A/N: I'm trying to take advantage of my last few weeks of freedom before classes start again by writing as much as I can. Hence the quick updates. Slightly more serious chapter towards the end though but I hope you like it. Thank you for the reviews, you're all great.

Sherlock makes a promise

"Now run to the kitchen and make us some coffee. I need to convince you that you must name your child Bono, and I need to do it tonight."

"Ror, you ok with coffee?" He walked next to her, wrapping his arm around her waist and kissing her temple.

"I don't know. Mom, it won't hurt the baby, will it?"

"Nope. I did my research last time I was pregnant. I may or may not have printed 10 different studies to convince Luke. And hey, I tried to drown myself in coffee with you and you turned out fine. Except for your dating choice here." She made a face at Jess and he just shook his head, smiling.

"You know you'll get decaf if you're not nice to me, right?"

"You know I won't keep my mother away from you when she points out the impregnated out of wedlock thing, right?"

"You love saying that." Rory remarked.

"Two of the best and funniest words ever, and I get to use both in one sentence? Score!" She grinned, then looked back at Jess. "Why aren't you getting us coffee right now?"

"I'm going!" He grumbled, placing another soft kiss on Rory's cheek before he walked in the kitchen.

"You, sit down!" Lorelai pointed to the couch and Rory shook her head, then sat down, knowing she had no chance of winning. "From now on, he gets to do everything you ask for. It's in the rulebook."

"I know, trust me." Rory smiled at her mother.

"She's already ordered my slave outfit." Jess announced from the kitchen.

"Nice! I can just give you my bell now that my ungrateful husband pretends he doesn't hear it anymore."

"Where is Luke, by the way?"

"Home with Will. They kind of frown on leaving a 9 month old baby alone all by himself, even if you leave enough fried chicken and whisky for the child to live for a week, not one night."

"Imagine that." Rory smiled, looking at her mother.

"I need to call him and let him know I got here alive."

"Can you not tell him about the pregnancy? He should hear it from me and Jess."

"Sure, babe. Whatever you want."

"I think I'm going to like this thing. Everyone is doing what I want."

"You only like it because you haven't hit the bad bits yet. But when you do, remember you have your slave here and I'm at the other end of a phone."

"Is it really bad?"

"It's uncomfortable and nauseous. But the general consensus is that it's definitely and completely worth it."

Jess walked in the room, holding a couple of mugs that he dropped on the table, then went back and picked another one. He sat down behind Rory, putting the last mug next to the other ones.

"Coffee."

"Couch." Lorelai pointed at the couch they were all sitting on. "Anything else blindingly obvious that you'd like to point out?"

"That a thank you would be nice."

"So would have been one of you telling me over the phone and not making me wait."

"But this way was so much more fun." Rory smiled. "Mom, you were going to call Luke?"

"Oh, yeah!" Lorelai jumped off the couch and picked up her purse. "I'll be back in a minute."

"How are you?" Jess asked Rory when they were alone and she leaned her head back, resting it on his shoulder.

"Happy."

He smiled and kissed her temple. "Good." Leaning closer to her ear, he whispered "I love you.", making her smile as well.

"You'll still love me even if I actually order you a slave outfit?"

"I think there's a really good chance." He kissed her temple again.

"Ok, stop being cute!" Lorelai quipped, walking back in the room and sitting down. "Luke says hello."

"You didn't tell him, did you?"

"Nope. Why did you think I had to hang up so fast?"

"Thanks."

"No problem. When are you going to tell your grandparents?"

"We haven't actually thought about it." Rory answered. "The first Friday night dinner after they come back from Europe probably."

"Jess, wear armor." Lorelai smiled and he nodded.

"Noted."

"You don't think it's going to be that bad, do you?" Rory asked her mother.

"I don't know. But better safe than sorry."

"Bring the baby. He can distract them long enough for me to fit that in the conversation."

"Using your brother to escape the wrath of my mother! Rory, I am so proud of you." Lorelai smiled. "At least dad will be excited about his first great grandkid. And as soon as little Bono or Belinda here is born, mom will forget she ever hated Jess."

"She gets no vote in naming the baby." Jess leaned over to look at Rory and pointed at her mother.

"Hey! My choices are fantastic, just so you know!"

