A/N: Thank you for the reviews on the last chapter, folks!

Eight and a Half

by Imagine Backstory

Chapter Fourteen – The Giving

Rory

"Well, that didn't take long," Luke said, being the first to break the long silence following Jess' abrupt departure. He wiped his hands on a tea towel and then threw said towel roughly down onto the counter. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea."

"It was a great idea," Lorelai said, placing a reassuring hand on Luke's arm. "It's gotta be weird for him. Give it time."

"How much time?" Luke demanded, shaking Lorelai off and heading for the back door. "It's been eight and a half goddamn years. I need some air." The door banged shut behind him.

Sookie, sensing that this was probably a family discussion, took Emerson from Lorelai and vacated the kitchen. I could hear her cooing at Emerson in the living room and saying hello to Paul Anka, who now doubt was curled up asleep by the fireplace.

My mother fixed me with her telltale piercing stare. "Wanna explain what just happened?" she asked. "Everything was fine before you two came in."

"It's a long story," I said, biting my lip. Lorelai folded her arms to show she wasn't going anywhere. I sighed. "The four of us have all already kind of...met, in a way," I began, knowing Lorelai would understand which four I was talking about. "When I went to New York to write that review for the Times, I met up with Jess for a drink. For one reason or another, I didn't tell James, and Jess didn't tell Nora, so there was a bit of drama...I won't go into gory details. But I'm pretty sure Nora hates me and I'm sure James isn't Jess' biggest fan. And Jess and I are...well, no less complicated than we ever have been." I felt James stiffen behind me; I had almost forgotten he was there.

"I see," Lorelai said slowly, her eyes narrowing. "And you couldn't have mentioned this before Luke invited them here? Could have prevented this shit storm. Or at least we would have been prepared for it."

It was weird to think that Lorelai had grown up at the same time I had. Maybe it was because she was married now and had a young child to take care of, but she was a lot more straight-laced and mature than she'd ever been when I was younger. In that moment, as she stared me down in the kitchen, I was feeling far more 'mothered' than I ever had been in my life.

I shrugged helplessly. "I could tell Luke really wanted to invite him. It was a big deal for him. I didn't want to spoil that. I thought we could all behave ourselves for a weekend," I added somewhat bitterly. "I guess Jess just got sick of the secrets."

"Can't say I blame him, kiddo." Lorelai sighed, pushing a hand through her dark curls. "How are we going to make this right?"

I chewed on my bottom lip, looking to James. He just stared evenly back at me, his face blank. Finally, I sighed again. "I'll go talk to Luke."

I reached into the fridge for a couple of beers and followed Luke out onto the back porch. He was leaning against the railing, glaring out into the yard, his jaw working as he fumed. I stood next to him and passed him a beer, which he promptly opened by cracking the cap off on the banister. He passed that one to me before opening the other in a similar fashion and sipping from it.

We sipped in silence for a moment before I finally got the nerve up to speak. "You miss him, huh?"

Luke scoffed halfheartedly. He paused for a moment before answering. "I always believed in him, you know? You and me both. It's a shame we were the only ones."

"We're not anymore," I pointed out gently, touched that Luke was being so open with me. "He's done really well for himself."

"Rory, uh..." He scratched behind his ear nervously. "I know you and Jess have a...complicated history. I know it's hard for you two to...see each-other, be around each-other. Now, I've never complained. I've respected you both, all these years. But, it's been hard. He was...he was like a son, to me."

I suddenly felt tears prick at my eyes as guilt brought my heart leaping into my throat. "Luke..."

He held up a hand and took a sip of beer. "Don't get all sad. It's fine. I was just really hoping we could make it work."

"We can," I insist, laying a hand on Luke's. "And I'm sorry. I guess I didn't realize that this meant this much to you, Jess being here. I should have, I guess. I was being selfish."

He shrugged, clearing his throat gruffly. "Maybe talk to him," he said, "please?"

I sighed. "I'll do my best."

Jess

"So...this is it," Nora said, glancing around at the place I had taken her to.

I quirked an eyebrow. "Not what you were expecting?"

"No...exactly what I was expecting, actually," she said with a small smile. "I can totally see teenage you here."

"You don't even know what teenaged me looked like," I retorted, walking around the counter of Luke's Diner to put a pot of coffee on for us. Predictably, the spare key had remained in the same spot all these years; I had let myself and Nora into the closed diner upon leaving the Gilmore house. I had originally planned on just taking her on a brief tour of the town, but had decided against it for fear of ending up in the park. Besides, she had been raring to see the Diner since I'd first mentioned it years ago, and it was a lot more pleasant in here with it being just the two of us.

