A/N: Thanks to those who recently reviewed and welcomed me back - much appreciated :) Of course, Jess' initial response to Rory's proposal was going to be his usual 'huh' but what happens next? Read on to find out :)

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 21

"Huh."

As responses went, it was a Jess Mariano patented classic, but Rory had been hoping for a little more when she went ahead and proposed marriage to him. It hadn't been easy, making the decision to be brave and ask the question, coming up with the right words to do it. She and Jess had not exactly had a traditional relationship from the start and he wasn't the obvious marrying type. Rory wasn't sure she necessarily was either, but in the end, she knew it was what she wanted. To be bound forever to the man she loved sounded fine to her, good even. It was working out for her mom and Luke so far. Why not her and Jess? She was starting to think there might be a myriad of reasons why not, as she looked at her boyfriend and he continued to appear shellshocked.

"Jess?" she prompted, almost convinced he had turned to stone right before her eyes. "I'm guessing that somehow you either didn't hear the question, which seems unlikely, or you did hear the question and your brain is just scrambling, trying to find the best way to say no?"

"No," said Jess then, confusing the situation for Rory even more. "I mean, I heard you, obviously, but I'm not trying to say no," he assured her with a shaky smile. "I just wasn't ready... 'Marry me?' were maybe the last words I expected to come out of your mouth right now."

Rory wasn't sure if that made her feel better or worse than the complete non-response she was getting before. She supposed it was fair for Jess to be surprised. After all, they never talked about marriage. After she got pregnant, it wasn't as if the word hadn't been mentioned. Emily brought it up. The townsfolk of Stars Hollow made assumptions. Tradition dictated that people who made babies were supposed to get married, if they weren't already, but that 'rule' didn't so much apply anymore.

Between her and Jess, there had never been a conversation about the possibility of marriage. It was never off the table, but it was never on it either, baby or no. Rory suddenly felt very foolish, just springing a proposal on him, but then, he must have at least thought about it at some point, right?

"I'm sorry," he said then, shaking his head slightly. "Yes."

"Yes?" Rory echoed, so far away from her actual question now, she wasn't quite sure if that was an answer to it or not.

"You asked me if I wanted to marry you," Jess told her slowly, "and I'm answering; yes," he confirmed, smiling almost nervously.

It was so ridiculous that he could catch her off-guard with his answer, within minutes of her doing the same to him with the question. She had just got so caught up in how dumb she felt and how certain she was that he was going to say no, but he said yes. He actually just said yes.

"Oh, okay," she said then, blinking too fast. "You're saying yes. That's... wow, that's great."

"Are you sure?" Jess asked, presumably at least half-teasing, given the smirk on his lips. "You don't seem all that sure."

"I am sure," Rory told him, rolling her eyes. "I just started to think... but it doesn't matter, because you're saying yes," she realised all in a rush. "Oh my God, we're engaged!"

She reached to hug him then and was glad when he hugged back, holding her tightly but carefully, given the ever-growing baby bump between them. Engaged. It was so weird to think that applied to her and Jess, even though it was her own idea to propose. Rory knew it was what she wanted and she was very glad it had happened, but still, it seemed like a surprise somehow.

"Okay," said Rory as they parted, pushing her hair back with one hand. "So, what happens now?"

"I don't know." Jess shrugged. "You're the one who proposed."

"Right, yes. I did that. I still can't really believe it, but I did," she considered. "And you shouldn't take that in a bad way," she quickly clarified. "I mean, I asked because I wanted to. I know men traditionally ask women, except on leap year day and everything, but I figured it's 2017 and I am a modern woman, so why not?"

"Rory," said Jess, his hand at her cheek, "I love that you asked. Do you have any idea how long it would've taken me to work up the nerve for something like that?"

"The nerve?" Rory shook her head, a frown creasing her brow. "But you know I love you."

"Yes, I do know that," he confirmed without hesitation, "but that's not... Marriage is a big deal. You told me yourself that Huntzberger asked you to marry him once. You said you loved him, but you still turned him down. Look at Luke and Lorelai, how long it's taken for them to get down the aisle, and I knew they were in love from the second I saw them both in the same place at the same time."

"I guess I know what you mean." Rory nodded then. "I know you love me, that you're committed to me and the baby, this whole situation, but marriage? I could absolutely understand if you didn't want to. After what happened with your parents, and all of your mom's husbands and everything."

