A/N: I really loved writing this chapter. I hope y'all love reading it just as much. Thank you so much for all the reviews on the previous. If I may be so bold, please keep 'em coming ;)

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 22

"I think you're going to be really happy here," said Rory, turning a full circle in the centre of Jess' new living space.

She had come over today with the specific purpose of spending the whole day, helping him get everything set straight. There was no painting or anything serious in the way of decorating to do when he moved in. The landlord had freshened up the walls and flooring after the last tenant, simply because she had lived there for a good seven years. Everything needed to be cleaned up and redone and so it had been. It was all pretty basic, magnolia and such, but Jess really didn't care enough to change it. That was time and money he could use not wasting. Luke had supplied the main furniture items, loading up the truck with Jess' bed, a spare chair, and a two-seater couch he got cheap on his nephew's behalf, and bringing them all over yesterday. The stove came with the apartment, so all the kitchen needed was smaller appliances which wouldn't put too big a hole in Jess' finances. Rory was here to help with arranging cushions, lamps, and such (some donated by Lorelai) and reordering Jess' book collection onto his new Ikea shelves. She was more than happy to help and it wasn't much past lunch time when they were finally done. Jess called out for pizza and it had just now arrived.

"I'm happy wherever you are," he said, leaning in drop a quick kiss on Rory's lips.

"Corny, but I like it," she said with a grin as they sat down on the couch.

Jess opened the pizza box on his knees, revealing the largest size a person could buy from Pete's place, half with pepperoni and half without. Rory smiled even wider, letting Jess know she understood why he did that, then dug into her half of the food.

"So, you were going to tell me about Friday Night Dinner."

"I was," Rory realised around a mouhtful of pizza that she swiftly chewed and swallowed. "It was a little weird. Mom was convinced that things were going to be off-balance. After everything with her and Jason, well, you know as well as I do her relationship with her parents has never been all that great anyway."

"I can relate."

"So, she was convinced they were mad at her or mad at each other. Somebody was supposed to be angry about something, and yet, nothing."

"Nothing?" Jess echoed. "No arguments at dinner? No snide comments? No evil looks?" he checked, watching as Rory shook her head. "You sure you were at the right house?"

Rory giggled. "Yes, it was the right house," she insisted. "I don't know, I sometimes wonder if there are problems because we go looking for them. I don't mean to accuse Mom of anything, but she gets a little paranoid around Grandma sometimes. I guess I understand why. Anyway, she talked about the inn. No, actually, Grandma asked about the inn and seemed genuinely excited about it for Mom's sake. Grandpa even asked if they could book a room for opening week."

"Wow. That's cool, I guess," said Jess, licking sauce from his fingers. "Your mom sure seems stressed over this inn. I hope it's worth it."

"It will be," said Rory, nodding deifnitely. "I know the Dragonfly is going to work out. Her and Sookie have been dreaming about this for as long as I can remember. It's going to be great."

"Then good luck to 'em," said Jess, picking up his soda bottle from the table and holding it towards Rory.

She grabbed her own and clicked the bottles together with a smile before they both drank. Rory didn't hate having her mom and Jess get along now. In fact, she would go so far as to say she loved it. With Lorelai and Luke so happy, her and Jess back together, and the grandparents playing nice too, everything seemed to be on the up and up. That was when a frown appeared on her face.

"What?" asked Jess curiously. "You get some of my pepperoni on your slice?"

"No, it's not the food," said Rory, though she seemed to be done eating in any case. "It's silly, I was just thinking, everything is going so well right now. Isn't this usually the part where something goes wrong?"

"Cynical, much?"

"I know, I'm being dumb."

"Not dumb," Jess assured her. "Hey, of all people, I'm usually the one waiting for things to screw up, but I know I gotta change the way I think. You keep waiting for the other shoe to drop, you're not enjoying the good times while you have them. That's one of the things I did wrong the last time with us."

"Me too," Rory admitted, finding a smile. "I guess it's okay to mess up, so long as you learn from the mistake, don't let it happen again."

"Exactly." Jess nodded. "So, things are good and maybe they'll stay that way. If they don't, we'll cross that bridge when it comes up."

Rory smiled. "I like that plan," she said, leaning over to kiss his lips.

There were definitely no more thoughts of pizza as the couple became very distracted by each other. It wasn't long before they were laid out along the length of the couch, racing past second base and not bothering to slow down yet. Jess lips found the spot on Rory's neck that made her moan whilst she fumbled with the buttons of his shirt and pushed it down off his shoulders. It all felt so good, Rory really didn't want to stop. The realisation of it came over her all of a sudden, a delicious shiver coursing through her body that made her smile.

"Jess?" she said close to his ear, her voice barely above a whisper. "I..."

"I'm sorry," he said quickly, moving to sit up.

Rory's fingers grabbed onto a handful of his T-shirt and kept him from getting away. She couldn't get her breath for a second, but the smile on her lips ought to have let him know he had done nothing wrong, far from it. She shook her head almost imperceptibly and then slipped out from under his body. Stood by the couch, she was suddenly weirdly self-conscious, even though she was sure on what she wanted to do, and even more certain he wouldn't be against the idea.

