A/N: Thank you for the reviews. I hope you like this chapter.

Ribbons and dots

"You better be dressed!" Lorelai yelled from the other side of the door on Saturday morning and Rory walked to the door, opening it.

"Mom, it's almost 10. What exactly did you think we're doing up here?"

"You really want to know the answer to that question?" Lorelai snickered, walking in the room and sitting at the table, holding Will in her arms and Rory sat across from her. "Where's the hoodlum?"

"Right here." Jess walked to the kitchen area, holding a book in his hand.

"So, if you're both awake, why aren't you downstairs having breakfast?"

"I'm awake, she's the lazy one." Jess smirked, kissing the top of Rory's head before leaning against the counter.

"Tired. It's called being pregnant." She made a face at him, then turned back to look at her mother. "Mom, tell him to be nice to me."

"Jess…" The older woman looked at him.

Shaking his head slowly, he smirked. "Breakfast anyone?"

"As many slices of cheery pie as Luke's willing to part with."

"I'd reevaluate saying that unless you want Jess to return with a whole pie." Lorelai laughed, putting Will on the floor and giving him one of the toys in her bag. "Luke is…Luke."

"Well, a whole pie wouldn't be that bad."

Shaking his head again, Jess leaned in and kissed her quickly. "Going before you change your mind again." He announced, leaving the room.

"How many times have you done that?" Lorelai asked when they were alone.

"Today or in the last week?"

"That bad then?"

"Worse. Why didn't anyone tell me about this?"

"Hon, you remember making fun of your lovely mother here and thinking she was exaggerating? She wasn't!" Lorelai laughed, trying to sound angry.

"Sorry. I am now officially apologizing for ever giving you a hard time. Ugh." Rory grumbled, dropping her head on the table. "When does it stop?"

"My preservation instinct tells me it's a very bad idea for me to answer that question."

"That bad?"

"Worse." Lorelai grimaced, remembering and Rory shook her head. "And not to be mean, because I am still your mother and I love you, but if you think it's bad now, you're going to hate the next few weeks. The second morning sickness kicks in, this will seem like a walk in the park."

"Why am I doing this again?"

"Baby." Lorelai reminded her again and Rory smiled, moving her hand to her stomach.

"Yeah. Baby. Jess' baby."

"One would think you really love that guy or something." Lorelai snickered, looking at her daughter at the same time, happy for her. Before Rory had a chance to reply, Jess walked back in, holding two slices of pie on two plates. Dropping them on the table, Rory look disappointed at him.

"Just two?"

"Your town is insane!" He sighed, pulling up a chair and sitting down. "They need entertainment."

"Hire a clown. That will distract them for a couple of hours." Lorelai quipped. "Or at least confuse them while they try to figure it out."

"No, you see, a clown would fit right in here."

"Hey!" Lorelai protested, making Rory laugh.

"So, what happened?"

"Babette and Patty know we're in town and have been sitting down there since this morning."

"Yeah, I saw them." Lorelai nodded, confused.

"And you couldn't have told me?"

"They're always there, I don't see what that has to do with Rory's perfectly sensible amount of pie."

"Well, the second I walked down there, they cornered me with questions about what's happening, and why are we here and did you lie to them, I have no idea what about, just for the record, and then they were watching me when I took the pie out. I barely made it out alive." He sighed, making the two women laugh. Running her fingers through his hair, Rory leaned in and kissed him.

"Thank you, provider of pie. Your almost sacrifice is noted."

"I think they meant to ask if I lied when I said you weren't engaged. Probably. And the pie?"

"How do you think I could have explained more than two slices without them asking questions again? I need to go down and get coffee now, because they mentioned something or the other about coffee and I would prefer if they didn't barge in here." He sighed, then got up, kissing the top of Rory's head. "I'll be back."

"So, any plans for today?" Lorelai asked as Rory started digging through the first slice of pie.

"We're going to go see Liz and tell her about this."

"Oh, wow. So Jess relented?"

"He knows she has to find out at some point and we have to tell her before we tell the town. Uncomfortable night number two, here we come."

"Need any moral support? Luke and I can come, helps diffuse to situation."