Nora seated herself at the counter, her eyes still darting around, taking everything in. "It's so...eclectic," she said, her eyes shining when she looked at me. "You could write a book about this place."

I scoffed. "Yeah, I can see it now. The Life and Times of the Typical Small-Town Diner Run by a Vegan Celiac Flannel-Wearing Ball-Cap-Donning Man in his Forties. That'll do well on the Times' Best Sellers List."

Nora gave me what could very well be the most dramatic eye-roll in the history of the world. "That just sounds Pulitzer-worthy."

Even though I was turned away from her, I smirked. I poured us each a mug of coffee and passed her one, leaning towards her, my elbows on the counter. She sipped it, sighing appreciatively. "Aren't you gonna show me the upstairs?"

I grimaced. "Better not. I've no idea what state it's in. Don't think Luke would appreciate it," I added, realizing how very true that probably was.

She pouted. "But I wanna see where teenaged Jess had his many tortured sleepless nights while hating the world and reading Vonnegut." But she smiled, reaching out to brush my long bangs out of my eyes.

"Don't say it," I quipped, knowing what was on the tip of her tongue. "I know I need a haircut."

"Actually," she said, studying me for a moment. "I think I like it like this." She played with it a bit, her tongue poking out of her mouth slightly as she manipulated my hair. A warm tingly sensation ran through my body, causing me to shiver. She giggled. "You look like one of those revolutionary students from the sixties."

I groan, reaching up to mess up what she had just done with my hair. She screeched in protest and attempted to grab my hands to stop me, but I backed away, warding off her flailing hands. But I couldn't resist smiling as she launched herself over the counter; I could see her little legs kicking for leverage as she reached for me. Folding my arms over my chest, I just watched her amusedly, leaning back against the back counter with one eyebrow cocked.

Finally, Nora gives up, sitting back down with a huff. "It looked so sexy, then you messed it up."

I chuckled, giving her my most winning crooked smile. "Revolutionary, huh?"

She nodded, her eyes full of mischief. I came forward to plant a chaste kiss on the tip of her nose. She sighed appreciatively, a small smile on her full lips. I counted the freckles dusting the bridge of her nose and under her eyes as she glanced around me, her gaze landing on the cork board to the left of the kitchen door. Pushing herself off the stool, she moved to look at the old photographs still mounted there. I came up to wrap my arms around her from behind, resting my chin on the top of her head. Studying the board, I couldn't believe the stuff was still up there. Including—

"Oh my god." I reached out but Nora beat me to it, snatching the photo from the board and darting away behind the counter gleefully. "Oh my god!" she shrieked again.

"Stop," I grunted, chasing after her.

She evaded me, running around the opposite end of the counter, her gaze remaining firmly on the photo in her hands. She read it aloud, still avoiding my reach. "Walmart Employee of the Month?!" she cried, whirling away from my grasp once more. We had made a full circle of the counter and were now back to the bulletin board. "Jesse Mariano?!"

I pinned her against the wall; she held the photo high above her head but I easily snatched it from her fingers. She barely cleared my shoulder, and I wasn't a necessarily tall guy. She was giggling uncontrollably. "You worked at Walmart?" she asked incredulously. "You got employee of the month?! AND YOUR FULL NAME IS JESSE?!"

I grimaced, rolling my eyes. "It was a misprint."

"Bullshit," she squealed. "It is Jesse, isn't it? How did I not know this?"

"Because no one does," I groaned. "Seriously. Besides, like, my mom."

She paused, biting her lip. "Not even Rory?"

I closed my eyes and exhaled. "No. Not even Rory."

Pleased, she ducked out from underneath my arm, dancing around the counter as I glanced at the picture in my hands. I was about to pocket it or throw it away or something, but then I remembered Luke, and I just couldn't do it. Reluctantly, I pin the offending image back onto the bulletin board.

Finguring it was safe to approach me without reprimand, Nora came to stand next to me again, and we looked at the board together. I placed an arm around her shoulders as my mind connected some of the pictures to memories I hadn't dug out in a long time. Most of them were of various people from the town in the Diner—and most of those were of Lorelai and or Rory. There was one of Rory when she had to have been about thirteen, blowing out the candles on a huge birthday cake, surrounded by friends and family. There was one of Lorelai, Luke, Rory and Lane in the town square, all smiling at the camera as they worked on building their snowman sculpture for the ridiculous annual Winter Carnival. There was one of Liz, TJ and Doula when she was still a baby. There were even a few of me.