"Lizzie's not exactly a role model." Jess rolled his eyes. "But thankfully, I'm not all that much like her. I admit to being like Jimmy in a lot of ways, but us Mariano men learn to grow out of our 'running from responsibilities' phase eventually. It takes a while, but we get there."

Jess knew Rory would understand what he meant by that. Though Jimmy had split when Jess was barely born, leaving his wife and child far behind, when it came to committing to Sasha and Lily, he had really stepped up and proven himself. Jess believed he was much the same. He screwed up left and right with Rory in the beginning, thinking it was better to leave than stay and risk making matters worse. Now, he understood that sticking with the one you love and figuring it out, even when things got rough, that was the most important thing.

"What?" he asked, seeing a too serious look come over Rory's face.

"I'm a lot like my mom," she said, without the usual joy that came with an admission like that.

"That's not news."

"I know, but look at what happened with her and Luke. They got engaged and then one thing after another got in the way. It was almost a decade before they finally got married."

"We do not have to wait that long" Jess told her definitely. "Rory, I'd marry you tomorrow if you wanted me to. Come on, you know I would."

That seemed to make her smile. "I know you would," she confirmed. "Not that I think we could actually do that. Pretty sure we have to have a licence, and there are way too many arrangements for that to make sense, but I do love that you said it anyway. I love you, Jess. So much."

"I love you too," he assured her. "I wouldn't have said yes if I didn't. I mean, it's not like I did it for the non-existent ring."

"Hey, you can make your jokes," Rory countered, "but you'll be laughing on the other side of your face when I actually get you a ring."

"Rory..."

"I'm serious!" she insisted. "Oh, no, I asked you to marry me and you said yes and that means you get an engagement ring, mister! It may not be the flashiest thing you ever saw, but you're getting one, capiche?"

She was so serious about it, not even partially kidding. Jess honestly couldn't have loved her more if he tried.

"You have an engagement ring?"

"Yes, Uncle Luke."

He couldn't seem to stop staring at it and Jess couldn't help but find it so amusing. When Rory first insisted on getting him a ring, he really thought she was kidding. Just as soon as he realised she was serious, he did try to dissuade her, not least because it seemed like a colossal waste of money that she probably didn't have. Unfortunately, she was more than a little insistent and, in the end, Jess gave in.

After all, if she really wanted him to have some kind of engagement ring, then God help him, he knew he had to accept it and wear it without complaint. As much as he didn't need symbolic jewellery or a ceremony or a piece of paper to prove to him that he and Rory were in this for the long haul, he would have it all and happily too, because why the heck not? Why not show the world how much he loved her and she loved him? Why not make it official when he was so damn proud of the fact? Rory may have shocked him with the proposal of marriage, but Jess was absolutely not mad about it. He was going to marry Rory Gilmore and he couldn't have been happier if he tried.

"This is just..."

"The most incredible thing ever," Lorelai concluded for her husband, who was still gaping at the fairly tasteful ring on the third finger of Jess' left hand. "No, seriously. I think it's so cool that you have that thing. I mean, obviously, my kid is the kind of modern girl that would wanna get her man an engagement ring, but the fact that you are the kind of modern guy who is okay with wearing one, without getting all stupid and macho about it? I salute that, my friend," she told Jess, actually going so far as to put her hand to her head, as if she were in the Army or something.

"It wasn't expensive," said Rory from her spot on the couch. "Honestly, I couldn't really afford anything flashy, but thankfully, Jess really isn't a diamonds kind of guy."

"Really not," he confirmed, moving to sit down beside her, now that Luke had finally let go of his hand. "This is cool though."

"The guy in the store said Brad Pitt has one a little like it," Rory told her mom who oohed and aahed appropriately, as Jess knew she probably would.

He honestly couldn't care less if it were true or not. He didn't like the ring because it might look like one a movie star had. He loved it because Rory got it for him and because it meant that she wanted to marry him.

"I still say I should get you a ring too."

"You didn't ask me to marry you," Rory insisted, as she had each and every time, he brought it up. "I asked you, I bought the ring. Tradition, Jess."

"Oh, tradition?" he echoed, raising an eyebrow. "Pretty sure if we're being traditional, you wouldn't have asked me at all."

