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

The One where Emily Saves the Day

Friday morning, Jess sat down on the bed, looking at Rory who was still lying under the blankets, hugging a pillow.

"You sure you don't want the car?"

"Jess, for the millionth time, no. There's a bathroom on the train, it's preferable to me having to stop on the side of the road every twenty minutes."

"I really hate knowing you're going out when you're feeling like this. Stay home, fuck getting a dress."

"And I should get married in my pajamas? We don't have a lot of time as it is, I can't afford to waste any more on this."

"Stubborn." He leaned over, smoothing her hair down and kissed her forehead. "You're going to drive me crazy one day."

"I have this thing planned. If I don't eat all morning, I feel almost human for an hour around 10. I'll get myself to the station and get on the train in that hour, mom will meet me at the other end and then Hartford awaits. And I can't drive you crazy, you already are."

"Crazy about you." He chuckled, making her laugh.

"Oh, smooth. You're only saying that because I feel like crap."

"Prove it." Kissing her forehead again, Jess smirked.

"I love you for being ridiculous to make me feel better." She smiled, ignoring him.

"That's not proof." He ignored her comment as well, smiling. "Call me if you need anything. I may be either late or early getting to the dungeon, depending on how traffic gets."

"You've stopped calling it the castle?"

"It doesn't have the evil connotation I'm looking for unless I use its full title."

"Go to work, crazy man." She smiled, looking at him.

"I hope the kid lets you shop in peace."

"It's your son, there's no chance of that happening."

"Hey, I resent that. I'm always nice to you."

"You distract me any time I try to do anything. This is his way of doing that. Are we telling them tonight about his name?"

"I don't know." Jess shrugged. "Do you want to?"

"Can we wait until after we know if it's a boy or a girl? Because if it's a girl, this is a moo point." She snickered, squeezing his hand.

"We can wait until the baby's born, if you want to. And stop watching reruns of 'Friends'. Television will rot your brain slowly."

"I was on the couch last night and too lazy to move. My book was all the way in the bedroom."

"Oh, greatness, you couldn't possibly be expected to walk all that way."

"Of course not. That's why I have you, to carry my books for me."

"And you, when you fall asleep on the couch. Again."

"Tired." Rory pouted, smiling. "Your child, your fault."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Is there anything you want for my dress?"

"I'm supposed to have an opinion on this?"

"I don't know. I want to make you happy." She smiled, running her hand down his chest. "So if you have any requests, now's the time to make them."

"I don't care. But I would prefer it if you'd stick to white or something close to that."

"No crazy red dress?"

"Not unless you want me to mock you on our wedding day."

"You wouldn't do that, Jess."

"Try me." He smirked. "Anyway, I should go." He leaned over, kissing her quickly. "Have fun dress shopping. I love you."

"Love you too." She smiled, waving at him as he left the room. Hearing the front door closing, she buried her face in the pillow, sighing.

Much later that afternoon, Lorelai and Rory walked out of yet another store, having dropped Lane at her house earlier that day. Lorelai looked at her daughter and saw her bottom lip starting to quiver in a desperate attempt to stay calm.

"Don't worry, hon, we'll find something." She wrapped her arm around her daughter, hoping to comfort her, but Rory started crying, shaking her head.

"It's not…just…why?"

"I'm going to need a complete sentence."

"They're just…so…!" Rory sighed again, this time getting angrier and Lorelai shook her head.

"Ok, that's it. No more shopping for us." Lorelai opened the door to her car, waiting for Rory to get in and starting driving in the direction of her mother's house, cursing silently. Once they reached the house, they both got out, Rory still trying to calm herself down and Lorelai rang the doorbell. When Emily opened the door, she looked at the two of them.

"You're early."

"Dress shopping went badly. Can we come in now? Rory's not feeling great." Wrapping her arm around Rory again, she helped her inside while Emily stood to the side, then closed the door behind them, pointing to the living room.

"Do you want me to call my doctor?"

"She's ok, just angry. Right, sweetie?" She looked at her daughter and she nodded, sitting down on the couch.

"I swear, did they have to be so awful to me? There can't be any other reason for planning a quick wedding other than me being pregnant, no, of course not! It can't be because I love Jess or anything, it has to be because of a child!" She drank from the glass of water her mother offered her, then took a deep breath. "I know I'm pregnant but do they have to look at me like I'm scum? God, they make me so mad!"

"Lorelai, what happened?" Emily asked, looking at the two women on the other couch.