My eyes focused on those ones, and I felt a strange sort of sentimentality that Luke had bothered to keep any trace of me around the place. Besides the Walmart one, there was a photo of me looking less than impressed as Miss Patty planted a kiss on my cheek. There was a candid one of me sitting on the bridge reading a book; I had no idea who had taken it or when, but I certainly hadn't noticed I was being photographed at the time.

And then, there it was—a photo of me and Rory, arms around each-other, sitting on the front steps of the Gilmore house, looking flushed and in love in the winter morning. Rory was beaming at the camera, her eyes a shocking shade of blue, and I was looking at her. My face was close to hers, a small but genuine smile quirking the corner of my mouth upwards, and my expression was the warmest I had ever seen it.

I drew a sharp intake of breath as Nora's finger brushed the corner of the photo of me on the bridge. Either she hadn't seen the one of me and Rory yet, or she was saving it for last. "Where is this?" she asked.

"In the park," I replied vaguely. I didn't want to take her there. It was too full of memories, good and bad.

She only nodded, her gaze trailing over the other photos. She chuckled lightly when she saw the one of me and Miss Patty. "Who's that?"

"Miss Patty," I said. "Crazy dance teacher."

"Ah." Finally, her fingers found me and Rory. She paused, breathing evenly for a few moments. "How you're looking at her..."

"I was probably teasing her," I deadpanned with a short laugh, shifting my weight behind Nora.

Nora didn't laugh. "You look like you're in love."

I bit my lip, resisting the urge to roll my eyes. I closed them instead. "I was." There was no point in denying it. I shrugged. "I don't know if I realized it at the time," I added. "But yeah. I was."

"Was." She looked down so that her hair slid forward, hiding her face.

"Yes. Was."

Before she could say anything else, I heard the door to the diner jingle as someone attempted to open it. I had locked to door so it remained shut. When we turned, I saw Rory standing under the awning light, peering into the Diner at us, her expression one of pure sheepishness. She gave a small wave.

Rory

I felt my whole body tense as Jess opened the door for me. He didn't, however, make any move to let me inside. "Yeah?" he asked curtly.

"Um." I bit my lip. "Dinner's ready."

His eyes narrowed slightly and he leaned his elbow on the doorframe. "Okay," was all he said.

I glanced around expectantly, trying to muster up any courage I still had left in me. I could feel Nora's piercing gaze from over Jess' shoulder. "Can we...talk?" I asked, my voice a squeaky whisper.

"Sure." He didn't move. I knew he expected me to say what I had to say, then and there.

But I couldn't. "In private," I added under my breath.

He pursed his lips. "You can say whatever you have to say in front of Nora."

"Jess." I looked at him pleadingly. "Please. It's about Luke."

He stared at me for a long moment before rolling his eyes. He glanced over his shoulder. "Be right back, Nor. Two minutes."

We went around the corner of the building, but Jess stopped in front of the window. The blinds of the diner were drawn but weren't shut; Nora could totally see us through the window. I was uncomfortable with that, but considering the circumstances, Jess probably thought it was necessary. Glancing inside, I saw Nora standing by the wall of photos inside the Diner. "Taking her down memory lane, huh?" I asked as casually as I could. It sounded ridiculous and we both knew it.

Jess rolled his eyes again. "What do you want, Rory?" He used my name. He must be really annoyed.

I matched his stance, folding my arms over my torso. "Look, I know you and I aren't on the best of terms right now," I began, ignoring his indignant scoff. "But this dinner is really important to Luke. He's anxious to have the whole family here, and he has prepared this incredible meal, and he really wants to just have a nice pleasant evening an catch up with everyone."

"Sounds great," he replied sarcasticaly, his dark hazel eyes darting around nonchalantly.

I continued, refusing to be phased by his blazen attitude. "So, let's just you and I make a truce right now to behave ourselves for the next four hours. Get through this dinner. Then we don't have to see each-other again, probably for another eight and a half years."

He looked at me sharply, his breath hitching. Was that a flash of panic in his previously calm demeanor? But it was gone the next instant; now he just looked pissed. "You're unbelievable, you know that?" he sneered, his voice low and rough.