"No, don't go there, Jess," Luke advised him fast. "Don't engage in trying to unravel the Gilmore logic. It ends it no good. No. Good," he insisted.

"Aww!" said Lorelai, sitting down on the arm of Luke's chair, hugging him sideways and awfully tightly. "I trained my husband so well!"

Rory laughed and Jess couldn't help but do the same, as his uncle squirmed in Lorelai's embrace. Not that he really minded the hug so much, they all knew that. He was just embarrassed at being talked about like a well-behaved puppy, which was fair.

"Ugh, I have to pee again!" Rory suddenly complained, levering herself up from the couch, still muttering as she headed for the bathroom.

"Yeah, she says that a lot lately" Jess explained, as Lorelai and Luke looked on. "She thinks maybe the baby is sitting on her bladder or something? I hope for both our sakes he moves soon. I got almost zero sleep last night."

"You'll be fine, both of you, or all three of you, actually," Lorelai assured him then. "I had the same thing with Rory for a while. Kids move around a lot. He'll move his butt soon enough, I guarantee."

"I hope you're right."

"Aren't I always?" Lorelai joked, before getting up herself. "Well, this engagement news calls for a celebration and, thankfully, we have beer in the fridge. Who needs?"

Jess checked his watch. "Sure, I could drink a beer."

"Yeah, me too," Luke agreed, "but what about Rory?"

"I'll get her a soda. She's still on Diet Dr Pepper, right?" she checked with Jess.

"That's the current favourite, although by tomorrow, it could be the latest thing that makes her want to throw up, so..."

"Well, today is not tomorrow, so I'm going with it!" Lorelai called over her shoulder as she headed for the kitchen.

Jess looked from her to Luke and wondered at the expression he saw on the other guy's face. "What's up, Uncle Luke?" he asked him outright. "Is this still about the ring? Because it is not the big deal you think it is."

"It's not the ring, or it is, but not exactly. It's the whole engagement thing," his uncle explained, waving one hand in a random 'whatever' type gesture. "Jess, you're sure about this, right?"

"Am I sure that I love Rory and want to spend the rest of my life with her and our kid? Yes, Luke, I'm sure," he told him outright. "And before you say it, believe me, I understand the concern. My parents were married when I came along and look how well that worked out."

"Hey, I was not about to compare you to Jimmy," Luke countered, seeming almost angry at the implication, "or Liz, for that matter. I just... I thought if you were ready for something like marriage, then you would've been the one to propose."

Jess smirked, as much at the way Luke was clearly trying to keep his voice down so neither of the girls heard as much as the words he said.

"You think the thought never crossed my mind?" he asked, shaking his head slightly. "Luke, seriously, you know me better than that. You raised me better than that," he said pointedly.

"I hardly raised you." Luke rolled his eyes.

It was easier for Jess not to start an argument about semantics. No, technically Luke didn't raise him, since he was seventeen before his uncle became his guardian, but the difference he had made on his life, the impact he had on him as a person, it all mattered so much. Luke had to know how much he changed Jess' life, he was just very into that self-deprecating, 'Aww, shucks, I'm not so cool,' thing, and that was okay by his nephew. It was always much easier not to fight about it.

"Whatever, you know how I feel about Rory," he said instead. "If I thought for a second that she wanted this, I would have asked her to marry me months ago, years even. She wasn't in that place, Luke, and the second she was, she was the one who did the asking. All I could do was say yes," he explained, shrugging his shoulders.

Luke sighed, as if defeated. "Well, I guess you were at least smart enough to do that," he said, smirking some and only half-joking, Jess was sure. "Congratulations, nephew," he said then, reaching out to hug him.

"Thanks, Uncle Luke," he replied, as they fell into a manly embrace.

"Geez, seriously? Man up, dudes!" Lorelai teased them both as she returned with three bottles of beer and a Dr Pepper in her hands, just in time for Rory to appear again too.

Soon they were all toasting the engagement, with Luke wishing the younger couple all the happiness in the world and Lorelai agreeing with the sentiment entirely.

"For what it's worth, at this point, I might actually be proud to tell people you're my son-in-law," she said with a grin.

"Does this mean I get to call you Mom?" asked Jess, completely deadpan.

He was pretty sure the laughter Lorelai's expression caused in Rory could be heard at least three streets away!

To Be Continued...