"We tried to find her a wedding dress, but most shop can't do anything this close to the wedding and a couple of sales assistants decided to comment on the fact that we need to find one this fast." Lorelai tried to explain quickly, then rubbed her daughter's arm. "Feeling better, hon?"

"No." Rory shook her head, wiping her cheeks quickly. "Why do they have to be like that?"

"Because they're awful people. You need to calm down and not let them get to you. This isn't good for you or that baby." She smiled, trying to calm her daughter. "We'll find something, don't worry. And if all else fails, you can always wear my dress."

"But I wanted my own dress! This is important to me, mom! And they all look at me like I'm dirt."

"Rory, you have to get used to the fact that a lot of people are going to assume this. And they're not actually wrong."

"I know!" She snapped, frustrated again. "This is about the way they treated me! It doesn't bother me that much that people think that I'm getting married because I'm pregnant, but to act like that's the only reason and treat me like I'm a disgusting, awful person who's making a huge mistake because of it…that's what gets me. They can talk all you want."

"Aw, honey…" Lorelai sighed, rubbing Rory's arm again. "We'll figure something out. And write a complaint letter first thing tomorrow, ok?"

"That's it." Emily stood up, putting her cup on the table.

"What?" The girls replied in unison, finally remembering she was in the room.

"I'll be damned if I let my granddaughter get treated like this. I'll go make a phone call. Rory, sit here and try to calm down. Lorelai, make sure that happens. I'll be back in five minutes."

As soon as she walked out of the room, the girls looked at each other, shaking their heads.

"What was that?" Rory asked, making Lorelai shrug.

"Beats me. Mom's finally lost that final marble."

"I heard that, Lorelai!" Emily exclaimed from the other room, making her daughter bite her lip, a terrified look on her face.

"Sorry!" She yelled back, looking back at Rory. "Her hearing still works though…" She tried to whisper this time.

"Lorelai!" Emily's voice boomed from the hallway and Lorelai sank back further down on the couch. A few minutes later, Emily appeared back in the room, holding a coat in her hand.

"Come on, lets' go!"

"Where are we going?" Lorelai asked, confused.

"Wedding dress shopping!" Emily sighed frustrated and Rory looked at her.

"What?"

"You're getting your perfect dress today. I called some people. Now are you ready to go?"

"Yeah." Rory hesitated slightly, focusing back on her mother and she shrugged, getting up. A few minutes late, Emily pulled her car over in the parking lot of a very fancy looking bridal shop and waited for the girls to get out as well before walking through the front door, being greeted by an older woman.

"Girls, this is a friend of mine, Monique. She's been running this shop for the past 30 years."

"What is it with all of mom's clothing friends being French? Miss Celine, Monique…you think some guy named Pierre makes her shoes?" Lorelai whispered in Rory's ear before smiling at the other woman.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Lorelai, this is Rory. Daughter and granddaughter."

"You're the bride?" The woman smiled at Lorelai but she shook her head, lifting her left hand in the air. "I'm done with getting married for a long time."

"Emily, why didn't you come to me when you needed a dress for Lorelai's wedding?" The woman turned her attention back to her friend.

"My daughter does whatever she wants. No, this is for my granddaughter." Emily beamed proudly, walking behind Rory and putting her arms on her shoulders. "She graduated from Yale."

"Grandma…" Rory rolled her eyes, blushing.

"Now, as I've told you, the wedding is going to be in a month and a half. You know kids these days, never take the time to plan anything. We need to find her the perfect dress!"

"Olga! Come here!" The woman yelled at one of the assistants. Taking Rory's hand, she started walking towards the centre of the store, while the other two women followed. "Do you know what you want?"

"Not really, no." Rory shook her head. "Should be white or something like that."

"So off-white is fine, but no cream?"

"No, cream is also fine, just nothing wild and crazy."

"Any preferences for waist, skirt type, sleeves, straps, bolero, veil?" The woman recited quickly and Rory looked at her mother, a desperate look in her eyes.

"Mommy, help!"

"Monique, can we just look around the store and see if we can find anything Rory likes?"

"No, that's not how we do it." Pointing to a couch and a couple of armchairs, the woman smiled. "Sit down, the dresses come to you!"

Grinning as she linked her arm through Rory's, Lorelai looked at the couches. "I like this place!"

"Sit down, Lorelai." Emily sighed, sitting down in one of the chairs. Sitting down as well next to Rory as the women started bringing dresses, Lorelai leaned towards her mother, smiling.

"Mom…thanks."