"Says the one who just caused a scene and stormed out of my house for no reason," I snapped back, my hands clenching into fists under my biceps.

His eyes widened with anger. "Because I was sick of hearing the endless stream of bullshit coming from your mouth!" he bellowed.

"My mouth—what did I do?" I cried. "What did I say that made you so mad? I didn't lie about anything."

"You didn't tell the truth, either," he shot back, looking away again, shaking his head. "You didn't tell anyone that you saw me in New York. Are you that ashamed, Rory? Am I some sort of—dirty secret of yours?" He spat out secret as if it tasted bitterly of arsenic.

I felt my face flush with heat at his choice of words, and was furious with myself for having such a strong reaction. I pushed my hair out of my face indignantly, not caring that it screwed up my bangs. "That's rich, Jess. Really." My words were acid on my tongue.

"Oh, for fuck's sake. Say what you have to say," he spat.

"You kissed me, Jess!" I yelled, my hands coming up to push on his chest, sending him stepping back a bit. "Twice," I added for good measure. "You let me think—you—"

"Would you keep your voice down?" he said in harsh whisper, glancing anxiously into the Diner. "As I recall, I wasn't exactly alone in the kissing activity. Don't put this all on me!"

I shook my head, reeling with anger. "I so do not want to have this conversation right now."

"You started this conversation!" I cried out exasperatedly, throwing his hands up. "You literally just brought this up now!"

"Only because you accused me of keeping you some sort of secret," I retorted, folding my arms once again.

He seethed, his eyes on fire. "Is that not what I am to you, Rory? Because if it is, I gotta say, I'm flattered, really. You seeing me is just such exclusive information that you don't even tell your own mother, let alone your fucking fiancé!"

I had had enough. "You know you mean more to me than that!" I screamed.

That shut him up. He glared at me, nostrils flaring with rage. I could see the cogs turning in his brain. His hair was curling around his ears, starting to matt where he had begun to sweat from anger.

I softened my voice now that I had his attention. "Look, I don't want to fight with you anymore. All I want is to make Luke happy and keep all thoughts of you safely out of my head." I pause, contemplating my next words. "But the latter has proven to be quite the impossible task."

He continued to breathe deeply for a few moments, stuffing his hands into his pockets and looking at his feet. "I know," he murmured finally. "I know it has. For me, too."

Just like that, we'd reached a stalemate. I went along with the more tender turn of events. "Look, I'm sorry, Jess. I'm sorry I invited you to my wedding, I'm sorry I went for drinks with you. I'm...I'm sorry I kissed you. Twice." Now we were both looking at our feet.

"Are you?" he asked softly. "Sorry. That we kissed. Really?"

I bit my lip. "For the implications it has on our personal lives, yes," I explained quietly. "But as far as the action itself is concerned..." I shrugged. "I don't know. It...brought back a lot."

He nodded, lifting his eyes but still not quite meeting my gaze. "It sure did."

I wanted to reach out and touch him, but I knew Nora could still see us. I stuffed my hands in my coat pockets for good measure. It was just as well, because as soon as I did my phone began to ring in my pocket. I drew it out, glancing apologetically to Jess. He jerked one shoulder up and turned away from me, peering at Nora through the window. I couldn't see his expression, but she wasn't looking back at him.

"Hello?"

"Rory Gilmore?"

"Yes. Speaking?"

"Hi, Rory. This is Tucker Mansbridge from the New York Times."

My eyes widened as I nearly dropped my phone. Jess looked over, face blank. "Mr. Mansbridge! Uh—Tucker, sorry. Wow, nice to hear from you!"

He chuckled goodnaturedly. "Nice to hear that it's nice to hear! Listen, I know it was a while ago that you wrote that review for us for The Tired Heart, but as it turns out, the play is now being mounted on Broadway."

"Oh, really? That's great," I said, licking my suddenly dry lips.

"Indeed," he replied happily. "Anyway, our usual reviewer is still on mat leave and her replacement has been...well, less than satisfactory. The play opens in a couple of weeks and I was wondering, since you did such an excellent job with the off-Broadway review, if you wouldn't mind reviewing the on-Broadway mounting as well?"

I very nearly squealed with joy. Jess was watching me, faint traces of amusement lingering in his molten hazel eyes. Questioning. I held up a hand for him to wait. "You have no idea how much I would love to do that," I told Tucker.