"I appreciate it, but I think Jess would prefer it if you weren't there. I'll ask him, though."

"Ok. Let me know." Lorelai nodded, looking at her son who was still happily playing with his toys. Jess walked back in the room, holding two mugs in his hands and placed them on the table.

"No decaf, the vultures were watching."

"I'll make do." Rory smiled, squeezing his hand under the table.

"Anything else exciting happen lately?" Lorelai chimed in again.

"Mom, we talk on the phone every day. What do you think could have happened?"

"Last night?" Jess reminded her and Lorelai looked at him confused.

"I was there last night, unless something happened when I was in the bathroom…?"

"Not at dinner. After that." Rory swallowed the piece of pie she was eating, then answered.

"Oh, what happened after dinner?" Lorelai looked from one to the other one, trying to figure it out. "Is it good?"

"We picked a middle name." Rory smiled, taking Jess' hand again. "And yes, I know it's really early and bad things may happen but…"

"I'm pretty sure we named Will the day after I found out I was pregnant. So? Are you ever going to tell me?" Lorelai looked at Rory, anxious.

"Richard. If it's a boy." She squeezed Jess' hand, looking at her mother, waiting for her reaction.

"Lorelai Richard Mariano. Has a nice ring to it." She laughed, making the younger couple shake their heads, chuckling as well. Trying to stay serious, Lorelai smiled again. "Dad will love it."

"We know." Rory nodded. "How do you feel about it? I know you and grandpa weren't always on the greatest terms."

"Rory, you can name your child anything you want. And my relationship with him has nothing to do with yours." She smiled, drinking from her cup of coffee. "And this will appease mom even more."

"Yeah, until she finds out that her grandson's first name is apparently going to be Lorelai." Jess chuckled, taking the other cup of coffee.

"I fail to see a problem with that." Lorelai grinned, making the other two laugh.

Later that night, Rory and Jess were standing in front of the front door to Liz's house. Squeezing Rory's hand tightly, Jess turned to look at her.

"We can still leave, right?"

"She has to find out at some point." Moving to stand in front of him, still holding his hand, she wrapped her other arm around him, hugging him close to her. "It won't be that bad."

"If she hugs me…?"

"I'll come save you if it lasts more than 5 seconds. If TJ tries to take you away and talk to you alone, I will suddenly need something from you. We have this planned. Everything will be fine." She reminded him, kissing his cheek.

"I love you." She smiled, cupping her face in his free hand and kissing her.

"Only because I run interference for you." Rory joked, kissing him one more time before letting go of him. "Ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be." He nodded, then rang the doorbell. After a few second, a little girl opened the door and jumped to hug her brother, smiling happily.

"Jess!"

Uncomfortable, he ruffled her hair quickly and shot Rory a look, making her smile. "Hey, Doula." She leaned in to be at the girl's eyes level and she let go of Jess, hugging Rory instead.

"Doula, what did I say about not opening the door?" Liz voice boomed from inside the house and after a few seconds, she appeared in the doorway. "Oh, wow. Did I know you were coming?"

"Surprise visit." Jess replied, trying to sound happy. Standing back up, Rory took his hand again. Looking at her mother, Doula bit her lip.

"It's Stars Hollow, mom."

"Yeah, well, I still don't want you opening the door. Got it?"

The little girl sighed, nodding.

"Good. Now go tell daddy Jess and Rory are here." As the girl ran inside the house, she smiled at the two. "Are you staying for dinner?"

"No, we're meeting Lorelai at the diner for that. We have something to do later tonight."

"Ok." Liz nodded. "Oh, God, come in. I've been keeping you outside!" She finally realized and stepped out of the way and they made their way to the living room, sitting on the couch while Liz took an armchair. "So, what brings you here?"

"We have news." Jess squeezed Rory's hand again and she kissed his shoulder quickly. Before he could continue, Doula walked back in the room, dragging TJ by the hand.

"Told you!" She pointed to the young couple on the couch.

"Doula, don't point. It's rude." Her mother sighed again.

"But dad didn't believe me when I said they're here!"

"And does that mean that pointing is any less rude?"

"No?" The girl tried to guess, while TJ sat down in the other chair.