"Rory's only getting married once, we need to make sure it's everything she's ever dreamed of." Emily brushed it off quickly, not wanting to show any emotion in front of everyone.

A long parade of dresses later, Rory walked to the dressing room, getting ready to try on the first dress. Looking at the lovingly dubbed by Lorelai 'preliminary pile', the blonde young assistant smiled.

"Which one do you want to start with?"

"That one!" Rory pointed to a dress, making Lorelai laugh and look at Emily.

"I don't even know why we bothered choosing so many."

"She needs options, Lorelai."

"I think she's made up her mind." Lorelai smiled, standing up. "Need help, hon? These dresses require about a million people to put them on."

"Yes, please." Rory smiled as the assistant handed her the hanger and they walked towards the massive changing room.

"This dress is gorgeous, Rory." She smiled, waiting on the other side of the curtain for her daughter to call her when she needed help.

"Oh, wow."

"What? Is it on? Can I see?" She yelped, excited.

"Nope, just saw the price tag."

"And?"

"Hear that whooshing sound? It was this dress flying past my budget. For the entire wedding." She added, sighing.

"That bad?"

"I don't even know why I'm trying it on. There is no way I can ever afford this."

"What about money from your trust fund?"

"I don't know, Jess is being stubborn about that. Mom, back help please."

"Ok." Lorelai stepped in, not really paying attention and started looping the ribbon of fabric. "God, there are like a million loops on this."

"A zipper would have been too easy."

"But the two good pieces of news of the day are that even if you can't afford this one, now you at least know what you want in a dress and that grandma has caved on Jess."

"What?"

"She's accepted this is going to last. She actually said the words "Rory's only getting married once"."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah." Lorelai nodded, continuing to button up the dress. "See, approval."

"I'm shocked."

"It's probably because you won't actually have this kid without being married. That seems to make her happy."

"Whatever it is, I'm not questioning it. I need as little drama as I can get."

"Ok, done."

"Thanks. I'll be out in a second."

"I'll go tell grandma." Lorelai walked outside, sitting back down on the couch and looked at her mother. "She's dressed and coming over."

After a few second, Rory walked in the room, holding the dress up in her hands, looking at the two women.

"So? What do you think?"

"Rory, mirror. Now!" Lorelai pointed at the mirrors on the side of the room, trying to bite down happy tears and Rory walked to them, holding her breath. Spinning around in the white empire-waist dress, she pulled one of the thin straps up, trying not to cry as well.

"This is it, hon." Lorelai walked to her, fluffing the bottom of the dress. "It has to be it. Mom, what do you think?"

Walking to them, a couple of tears shining in her eyes as well, Emily smiled. "You look beautiful, Rory."

"Thank you." She finally responded, taking a deep breath.

"How do you feel?"

"Like a bride." She grinned, a couple of happy tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Do you want to try any of the others on?"

"No" Rory shook her head quickly.

"So you want it?" Emily asked and Monique stepped closer.

"Excellent choice. The lace is Belgian, Emily."

"Grandma, I can't…"

"We're taking it." Emily nodded in the direction of the woman and she smiled, nodding as well.

"I'll go get everything ready." The woman stepped away again, leaving them alone.

"Grandma, I really cannot afford this dress. No matter how much I love it." Rory remembered, her happy expression vanishing.

"Then consider it my shower present. Every woman should love her wedding dress."

"Grandma…" Rory bit her lip, not knowing what to say. "I can't…no. I can't accept it."

"Not another word. You're getting this dress." She dismissed it quickly and Rory hugged her, crying again.

"Thank you. Thank you so much."

Hugging her back, Emily smiled as well while Lorelai looked at them, her happy smile back now that everything was solved.

"I'll go deal with this while you change out of this." Emily motioned towards the counter, smiling again. "You're absolutely beautiful."

"Thank you." Rory smiled again, looking back at her mother. "I don't want to change out of it!" She yelped, swirling around happily.

"Always the sign of having the perfect dress. Jess will love it." Lorelai sighed.

"Shoot, Jess is supposed to be at grandma's house already. God, when did it get so late? And how is this shop still open?" Rory hurried towards the dressing room, glancing in the mirror one last time and Lorelai followed, starting to untie the back of the dress.

"I'm going to blame it on Emily magic. Also to blame for the shop being closed for everyone else but us…"

"Really?" Rory finally realized. "Wait, no one else came in all afternoon. Makes sense."

"And you being able to take this dress home with you tonight and all the other stuff that didn't happen when we were shopping for my dress."