Holding out her hand, she waited a beat for Jess to take it and stand up beside her. Then she headed for his bedroom, and he followed, at least as far as the door.

"Rory," he said when they got that far, pulling on her hand so she would stop and look at him. "I'm not... You sure about this?"

She nodded without hesitation, moving in to kiss him one more time. It was a confirmation of all she felt, and the way he responded proved he both understood and reciprocated completely. When they parted, Jess held her face in his hands and just looked at her.

"I love you. You know that, right?"

"I know," she promised, unable to keep from smiling. "I love you too. I'm just a little confused. Shouldn't I be the one that looks nervous?" she checked, noting that in reality he looked almost more uncertain of what was about to happen here than she ever did.

"Maybe."

Honestly, it was the only answer Jess could give, not least because the forming of words had suddenly turned into an issue for him. That was new. He always knew what he wanted to say, even when the sentences never did quite made it out of his mouth. On this occasion, Rory had rendered him incapable of even reasonable thought. He had assumed they would reach this moment eventually, that she would finally be ready to be with him this way, but he hadn't expected to feel like this about it. Overwhelmed, that was a good word for it. Jess Mariano was no stranger to sex, but this was different, this was Rory. Maybe it was her first time ever being with a guy, but this would certainly be the first time sex meant anything to Jess, the first time he loved another person like this.

His fingers trailed down through her hair as he pulled her closer with his other arm. Their lips met in a soft kiss that slowly grew in intensity. He walked her back until her legs hit the bed, then lifted her off her feet to lay her down. Rory had to remind herself to breathe between fevered kisses and overwhelming feelings. She hadn't been kidding when she said she was nervous, but she was also very sure that this was exactly what she wanted.

"We can take this slow, right?" she asked, feeling a little dumb the moment the words were out there.

She stopped worrying when Jess took a moment to just look at her, brushing strands of hair from her flushed faced.

"Of course," he promised her, leaning down to kiss her again.

Rory let herself fall into the moment, barely thinking, just feeling. At one point, Jess had to remind her to breathe because she was so overwhelmed she almost forgot again, but it was okay. She felt very safe here, very sure about what was happening. Making love with Jess had to be amazing, she was certain on that, and he didn't prove her wrong.

It wasn't easy making time for each other. Lorelai and Luke were up to their eyes in various kinds of busy of late, Lorelai most especially with the opening of the Dragonfly creeping ever closer. Still, she made every effort to drop by the diner whenever she could.

"You have no idea how much it helps to be able to escape over here, just for a little while," she said as she threw herself onto a stool at the counter.

"I'm guessing you're here for this," replied Luke, filling a cup to the brim with hot coffee.

"Not just for this." Lorelai smiled, leaning over the counter to grab his shirt and pull him close enough to kiss. "Hello, lover," she said, before planting her lips on his.

"Hello, Crazy Lady," he replied as they parted, smiling because it was impossible not to. "Feel better now?"

"Always," she told him definitely, following up their smooch with a long drink of java. "Mmm, change the name of this place to Heaven, babe, because between the coffee and the talent, we got ourselves a paradise right here in the middle of Connecticut."

"Things still all out at the inn?" asked Luke.

"All out doesn't even begin to describe! If my To Do list gets any longer they'll have to put it in the Guinness Book of Records, except they couldn't because it'd be too long to fit!" Lorelai explained with all her usual drama.

It would usually amuse Luke to no end, but right now he was more worried than he was finding this situation funny,

"You're working too hard," he advised, evidentially concerned. "I don't like seeing you so stressed."

"This from Mr Easy Going, Laid Back Guy," she teased. "Honestly, Luke, I'll be fine. A couple of weeks, we'll be ready for opening and then it will all have been worth it. Just gotta keep on pushing through a little while longer is all."

Though she looked as if she meant to say more, and Luke certainly meant to give a reply to what she had already said, neither got the chance. Lorelai's cell began ringing, just at the same moment a customer came to claim Luke's attention. With a last sip of coffee, Lorelai got up to go, shooting her boyfriend an apologetic look and a hand signal that seemed to mean she would catch up to him later. He nodded his agreement, even though he didn't love having another conversation cut short. Luke understood Lorelai was busy. She was quite literally building her dream, but it would be nice if they could have just a little more time together. After all, their dating was still kind of a new thing. He wondered if she was even aware that being with her was a large part of his own dream for the future. The very next chance he got, he certainly did plan on telling her.

Turning his attention to work for now, Luke served the newcomers then got to bussing some tables. He was on his own for now, until Lane came in for her shift at four. Jess had the day off to get his new apartment in order and Luke hoped his nephew was settling into the place okay. He thought about calling him when the next quiet period came up, but just when that seemed to occur the diner door flew open and Luke heard a familiar voice speak to him.

"Hey there, big brother!"