"That's right. Now go to your room and play in there for a while, ok?"

"But…but…" Her bottom lip started to quiver, as she tried not to cry. "I want to say with Jess and Rory!"

"The grownups have to talk alone for a while, but you can come play with them after that, ok?" Liz looked from her daughter to her son and he nodded.

"Promise?" The little girl turned to look at her brother and he nodded again.

"Yeah."

"And you?" She looked at Rory.

"I promise." Rory nodded solemnly, smiling. "We'll come find you in 10 minutes."

"Ok." Doula nodded, still hesitating, before leaving the room.

"I figured we might need some time alone."

"Yeah, it's better this way." Jess tried to smile.

"So, what's your news?" Liz asked excitedly, hoping the gossip around town was true.

Jess looked at Rory one more time, before taking a deep breath and looking back at his mother. "We're engaged." Liz yelped excitedly and tried to get up to hug them, but he stopped her. "Not done yet. Ror, you want to take this one?" Nodding, she squeezed his hand while the other two people in the room looked at them, waiting anxiously.

"Also, I'm pregnant."

After a few seconds of stunned silence, Liz finally got up, walking to the couch and pulled Jess up, hugging him tightly. "Congratulations! I'm so happy for you!"

"Thanks." He sighed uncomfortably, not knowing whether he should hug her back or not. Before he could decide, she let go of him and moved to hug Rory, tears now shining in her eyes.

"And you. So happy for you too!"

"Thank you." Rory smiled back, hugging the woman. When she finally let go, she walked to her husband, nudging him.

"TJ?"

"Yeah, uh, congratulations!"

"Thanks." The two replied in unison, smiling. Sitting back down in her chair, Liz wiped her eyes quickly.

"So, Babette was right about the engagement!"

"Yes, she was." Rory answered. "But we haven't told them yet, well, that's kind of why we're going to the diner tonight, to tell them, and they're not going to find out about the pregnancy until the first trimester is over, so we would appreciate it if you could keep this a secret."

"Of course." Liz nodded. "When's the baby due? Have you set a date? How do you feel?"

Smiling, Rory squeezed Jess' hand again. "No date, baby is due at the beginning of July and, other than hating most foods, I'm great."

"Any ultrasound pictures yet?"

"Not yet. We'll have some at Thanksgiving."

"Are you excited?" Liz grinned and the younger couple nodded.

"Jess, if you have any questions or want to talk about anything, you can come to me." TJ announced, making snort, trying not to laugh.

"Thanks, but I've got it."

"If you change your mind?"

"I know where to find you." He deadpanned, trying to stay serious.

"Oh, wow, I'm so happy for you. Is the wedding going to be before or after the baby is born?"

"After." Rory nodded, looking at Jess. "I don't want to be fat in my wedding dress."

"You'll be beautiful no matter what. Every woman is." Liz gushed, making Rory smile again.

"I tried to tell her that." Jess smirked, squeezing her hand. "You need to start listening to me if you want to be a good wife." He chuckled, making Rory laugh as well, looking into his eyes.

"Yeah. I'll get right on that. Immediately after I'm done with my cooking classes." She kissed his shoulder again, her arm wrapped around his waist. Liz watched their interaction, a happy smile on her lips.

"You're going to be great parents." She remarked, making the younger couple look at her. Suddenly uncomfortable again, Jess stood up.

"I'm going to go find Doula. The 10 minutes are almost up and she's bound to come barging in here."

"I'll come with you." Rory stood up, following her fiancé in the little girl's room. Half an hour and a formal introduction of all her dolls, Doula and Rory were sitting on the floor next to a small table, having a tea-party while Jess watched them from the bed, trying not to laugh at both their attempts to get him to join.

"What did you and mommy talk about?" The girl asked Rory and she smiled.

"Your brother and I are getting married."

"Really?"

"Yes." Rory nodded and the girl jumped from the floor again, hugging Rory.

"Can I be a flower girl at your wedding?"

"Wouldn't have it any other way, would we, Jess?" She looked threateningly at him and he nodded.

"Sure. Whatever you want."

"Thank you!" The girl hugged Rory even harder, making her smile. "Will I get to wear a pretty dress?"