"God, I can't believe this is actually happening."

"You look perfect in this dress."

"You think I'll still fit it?"

"I'm pretty sure you will. It's a bit wide on your waist anyway. If that's not a sign…"

"Can you fix it if I get too big for it?"

"While I am convinced that won't happen, I'm pretty sure I can. It's easier than if it had buttons or a zipper. More signs."

"Mom, you don't have to sell it to me. This is my dress." Smoothing the fabric down, Rory smiled again. "I don't want to take it off."

"I suppose we can stand here, while Jess and dad keep each other company. Ok, done." Lorelai laughed, stepping out again.

"Can I keep it at your place so Jess doesn't see it? There's no place to hide it in our apartment and no way he won't look if he finds the bag."

"Yeah, sure. I'll hang it in my closet. It'll be safe there."

"Thank you!"

"Don't worry about it. God, I'm starving." Lorelai remembered, making Rory laugh.

"Tell me about it. This whole feeding two people business is getting annoying."

"How are you doing?"

"Going from awful to fantastic in the span of an hour, but you know that. I have no idea what I'd do if Jess wasn't here for this."

"You'd deal. You're strong enough to do this on your own, if you had to."

Stepping out of the changing room, Rory hugged her mother, smiling. "Thank you."

"What for?"

"I never got it. And now I look at my life and realize how lucky I am to have you and Jess and Luke and grandma and everyone else here for this and I'm just…you're incredible for having raised me by yourself, you know that right? You know I think you're amazing and I have no idea what I'd do without you?"

"What is this, 'make mom cry' day?" Lorelai tightened her grip on her daughter, happy tears pooling in her eyes again.

"No, it's 'tell mom how much I love her' day."

"Aw, love you too, kid."

Letting go, Rory took a deep breath, wiping her cheeks. "I have to stop this crying thing."

"Blame it on hormones."

Rory picked up the dress from the room, running her hand over it again and they walked back in the other room.

"Finally!" Emily sighed as one of the women took the dress from Rory, walking into a back room with it. "She's going to put it in a garment bag for you."

"Thank you, grandma."

"You're welcome."

"Wedding crisis averted. Thanks, mom."

"Hurry up, it's almost time for dinner." Emily smiled at them as the other woman appeared from the back, handing Rory the bag.

"Here you go, miss. And best wishes."

"Thank you." Rory smiled again, holding the bag tightly.

A few minutes later, they arrived back at the house and Rory saw Jess' car in the driveway. Taking the garment bag from her, Lorelai chuckled.

"I'll go hide it in my car, you go tell the boy you have your dress."

"Thank you!" She started hurrying towards the house, leaving the other two women behind. Barging through the front door, she walked to the living room, jumping and hugging Jess who was standing in front of the drinks cart.

"I have a dress! And it's awesome and I love it so much." She hugged him tightly, kissing his cheek. "It's perfect!" Letting go of him, she finally noticed her grandfather who was sitting on the couch and blushed, looking at him.

"Sorry, grandpa. I didn't see you."

"It's fine. Where are Emily and your mother?"

"Outside, hiding my dress from him." She pointed at her fiancé, sitting down on the couch and he went back to pouring the drinks he was preparing before she came in.

"Rory, do you need something to drink?" Jess asked, handing Richard a glass and setting the other down on the table.

"Water, please."

"Ok." Jess poured her a glass of water before sitting back down in his chair, looking at her.

"So it went well?"

"Only after grandma saved the day. I'll tell you later about that." Rory smiled, squeezing his hand quickly.

Walking inside the room, Lorelai waved at the two men, while Jess stood up again.

"Nice to see, Mrs. Gilmore." He nodded in Emily's direction, suddenly uncomfortable again.

"You too, Jess. Sit down, there's no need to stand."

"Did Rory tell you she has a dress?" Lorelai smiled, trying to help him relax as he crashed in his chair again.

"Yeah, I heard." He smirked, looking at Rory.

"Mom, I'll get drinks."

"White wine for me, Lorelai." Emily requested and Lorelai poured two glasses before sitting next to her daughter.

"When's dinner, I'm starving?" She asked Emily, making her sigh.

"Lorelai, I just got in. You know that, I was with you. How do you expect me to know these things when I haven't had a chance to check?"

"A few minutes, dear." Richard looked at his wife. "The maid came by a while ago."

"Heard that, Lorelai? You won't have to die on inanition on my couch."

"Yes, mom." Lorelai sighed, drinking from her glass as the maid came in the room to announce dinner.