory looked up at her father, who was suddenly gripping her arm tighter.

"Don't start, dad. It's only the rehearsal" she pleaded, knowing that she'd be in tears soon, too.

He relaxed a little and they both took deep breaths. The walk down the aisle was both the fastest and slowest walk of both their lives. It would be even more surreal tomorrow, though. Before he knew it, the reverend was asking Christopher who would give this woman away.

"Her mother, step-father, and I" he recited as evenly as possible.

He kissed Rory on the forehead and handed her over to Jess before taking his seat. Jess was beaming at Rory and shook Christopher's hand before taking Rory's. The reverend went through an abbreviated version of the ceremony, vows, and ring exchange. He pronounced them "almost man and wife", telling Jess he could kiss Rory on the cheek. Everyone chuckled as Jess obeyed the command with his trademark smirk. They practiced the recessional and gathered back in the sitting room.

"Wow. That was amazing," Miss Patty addressed the crowd. "We got it on the first try! I'm not even sure we need a second run through."

"You heard the woman. Quick, head over to the dining room before she changes her mind. I'll go check on the food" Lorelai announced.

Another round of laughter led to a bit of chaos, as the group made their way to the dining room. Jess and Rory helped Luke corrale the twins and get them secured in their booster seats. GiGi and Doula joined Steve, Kwan, Davey, Martha, and Susie at the "kids table". GiGi seemed to be enjoying her role as queen of the kids. Between her and Davey, they had the younger kids behaving better than their parents could usually manage.

"I think I found a new babysitter" Lane whispered to Rory, motioning toward the now well-behaved children.

Everyone fell silent when Lorelai came back into the room to make the grand announcement that dinner was about to be served. Then she disappeared for a second, returning with a protesting Sookie.

"I don't care if you're the chef; you're also a guest. So you'll sit down with the rest of us and enjoy your dinner" Lorelai insisted.

Sookie finally relented and the servers began bringing out the food. The first course consisted of fruit sushi and fancy, homemade mini pizzas. This was followed by gourmet burgers and thick-cut fries made out of five different kinds of potatoes. Finally, for dessert, everyone was served ice cream - in cones. At first, Sookie had protested such a simple dessert, but Rory was insistent. They eventually compromised with six flavors of homemade ice cream and waffle cones dipped in chocolate. There was also a toppings bar for the ice cream cones. Rory laughed at Jess when he passed up the toppings bar. He laughed when she purposely left room in her cone for mini-marshmallows and hot fudge.

"At least put a cherry on top. Or better yet, some of the fresh fruit" Jess teased.

"Umm, there was fruit in the sushi" she defended herself, adding a marachino cherry to her dessert with a smirk.

"You are so my child," Lorelai cooed, as she appeared behind her daughter. "Luke filled waffle cones with fruit and then put one measly scoop of ice cream on top for the twins. Can you believe that? My children eating fruit for dessert? It's a tragedy."

"At least they won't get scurvy" Jess deadpanned.

"No toppings?" Lorelai questioned.

"I like my ice cream pure, unadulterated" Jess explained.

"I can dig that" Lorelai said, nodding her head. She winked at Rory before heading back to the table.

"I can't wait until tomorrow, when we're actually going to be family" Rory sighed contentedly before devouring several marshmallows.

"Uh, we kind of already are" Jess pointed out.

"Eww, gross. Don't remind me. Besides, that's just a technicality. This will be the real thing. You and me. We'll be a family."

"Yes, we will" he reassured her, putting his arm around her shoulders as they started to walk toward the back door of the inn.

"Hey, not so fast!" Lane called to the couple before they could make it out of the dining room.

"What?" Rory asked, turning to face her best friend.

"Sorry, Jess, but she's ours tonight. As soon as that ice cream's gone, we're taking her away. It's wedding night tradition" Lane explained.

The couple sighed and rolled their eyes in unison, but obeyed the implied command not to leave. They wandered back to the table and took their seats. Rory looked down at her almost empty cone and then eyed her almost-husband.

"Eat that slowly" she demanded.

He nodded, took the smallest lick possible, and grinned at her. She smiled back and rested her head against his shoulder. They were content.


A/N: So, I've been obsessed with fruit sushi ever since I had it at a bridal show in January. I thought it would be appropriate since the girls loved dessert sushi so much. Anywho, stay tuned. Next chapter will be Rory's last single night with the girls!