"You've named your kids, we'll name ours, thank you." He countered.

"And with your contribution one of those kids is now pregnant so I should at least get to have an opinion."

"How about we stop this useless debate before I decide that neither one of you gets a vote?" Rory smiled and Jess kissed her shoulder softly.

"Sorry."

"Yeah, what he said." Lorelai pointed at him.

"Better." Rory smiled again.

"You just wait until you need my help with anything." Lorelai pointed at Jess again and he smirked. "Then we can negotiate."

"Whatever you need to tell yourself."

"You'll see…" Lorelai threatened again, pointing her finger.

"And not so subtly changing the subject, I have a question!" Rory looked at her mother.

"Shoot."

"When does this stupid fatigue go away? Because being tired all the time? Not fun."

"Oh, kid, I'm sorry." Lorelai rubbed her daughter's knee sympathetically. "If I remember correctly, around the time the kid turns 10. 7 if you're lucky and it's quiet."

"You're not helping!"

"I'm trying. Probably week 13 if you're lucky. But then it comes back. You get used to it anyway. Kind of. Not really actually."

"Ugh." Rory grumbled and Jess leaned forward, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Ror, if you want to head to bed, I can clean the kitchen."

"Aw, he's offering to do the chores!" Lorelai gushed and Jess shot her a look.

"I'm also here if you need any help killing your mother." He looked at Rory again and she smiled, turning her head so she could see him.

"Not yet, but I'll let you know if anything changes."

"Hey!" Lorelai protested. "Ungrateful child. And ungrateful boyfriend of child! Just wait until he gets all overprotective and you need someone to mock him with!" She looked at Rory, noticing for the first time that Jess' hand was resting on her stomach, her fingers intertwined through his. "It's so much fun!"

"It took someone less than 5 minutes." She turned around and kissed his cheek. "He made me sit down!"

"Damn, you beat Luke by almost half an hour. Although you're not clutching a calculator, so Jackson still wins. And Jess?"

"Huh?" He looked at her, trying to hide his embarrassment.

"Good boy!"

"I thought we're supposed to mock the overprotectivness!" Rory protested.

"Don't worry, honey, we will. But you're still my kid, so I have to encourage him taking care of you."

"I don't see how making her sit down is overprotective."

"It is, don't argue."

He shook his head, trying not to laugh. "You're both crazy."

"What gave it away, Sherlock?" Lorelai smiled and looked at Rory, who had started yawning again. "Ok, time for bed, young lady."

"Fine." She stood up, looking at Jess. "Pillows and blankets for mom are…"

"Top shelf of the hallway closet. I live here too. I'll come over in a bit."

She ran her hand through his hair, smiling. "Take your time." Looking at her mother, she smiled. "I'll see you tomorrow, mom. Have a good night."

"Night, hon." Lorelai smiled, watching her daughter as she headed for the bedroom. When she closed the door, Jess stood up, picking up his and Lorelai's empty cups and shook his head when he saw that Rory hadn't even touched hers.

"She'll do her own research, apparently."

"She wouldn't be Rory if she didn't."

"I should wash the dishes. Do you want more coffee?"

"Just leave Rory's cup here. I'll finish it."

"Ok. Do you want me to make your bed now?"

"I can do it. Just point to the closet."

"That one." He pointed to a small closet next to the front door. "I'll be in the kitchen if you need anything."

"Thanks, Jess."

"No problem." He walked to the kitchen, taking the empty mugs with him. Half an hour later, Lorelai was lying on the couch, trying to fall asleep, when she heard the front door opening and then closing slowly and Jess' footsteps as he walked out. When she didn't hear him coming back for a while, she got out of bed and grabbed her coat, heading outside as well. She found him sitting on the steps in front of the building, taking a drag out of a cigarette. She sat down next to him, wrapping her jacket tighter around herself, trying to keep the cold away.

"Rory said you quit those." She pointed to the burning cigarette in his hand.

"I did."

"So I'm imagining that?"

"Old times' sake, I think."

"Jess, what's wrong?" She looked at the young man and he shook his head slowly.

"Nothing."

"Convincing." She huffed, pushing her hair behind her ears.

"It doesn't matter, Lorelai."

"Jess…"

He shook his head again. "You're not going to give up, are you?"