He laughed. "Love the enthusiasm! That's not all, though. The woman who is on mat leave will likely be moving to California once the kid is born, so we are in fact looking for a more permanent replacement." He paused for what I was sure was dramatic effect. "The department wanted me to wait until you write this review before I offer you the position, but there's just too much stuff happening in the city right now to wait. So, basically, if you want the job—it's yours. As of—after the holiday."

I leaned against the window, because I was certain my legs were about to give way. "Oh my god." The words were out before I could help them. "Yes! Yes, of course—oh my god!" I was full on squealing now, bouncing around on the balls of my feet. "Thank you so much!" Rufus was going to kill me. Then resurrect me to do a little dance around the office. Then kill me again.

Tucker was chuckling on the other end. "Well, that's great! I'll have my people contact your people, and we'll chat on Tuesday. Happy Thanksgiving, Rory."

I whispered a breathless good-bye and hung up, and before I could stop it I launched myself into Jess' arms, squealing in delight. Surprised, he took a couple steps back, his arms instinctively wrapping around me. Feeling my face flush at the inappropriateness of what was happening, I pulled away, but kept smiling and bouncing. "Jess! That was the New York Times. I got a job at the New York Times!" I cried, waving my hands around in the air.

He raised an eyebrow, confused. "Didn't you write for them already?"

"This is a permanent job, Jess! I'm their official Broadway drama reviewer!"

Before he can respond, Nora emerges from the Diner, joining us on the sidewalk. "What on earth is happening out here?" she asked, smiling slightly as she watched me dance around. "One minute you're yelling at each-other, then you're freaking out and dancing."

"If you can call that dancing," Jess added with a smirk.

I beamed at the two of them, all previous anxiety and awkwardness completely overshadowed by the pure joy I felt. "I got a job at the New York Times," I told Nora gleefully.

Her eyebrows lifted inquisitively. "Wow, that's amazing," she said. "Congratulations!"

I looked to Jess somewhat expectantly, but he said nothing, just stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Sorry for, like, launching myself on you just now," I said with an apologetic smile.

He pulled his upper lip down with his teeth. "Why don't you go hug your fiancé instead?" he asked. "I'm sure your family is going to want to hear the news."

"Jess," Nora chided, elbowing him in the ribs, "congratulate your friend. Come on. This is a big deal."

I wasn't sure if Nora was being sincere or condescending, but I didn't care either way. I just shrugged. "Jess doesn't say anything he doesn't mean," I said.

Jess frowned. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what I said."

"I didn't say anything."

I raised my eyebrows pointedly. "Exactly."

He rolled his eyes. Nora moved back towards the diner. "We should lock up," she said, obviously trying to pull Jess away.

He regarded me coolly. "We done here?"

My face fell, realizing he really wasn't playing along with the banter. "You're seriously not going to say anything about this job?" I asked incredulously. When he didn't say anything, I just scoffed. "Wow. Fine. Whatever. Dinner's ready. Behave." With that I turned on my heel and left him on the sidewalk.

Jess

As the six of us squeezed ourselves around the Gilmore-Danes' kitchen table (Sookie and family had taken off for the night, and Emerson was in a high chair off to the side), I found myself wishing for just awkward silence instead of the mundance conversation that was darting around the table. It was mostly Lorelai and James talking while the rest of us listened, nodding and hmming and haaaing whenever necessary. I found myself tending to my baby cousin mostly, spooning mush into his mouth which he would ultimately just push back out onto his lips. It was frustrating, but I couldn't deny the infant's charm.

I only started paying attention when I heard my name. Looking up, I saw that everyone was looking at me amusedly. "What?"

"James was just asking what it is you do in New York," Lorelai piped up, a gleam in her eye. James himself, seated across from me, was leaning towards me expectantly.

I sat back in my seat, careful not to drop Emerson's tiny plastic spoon. "I run a publishing company. And co-manage the bar below it."

"He's being modest," Nora said, her hand finding my knee under the table. "He owns the publishing company. And he practically manages the whole business side of the bar. I just manage the staff and organize events."

"I co-own it," I corrected her. "I got buddies in Philadelphia who helped set up the first branch there."

"Philadelphia?" James scooped a forkful of mashed faux-tatoes onto his utensil. "You from there?"

My eyes flicker to Rory for the briefest of moments, then back to James. "No. From New York originally. I just lived in Philly for a couple years."