"Any dress you want to."

"One that swirls?"

"If you want that, then sure." Rory nodded again.

"Ror, I'm just going to go get some air…" Jess looked at her and she smiled.

"Ok. I'll be out in 5 minutes and then we can go."

"No!" The young girl yelped, sad.

"We have to go see your uncle Luke and my mom." Rory started to explain while Jess left the room without Doula noticing. "But we'll see you again in a week and a half for Thanksgiving."

"But…I don't want you to go."

"A week and a half is not that long, is it? So what else do you want your dress to have?" Rory changed the subject and Doula finally let go of her and sat back down on the floor.

"Ribbons! Lots and lots of ribbons! And butterflies. And dots! I saw the prettiest dress in the world and it had dots and it was so pretty, Rory!"

"Ok. We'll find you a dress that has all that."

In the meantime, outside, Jess was leaning against the railing, waiting for Rory to come out of the house so they could finally leave when he saw Liz coming out the front door instead. Sighing, he shoved his hands in his pockets, waiting for her to come next to him.

"I saw you through the window."

"Yeah, I figured. If you're here to give me the speech about not pulling a Jimmy, I don't need it."

"I know." The woman smiled, ruffling her son's hair, making him even more uncomfortable. "You're going to be a great dad. You're going to be a way better parent to that child than Jimmy ever was." Pausing for a second, she looked down at her feet, avoiding his eyes. "Better than I ever was to you."

"It's not like that's gonna be that hard, Liz." He replied, looking at her coldly. After a few seconds, he shook his head. "Sorry. That was unnecessary."

"No, I deserved that." She sighed, looking at him. "I am sorry. I should have tried…"

He lifted a hand, stopping her before she could continue. "Doesn't matter anymore. You've apologized, I forgave you, there's no need to bring that up again." Sighing, he nodded towards the house. "I should go get Rory, we really should leave soon."

"I'll go. Doula will never let you go if she sees you again." Finishing her sentence, Liz walked back inside, leaving him standing there. Going to her daughter's room, she smiled when she saw the two drinking from empty little plastic cups.

"Rory? Jess sent me to find you."

"Ok." Rory smiled, standing up. "We're going to have to finish this another time, but thank you for inviting me. It was a lot of fun." She looked at Doula, who got up and hugged her again.

"Ribbons and dots, right?"

"Ribbons and dots." Rory nodded, hugging the girl back.

"Honey, go wash your hands for dinner."

"Ok, mom." Doula nodded, running to the bathroom.

"I'm still waiting for the day when she learns that she can get from point A to point B without running."

"I think I danced my way through the house for a while, so running-not that bad." Rory laughed, picking up her coat from the couch. While she was getting dressed, Liz looked at her, trying to decide whether or not she should say what she wanted to say.

"Rory?"

"Yeah?" She looked back at the woman, buttoning her coat.

"Thank you." She took a deep breath before continuing. "I'm sure you had a lot to do with convincing Jess to come here tonight and letting me be a part of this."

"I, uh, didn't…" She hesitated, not knowing what to say.

"You did. I know he only calls and visits and hell, still talks to me because you and Luke asked him to."

"Liz, I, we…"

"Thank you." Liz hugged her again and Rory bit her lip, smiling.

"You're welcome."

Wiping her eyes again quickly, Liz smiled at the young woman. "So, ready?"

"Yeah, sure." Rory picked up Jess' coat from the couch and they both walked outside. After a quick goodbye, the two were walking back to the diner, his arm wrapped around her waist.

"On a scale on 1 to 10, how bad was it?"

"Not that bad." He smirked, kissing the top of her head as she snuggled up to him, trying to hide from the cold. "Tea party though? Really?"

"What will you do if baby is actually a girl? Tea parties, dolls, princesses…they all come with girls."

"Mock the two of you." He chuckled, making her smile.

"Oh, please, Mr. 'I'm already overprotective of our potential daughter'. Sure."

"What, you don't believe me?"

"I know you're a sap." Rory smiled, kissing his cheek. "You'll be having conversations with Fluffy, the teddy bear before you know it."

Jess rubbed her arm slowly, kissing her head again. "Let's go, your town awaits."