Jess spent most of his time on the couch these days. Sometimes it was because Rory talked him into resting, but most of the time it was because he was just kind of exhausted all the time. Which was infuriating for someone who was used to always being on the go, always having a litany of tasks on his to-do list, but his foray into serious illness had given him a bit of reality check when it came to taking care of his health. He'd quit smoking a few years prior, but it had a possibly permanent effect on his body, and he hated that. Hated that it might affect his future as a partner and father. So, he obliged when Rory eyed him concernedly and not-so-subtly asked if he needed to rest.

That said, he still made sure he pulled his weight at Truncheon. Alex had taken to the sudden increase in responsibility incredibly well, but Jess was still the boss there and he didn't want to throw her into the deep end too quickly. Plus, if he didn't work, he was pretty sure he'd go insane. He'd only gone into the office a couple times to check in and collect some work to take back home, but luckily he could be an editor and writer from home. Plus being at home gave him plenty of opportunity to make up for lost quality time with Ellie, and every little excursion left him needing a nap, so he happily curled up on the couch with his little girl most afternoons.

But, in all honesty, there wasn't exactly a whole lot of work to be done. Truncheon: New York's list of clienteles was rapidly dwindling. Authors seemed to be increasingly nervous about signing with a small, independent press, opting to try their luck with bigger publishers, and so with each manuscript finished, the less work Jess and Alex had. Even loyal clients weren't looking to churn out project after project, understandably, so they were stuck in a lull. Alex had all but taken over the zine, so when Jess ran out of things to do, he wrote.

He hadn't spent a lot of time on his own work since before Ellie was born, really. He'd been focused on getting Rory graduated, then the move and thus setting up shop with Truncheon, and ever since life had just been a blur. So, the time to write was appreciated, time to focus on getting the story that he'd had a sort of break through with while stuck in a hospital bed with nothing to do but think and brainstorm onto the page. Especially since Chris had given him a deadline to be ready to publish by yearend. No pressure.

With Jess spending more time at home, Rory took advantage of being able to go into the office more often, even just for half days so Jess didn't get too worn-out taking care of Ellie at home, and she was thriving. She absolutely adored getting to be surrounded by the chaos of a newsroom that was trying to get everything to layout for the final print. She loved getting to see other people and getting to know her coworkers. It made her feel a little guilty how much she loved the experience, but the knowledge that it wouldn't last forever helped that guilt fade. She was just going to enjoy it while it lasted.

Especially because before they knew it, it was a week until Ellie's first birthday. The once small affair had somehow blown up into a full party, much to both Luke and Jess's confusion and annoyance because why on earth did a toddler need a birthday party with a million guests? But Lorelai and Rory had joined forces and the men knew better than to try and argue with them.

It was going to be at the house in Stars Hollow and they were all crossing their fingers for good weather so they could let the guests mingle outside and not have to shove everyone indoors. Sookie was cooking and had planned a massive cake for guests and a small, personal cake for the birthday girl to have all to herself, and Lorelai had gone a little crazy trying to figure out decorations. There wasn't a theme, just fun colors that Ellie seemed drawn to, and just about everyone on the planet that loved that little girl was going to be in attendance, from relatives to friends to people that were family even if they weren't actually related.

The biggest surprise was just how many of Ellie's relatives were going to be there, including ones she hadn't even met yet.

One day, Jess answered his phone without looking at the caller ID, too involved in his writing to have any desire to split his attention with anything else. Little did he know, it was his father on the phone, explaining to Jess how he, Sasha, and Lily were touched to be invited to Ellie's first birthday party and how they couldn't wait to meet her. Jess gave polite acknowledgement to Jimmy and then found a way out of the phone call, saying he needed to get back to work. At that time, he was still coming out of his writing stupor and didn't put two and two together until he was in bed that night.

"Oh. Shit."

"What?" Rory mumbled into her pillow, already half asleep.

"Jimmy's coming to Ellie's party."

That woke Rory right up and she shot up in bed, reaching over to turn on the light. "What? What… what?"

Jess squinted at the sudden brightness and reluctantly pulled his tired body into a sitting position, realizing he'd accidentally triggered a much more in depth conversation than he had intended. He detailed the short conversation to Rory who was suddenly climbing out of bed and searching for her notebook.

"No," Jess groaned, reaching for her, arms flopping onto the now empty left side of the bed. "Late, tired, do whatever it is you're doing in the morning."

Rory was biting the back of her pen and reading through the guest list, and as much as Jess wanted her to come back to bed, she was really cute when she was focused. He was pretty content just watching her for a minute.

"No, Jess, Jimmy's coming."

Jess screwed up his face in confusion. "I know, I just told you that."

"No, Jimmy is coming," Rory said, stressing the name.

"Rory, what—"

"Jess, how long has it been since both of your parents have been in the same place at the same time?"

Jess's jaw dropped open. "Oh."

"Yeah!" Rory said as loudly as she could without worrying about waking Ellie in the next room over.

"Huh."

"How certain are you they won't kill each other?"

Jess bit his lip in thought.

"Okay, the fact that you're thinking about it doesn't give me much hope."

Jess sighed, falling back against his pillows. "Let's just… do our best to keep them on opposite sides of the party."

"That'll work?"

Jess shrugged. "Probably?"

"Good enough for me," she mumbled, climbing back into bed and turning the light back off.

