A/N: Glad to have pleased you with naked!Jess ;) Thanks to those still leaving reviews - always much appreciated :) Now, time to say goodbye to the Gilmore mansion...

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 24

In the end, they all decided to go say goodbye to the Gilmore mansion. It was a tight squeeze to get all five of them into the car, but they managed. It was, in part, the sombre occasion that they all might have expected, remembering the one person missing from the group, but at the same time, there were a lot of happy and even amusing memories tied up in the house.

Lorelai wanted to see her old room one last time and asked Luke to go with her. It prompted Rory, in a moment of no doubt pregnancy-induced sentimentality, to go do the same with the room that had once been her own too. Emily caught the bug and disappeared upstairs to her and Richard's room, and that left Jess to wander freely.

It was more by accident than design that he wound up in the study, looking over the desk that had once belonged to the Gilmore patriarch. The very same where Rory had found herself most inspired to write when she was beginning her book.

Checking quickly that no-one was around, Jess moved to sit in the chair and leaned back in it. He didn't know Richard Gilmore all that well, but their paths crossed a few times and all the conversations went well. Things might have been different if they had met back in the day, Jess thought, when he and Rory were first dating, but since that had been over long before, the subject never came up between them.

"Hey," said Lorelai, appearing in the doorway.

"Hey." Jess immediately rose from the chair. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" She shrugged. "You can sit in my father's old chair, Jess, I'm not mad about it," she assured him. "When we couldn't find you, I figured you'd have headed for some place where books might be."

"Your dad had an amazing collection. He showed it to me once, when it was way bigger than this."

"Yeah, I think Mom took some with her to Nantucket and sold off some others." Lorelai sighed, coming further into the room. "God, it's so weird being in here, knowing it's the last time."

"You want me to..." Jess trailed off, hiking his thumb towards the door.

"No, it's fine," Lorelai assured him with a smile. "It's almost fitting, actually. I mean, I'm pretty sure most of the reason I didn't like you in the beginning was because you reminded me of... well, partly teenage Christopher, but mostly teenage me," she admitted, shaking her head. "And teenage me was in here a lot, with Daddy getting mad at me for whatever I was getting up to that week."

"I was just thinking how much he probably would've hated me if we met when I was dating Rory the first time." Jess smirked. "He would, right?"

"Oh, God, yes!" Lorelai grinned. "But now? Meh, I think he'd be cool with it. He started to get along with Luke a while back, and nobody saw that coming. You grew up a lot these past ten years, Mariano. You're a son-in-law a girl could be proud of now."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

They were smiling at each other when Rory walked in, Luke on her heels, which probably explained the confused expressions on the faces of both their partners.

"What are you guys doing in here?"

"Not much," Jess told Rory, reaching for her hand when she got closer. "You doing okay?" he checked, noting the tear tracks on her cheeks.

"I'm okay," she promised, nodding her head. "It's just a lot, saying goodbye to the old place. It's so weird to think that our son will never know this house."

"Buildings are just bricks and stone," Luke advised, his arm around Lorelai's shoulders. "This is a nice house, but home is family and all the people who love you. Your son will be fine. We'll all be here for him and you'll tell him all about your grandpa and the Friday Night Dinners and everything that matters."

"Yeah, he won't miss out on a thing, babe, I promise," Lorelai agreed.

"Hello?" Emily's voice called from the hallway.

"In here, Grandma!" Rory yelled back.

"Well, could you all please come out of there? I was hoping to take you to lunch."

Lorelai and Rory shared a look of understanding, then filed out one behind the other with Luke and Jess bringing up the rear. It was understandable that Emily didn't want to go into her husband's study again, or that if she did, she wouldn't want to do so with the whole family staring at her.

"We're not dressed for a fancy restaurant," Luke said in a low voice.

"Obviously," Jess replied in much the same tone.

"She wants to take us to lunch. I see a fight coming."

"Maybe not."

"Are you really sure about this, Mom?" Lorelai was asking Emily as they all met up in the foyer a minute later. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I love me some Chick-Fil-A, but it really doesn't seem like your kind of place."

"Well, maybe you don't know me quite as well as you think you do anymore, Lorelai," her mother told her smartly. "I discovered these wonderful potato delicacies at a restaurant in Nantucket. They're called waffle fries and I understand Chick-Fil-A make them also. Now, while I'm sure they won't measure up to the ones I usually enjoy, I'm sure I can make do. Lorelai, please close your mouth before I open the door. I'm afraid a fly will get in there and nobody wants that."

Suitably chastened by her mother, Lorelai snapped her jaw shut and headed out the door, arm in arm with Rory. Luke said nothing, just followed them out, and Jess was only a pace behind, until he realised that Emily was hovering on the threshold, not quite leaving.

"You okay?" he asked her carefully.

"No, not really," she admitted, a rare moment of something akin to weakness showing, before she took a deep breath and seemed to steel herself again, "but I will be," she concluded, pulling the door closed behind them both. "Thank you, Jess," she added, taking his arm without him actually offering it.

Honestly, he didn't mind all that much.

"So, now the house is sold, are you feeling okay?"

"I think so," Rory told Lane, staring down into the cup of herbal tea in her hands. "I mean, it's not like I've been there a whole lot recently anyway, only a couple of times since Grandma moved away, and then a couple of weeks ago to say goodbye. I don't know, it just feels weird, knowing that it's not a place I can go anymore. That I'll never take the baby there."