His eyes were wide and jaw was slack as he turned around to see his sister Liz framed in the doorway, one arm held up as if inviting him to come hug her. Her other hand was held firmly by the very same guy who had been here before. Well, if that wasn't a minor miracle.

"Liz!"

Luke hurried to greet his sister, hugging her tight. He spoke politely to TJ too, though there was not so much as a hand-shake between the two guys. Neither was all that eager to be close, it seemed.

"What are you doing here?" asked Luke then, ushering the couple over to a table. "I mean, obviously, it's great to see you, but I wasn't expecting you."

"Can't a girl come visit her big brother once in a while?" asked Liz. "Besides, I hear my son is hanging around here again too, so it was like two birds, one stone. Actually, it's three birds."

"That's not a saying." Luke frowned. "It's definitely two birds."

"Yeah, usually, but today it's three," his sister insisted. "See, I get to see you, I get to see Jess, and... drum roll please," she instructed T.J. who finally let up his hold on her hand in order to make the drum rolling sound on the edge of the table. "We're getting married!"

Luke really did not know what to say to that.

"You okay?"

Rory really didn't know how to answer that question. In the sense that she was comfortable and happy, she supposed the answer was yes, she was okay, but that word simply was not going to cut it right now. She wished she knew a way of explaining that, but right now her vocabulary had abandoned her, along with the use of her legs, she suspected. Lucky she wasn't required to move for a while. Honestly, in this moment, she felt as if she would be happy enough to lie here in Jess' arms forever.

"Better than okay," she said with a contended sigh, curling further into his embrace.

Jess kissed the top of her head and happily held her tight. Better than okay was about the best he could come up with for how he was feeling too, though it didn't begin to properly explain. He wondered if words ever could.

"You're not... I mean, the first time for girls..." he muttered, not sure where to begin.

Rory took pity on him. "I'm fine, I promise," she told him, her hand at his cheek making him meet her eyes.

Jess nodded that he understood, turned his head to kiss her palm and the inside of her wrist. She was amazing, he had always known it, and she never failed to prove it to him, time and again.

"Y'know, I had certain ideas about what this was going to be like," said Rory then, smiling even as a blush rose in her cheeks.

"What's the verdict?" asked Jess, though he was almost afraid to hear it in some ways.

"I'm certainly not going to say no to an encore in the not-too-distant future," she admitted, ducking her head even as the words left her lips. "Mostly, I... I'm just really glad it was you," she said then, meeting his gaze once again. "I never felt like this about anybody else, Jess. I don't think I ever could."

"I know what you mean," he said softly, kissing her cheek and then her lips. "Thank you," he whispered into the kiss.

"What for?" she asked curiously.

Jess shook his head slightly against the pillows.

"For being Rory Gilmore," he told her, pulling her so close she went entirely out of focus.

She was torn between laughing and happy over-emotional tears when he kissed her again, and the world faded into a beautiful blur one more time.

"It's official!"

Luke was confused by the greeting when he answered the phone, not lease because it was getting late and he had sort have been anticipating 'hello' rather than other words of any kind.

"Lorelai?" he checked, already pretty sure it was her. "What's official?"

"Er, the crazy that apparently happens when you open an inn!" she explained. "Oh my God, Luke, I'm a horrible person. I've been working everybody into the ground. I have Sookie and Michel collating menus that are giving them paper cuts and hand cramps, I've given myself the impossible task of hand-stitching a dragonfly onto every single pillow case that we have, and now Jackson is sleeping with the zucchinis!"

"Wow, okay," said Luke, shaking his head to try to cope with all the information he just received in the last thirty seconds, and it was a lot! "Okay, first off, you are not a horrible person," he insisted. "Second, I did try to tell you that you were taking on just a little too much for three people, and third... Tell me again what Jackson is doing?"

"Sleeping with the zucchini," Lorelai repeated. "And before you ask, no, that's not a euphenism or a joke or anything."

"But, that's not normal, right?"

"Probably not." Lorelai sighed hevaily. "Luke, what have I done? What have I driven myself and those closest to me to do?"

"Apparently to hunker down with the vegetables."

"Not helping."

"You want me to go over and tell him not to sleep with the zuchinni? And that's a sentence I never thought I'd hear myself say."

"No. No, I'll go. I just... I felt so bad when Sookie told me, I kind of bolted. I didn't know if I wanted to laugh or to cry. I basically just came and hid in my room and called you. You help. Just hearing you telling me I'm not horrible helped a lot."

Luke smiled at that, even though she couldn't see.

"Happy to help," he assured her. "You sure you don't need me for anything else?"

"Unless you really want to meet us at Jackson's place. I mean, I don't know how attached he is to the idea of spooning his veggies. It might take the four of us to prise him away."

That made no sense and they both knew it. Fortunately, Luke knew Lorelai well enough to be sure of what it was she did mean to say.

"I'll be there in ten minutes," he promised.

"Thank you."

"No problem."

In spite of everything, Lorelai was smiling when she hung up the phone.

To Be Continued...