"I'm not Luke but we do share a house, a bed and a kid. You can pretend. I like to think I'm skilled in imitating him if you need extra help imagining it."

He chuckled softly, taking another drag out of his cigarette. "I just keep thinking 'what if I am like him'?"

"Like who?" Lorelai looked at him, confused.

"Jimmy."

"Jess, you're not like him. You're nothing like him."

"You don't know him."

"I've heard the stories. And I know you well enough to be sure you're nothing like that."

"But what if I am? What if he started just like me, wanting to stick around, being sure he will and then one day he just couldn't do it anymore and he left?"

"Jess, feeling like that? It's normal. Trust me, every parent to be reacts the same way. Heck, I wanted to head for the hills this time when I found out I was pregnant and we actually planned it. You don't even want to know how I reacted the first time. And with what you've been through? I'd question it if you didn't worry. But there is no gene that makes men be jerks and leave their kids. You'll do just fine, I promise."

"How do you know?" Jess looked at her, lighting a new cigarette.

"I just do. Have you told Rory any of this?"

"No." He shook his head. "She'd worry herself sick."

Lorelai smiled and looked at him. "And that's how I know you won't leave. You love her, Jess and…well, if you left the kid, you'd have to leave her as well."

"I left her before." He said coldly, staring into the distance.

"You left your life. She was just part of it."

"How do you know that?"

"Trust me…I wanted to do the same thing. Before Rory happened. I loved Chris but I was going to leave that life as soon as I got a chance. And that meant leaving him as well."

"I never thought of that."

"My life before Rory…not at all great. And frankly the fact that your dad left means that if you ever leave what I or Luke or Chris or any of the other people that love the girl will want to do to you is nothing compared to what you would do to yourself. You'd have to live and go through every day knowing that your kid is going through what you went through, asking him or herself the same things you asked yourself."

"You're sure about this?"

"I am. Just wait until the first time you get to hold that little baby in your arms…that's when you'll actually realize that all these fears were for nothing. You won't want to leave the kid's side for a second. That only applies when it's quiet. If it's crying? You'll want to feed it to the wolves." She snickered, ruffling Jess' hair.

"Is there something in the Gilmore genes that makes you like messing up my hair?"

"I don't know. I don't think my mother's ever tried it. I think we have to wait until the kid is born and see if he or she likes doing it as well. That will be the decisive vote."

Squashing his cigarette under his foot, Jess looked at Lorelai. "Thanks."

"No problem. Always here to Doctor Laura you." She smiled, remembering their first attempt at a conversation and he smirked.

"Still want a giant cream pie to throw in my face?"

"Only about half the time now."

"Comforting to know. I'll make sure I'm never in the same room as you and pie."

"Like I'd waste perfectly good pie on you!" Lorelai smiled and Jess smirked, standing up.

"Next you're going to admit you like me."

"You grow on people. Like fungus." She laughed softly.

"Flattering. Now I should get some sleep. So should you for that matter."

"Yeah, yeah." She grumbled, standing up.

"Can you…can you not tell Rory about this?"

"The smoking or the freaking out?"

"Both, I guess."

She smiled again, looking at him. "Don't worry, I won't say a word. Your secret's safe with me."

"Thanks."

"Anytime, Jess."

They walked back inside, locking the doors behind them. Before he reached his bedroom, Jess turned around and looked at Lorelai, who was sitting on the couch, the remote in her hand.

"Good night."

"Night."

He walked in the room, closing the door softly behind him and lied down on the bed, looking at Rory who was fast asleep. He moved closer to her and wrapped his arm around her, smiling when she relaxed at his touch. He ran his fingers across her stomach and kissed her shoulder, knowing that she wasn't going to wake up.

"Hey, kid. I'm your dad. I know you have no idea what that means and well, probably you don't even have ears yet, but I have to tell you this, so bear with me, ok? My own dad…well, he wasn't a very nice guy. I'll tell you the story when you're a lot older. The gist of things is that he left when I was very young. Your mom's dad - your mom, she's this amazing woman you're growing inside of right now and trust me, if you'll love her half as much as I do, we'll have no problems- well, her dad wasn't all that great either. And a lot of things about your existence scare me right now, but I won't leave you. I promise."