"Yeah, I can see how that would be weird." Lane nodded, sipping her own drink and making a face. "Wow, that is..."

"I know." Rory giggled. "But Mom and Luke have been hiding the coffee ever since I got pregnant, so that I'm not tempted. They can't have decaff in the house because Mom might drink it on accident and she's afraid it'll ruin her tastebuds forever, so it's always herbal tea when I come over."

"I've had my share of herbal tea, but this stuff is just... what herbs are even in this?" Lane peered into the cup and gave it a careful sniff. "Are you sure it's not just grass clippings or compost or something?"

"I honestly don't know," Rory abandoned her own cup onto the table and leaned back against the couch cushions as she checked her watch. "I thought Luke would be here by now."

"Me too." Lane frowned. "You know, if he doesn't hurry, we're not going to get everything arranged before I have to go pick up the boys."

"Or before Mom gets home."

The party they were hoping to have was going to be a big surprise. Lorelai wouldn't be expecting it, since she seemed determined to have a big blow-out party when her fiftieth birthday rolled around next year. That was why Rory knew it would make a bigger impact if they went all-out for her forty-ninth. Of course, that didn't mean that next year wouldn't be a big deal too, but by then Rory would have a baby to think of and knew she may not be able to give as much attention to party arrangements. At the moment, so long as she was seated a lot, she could really do her part and then some.

"Rory?"

"In here, Luke!" she called the moment she heard him come in the door.

"Sorry I'm late, there was a delivery at the diner and... well, you don't care about spilled cornmeal. Hey, Lane."

"Hey, Luke," she replied with a smile. "We almost gave up on you, but hey, if we'd know there was a cornmeal crisis."

"Not a crisis, just a spill," he assured her, waving away her concerns with his hand. "So, this party for your mom," he said to Rory then. "I hope you have a lot of ideas because, well, I'm me. I know we need food and drinks and music and all that, but the details..."

"We can handle it, Luke, I promise," she assured him. "I'm fine with making all the phone calls and planning stuff out, and Lane doesn't mind picking things up and anything that requires too much walking or lifting."

"I have Zach on hand to help with lifting. Also, decorating. The boys will pitch in too. They love that kind of thing."

"The kids or Brian and Gil?" asked Luke curiously.

Lane considered a moment. "All of them, actually."

Rory nodded that was probably true and Luke seemed satisfied that everything was under control.

"So long as you're okay with doing this. I mean, obviously, I'll pay for a lot of this stuff, and I can do more, if you need me to, but like I said, I'm not really a party arrangements guy."

"It's fine, Luke, I promise," said Rory without pause. "We can do it. You can be involved in anything you want to be involved in and you will get full party planning credit alongside me and Lane, no matter what, but I do understand that this is not your deal."

Luke sighed with absolutely relief. "Thank you. Did I ever tell you you're the best step-daughter a guy could have?"

"A few times," Rory told him with a smile, "but it never does get old."

He got up then, leaned over and kissed the top of her head, giving her a one-armed half-hug at the same time.

"Oh," said Rory, her hand going to her stomach. "Junior's awake. You want to...?" she offered Luke the chance to feel for himself, unsurprised when he squirmed just a little.

"Oh, well, I don't need to... Unless you really wanted me to... It's not..."

"Luke, it's fine," she assured him, reaching for his hand and placing it on her swollen belly as the baby kicked hard. "See? That's him."

"That's kind of amazing actually," he told her with a smile.

A load beeping cut through the sweet moment and Lane immediately apologised, even as she scrambled to her feet. "Sorry, gotta run, but Rory, let me know what you need from me, I'll get right on it."

"I will." Rory smiled, waving to her friend as Lane all but bolted for the door.

Luke had a very strange look on his face when Rory's attention returned to him. She was about to ask what was wrong, when he started to tell her anyway.

"You know, I always thought me and your mom would have kids. It just... never happened."

"I know." Rory nodded, unsure what else to say.

She was well aware that they had talked about having children before, and even more recently, to the point where they had visited Paris' surrogate agency. In the end, they just gave up on that particular dream. Lorelai was a little too old now to be reproducing and they all knew it, and though there were other options, it had been agreed between her and Luke that maybe that shipped had sailed and was better left to rest.

"I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for?" Luke asked curiously. "We're adults, Rory. If we wanted to do something about it sooner, we could have. You know, I don't have any regrets, not really," he explained, a hand on his chest. "I actually feel like I'm so lucky. I mean, I have an amazing daughter in April, I feel like I have a son in Jess, and you... well, you know how much you mean to me, don't you?"

Rory swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded her head. "I do," she assured him, "and you know that I..."

"I do," Luke took pity on her, clearly seeing how much she was struggling with her emotions, no doubt all the closer to the surface thanks to her pregnancy. "And I cannot tell you how honoured I will feel to be part of your kid's life. Some people probably hate the idea of being called 'Grandpa' but not me. When Jess told me that's what you had planned, you know, for the kid to call me that..."

"I can't think what else he would call you. You're married to my mom and you've always been... I mean, of course, I have a father, but you..."

She just couldn't say anymore. Rory wanted to, she really did, but she just couldn't. When Luke came to sit beside her on the couch and pulled her into his arms, she was more than happy to be there. He really had been the best dad to her, for so many years now. She knew he was going to be the best grandpa to her son too, no doubt about it.

To Be Continued...