"Was that before or after you lived here?" James put the food in his mouth, and I hated the way he fucking chewed.

My jaw clenched slightly. "After."

He nodded, swallowing before speaking. "So, what was a New York boy doin' here in Stars Hollow? It must have been quite the culture shock."

A general sense of discomfort blanketed the table as everyone picked at their food. I kept my eyes firmly locked with James'. "Wasn't so bad."

The corner of his mouth twitched. "You get into trouble or somethin'?"

"His mom wanted him to spend some time outside of the city," Luke jumped in rather defensively, surprising everyone. "Figured it would be good for his character to mingle with a more close-knit community for awhile."

James chuckled, relenting, but that goddamn smirk was still on his face. "Fair enough," was all he said.

I noticed Rory giving Luke an appreciative glance across the table. I tried to meet her gaze but she wouldn't look at me.

Nora piped up suddenly. "What about you, James? How did you and Rory meet?"

He draped his arm over the back of Rory's chair, dipping his head down towards her. "D'you want to tell, or shall I?"

She nodded, struggling to swallow her food. "You can."

James sat back in his chair. "I met Rory when she was reviewing a show at the theatre I work at in New Haven..."

I turned him out, turning once again to baby Emerson. The kid was currently smearing the food that had spilled on the tray all over said tray and himself. I reached for a wet wipe and attempted to clean up the mess. As James went into detail about the many ways in which he had wooed Rory, Emerson promptly spat up all over his shirt front, interrupting James' story.

"Uh oh!" Lorelai cooed, smiling at her son. She reached for him, but I beat her to it, lifting Emerson out of the high chair as I stood up.

"I got it," I told her. I could feel everyone's gaze on me as I carried Emerson upstairs with the aim of cleaning him up and maybe just getting away from that fucking table for a while.

Safely inside the nursery, I laid Emerson down on the change table and poked through the drawers until I found a clean shirt for him. I realized he had mostly spat up on the bib he was wearing, but some had gotten on his shirt. I pretended like I had a fucking clue what I was doing; I removed the bib and just set it aside, not knowing what to do with it. Then I removed his soiled shirt, setting it with the bib, and pushed the clean shirt over his head, gently tugging his arms through the arm holes. He was blowing bubbles and gargling nonsensically as I worked, and I smiled down at him, something melting inside of me whenever he met my gaze and stared at me with those piercing Gilmore eyes.

I jumped when I saw Lorelai watching me from the doorway. She had a soft but amused look on her face as she watched me lean over her squirming son. My finger was being held captive by Emerson's fist, which he was attempting to stuff into his mouth. "You're a natural," she said, and I couldn't figure out her tone of voice. Was that awe?

"Uh, thanks?" I said, not sure what she meant.

She nodded towards her son. "With him. Seems like you know what you're doing."

"That's cool," I replied, "because I really don't." Upon her skeptical look, I shrugged. "I changed Doula's diapers a few times. No big deal."

"Uh-huh." She didn't believe me for whatever reason. "Jess Mariano likes babies." She tasted the words in her mouth, her lips contorting into a weird shape as she did so.

I rolled my eyes. "I do not. Just this one," I admitted. "He's my blood, after all."

Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "That's weird."

I nodded. "That it is."

She walked over to stand beside me, and we both stood just watching Emerson for a few moments. I sensed her looking at me but wouldn't meet her gaze. "I'm sorry, Jess," she said quietly.

I raised my eyebrow. "For what?"

"For Luke making you come here. I know it must be hard for you."

"Why's that?"

She looked back at Emerson, shrugging. "I know this isn't your favourite place in the world. And I know things with you and Rory are probably still complicated. And it's incredibly awkward, having the two of you here, especially with your respective significant others here, too. I get it." She touched my arm, then, and it felt strangely comforting. "You and I have never been friends, Jess. But I guess—technically—we are kind of related now. And I just hope that if you are going to be coming around more often—and I'm not encouraging you either way, that's your decision to make—that maybe things will become less...awkward...as time goes on."

"Thank you," I said, and it was probably the most sincere thing I had said all day. "That actually means alot."

She turned to go, but before she left she addressed me once more. "Oh, and Jess?"

"Yeah?"

"You'd better be careful the way you look at my daughter. Someday, the wrong person is going to notice." And with that, she left me there with Emerson, who promptly began to cry.

A/N: I hope that was enough R/J interaction! There should be much more in chapters to come! Please review and let me know your thoughts!