Jess immediately wrapped his arms around her, holding her close and nuzzling her head with his nose as he sighed contentedly.

"You're so clingy," Rory laughed, not at all upset with his clinginess.

"G'night…"

On the morning of March 17th, just before five A.M., Rory awoke with a start. She reached out only to find cold sheets and an empty pillow on Jess's side of the bed. She sat up with a frown, used to waking up entwined with each other and disoriented at waking alone. Her blurry eyes scanned the room and found the door to the bedroom open. Tiptoeing out, she saw soft light cascading through the ajar door to Ellie's room. She pushed the door open and found Jess in the rocking chair next to the crib, Ellie asleep in his arms as he gazed down at her lovingly.

"What are you doing up?" Rory asked with a yawn, shuffling across the carpet, perching on Jess's knee and smiling down at her sleeping daughter.

"Couldn't sleep," Jess whispered. "Then I looked at the clock, and, well…"

Rory felt her brain come out of the fog of sleep as she realized the significance of 5:07 in the morning. "Oh my God," she breathed, suddenly feeling overwhelmed with emotion.

"Yep," Jess said with a smile. "One year exactly."

"Wow. We're parents of a one-year-old," Rory said, her lip quivering ever so slightly as she leaned her head to rest against Jess's. "She's not a baby anymore."

Jess shook his head as they both watched Ellie sleep. He couldn't believe how fast time had passed. It felt like just yesterday he was introducing himself to this tiny bundle in his arms. Now she was talking, almost walking, her dark hair almost long enough to put in a tiny little ponytail on the top of her head.

"How do you think we did in our first year as parents?" Jess asked, leaning back to look at Rory.

Rory pondered. "I'd say… eight out of ten."

Jess snorted. "Seems fair."

"Not perfect, but we did our best and hey, she's still alive and healthy and seems happy enough."

"Yeah," Jess whispered, eyes full of admiration and love as he gazed at Rory, beautiful in her half-asleep daze with pillow crinkles imprinted on her cheek. "I'd say we're doing okay."

Apparently, packing for two adults, a one-year-old, and an entire birthday party was kind of a lot. Sure, Lorelai had a lot of the supplies already at the house in Stars Hollow. But Rory had collected little bits and pieces of decorations or party favors or birthday gifts or other miscellaneous things that she deemed absolutely necessary at a variety of cute shops around the city and it only occurred to her as they were loading everything up that they'd have to fit it all in their car.

Jess and Rory stood outside their packed vehicle, Ellie on Rory's hip and Jess with his arms crossed, surveying the controlled chaos; the trunk was full of suitcases and other travel supplies while the backseat was laden with party supplies, bright colors popping out of cardboard boxes.

"Now will you admit you went a little overboard?" Jess asked with narrowed eyes.

Rory huffed. "Nope," she said, moving to buckle Ellie into her car seat.

Jess rolled his eyes and spun his keys around his finger. "Ready?"

Rory kissed Jess lightly on the cheek on her way around to the passenger's seat. "Let's go!" she said, her voice chipper and bright.

Once in Stars Hollow, Ellie was content to sit on a blanket in the grass with her toys while her parents unloaded everything for the party from the car before walking over to the diner to meet Lorelai for dinner. When they got there, Lorelai met them outside with a tense smile on her face.

"Hi?" Rory chuckled.

"Some of the party guests have arrived," Lorelai said through her gritted teeth.

"Oh?"

Lorelai stepped aside just in time for the door to swing open and a blur of teenage girl to burst out of the diner and launch itself onto Jess who stumbled back with a groan, barely stopping their fall to the ground.

"Uh, hi?" he said, arms bent awkwardly under the grip of the unknown girl.

The girl pulled back with a playful glare, glasses slightly askew. "Are you saying you don't recognize your own stepsister?"

"Oh my God, Lily?"

Lily stepped back with a wide grin. "In the flesh."

"Wow, hi," Jess said with soft chuckle.

"Wow, you are so Jimmy's son," Lily snorted. She turned to Rory. "He always this succinct?"

"Pretty much," Rory laughed. "So, you're Lily?"

"And you're Rory. I recognize you from your picture. You're even prettier in person."

"My picture?" Rory asked, glancing back and forth between Lily and Jess, whose neck and ears were suddenly bright red.

"Yeah, when Jess was staying with us, I saw him using a picture of you two as a bookmark. He was so mopey."

"I was not," Jess grumbled.

"He totally was," Lily laughed. "So, I assume the cutie in the stroller is my niece?"

Rory continued laughing at Jess's embarrassment, filing it away for further teasing, while she turned the stroller towards Lily. "Lily, this is Ellie. Ellie, Lily."

"Oh my God she's adorable!" Lily cooed.

"So, since you're here, I assume Jimmy's here?" Jess asked, trying and failing to keep the nerves out of his voice. He hadn't seen Jimmy since he was eighteen, only talked on the phone periodically. Jimmy was doing his best to have some semblance of a relationship with Jess, but it wasn't as if the Mariano men were particularly chatty. Plus, there was the added nerves surrounding Jimmy and Liz's inevitable encounter. Jess was going to do everything in his power to delay that as much as possible. There was less chance of them tearing each other's throats out in front of everyone at their granddaughter's first birthday party.

As if one cue, Jimmy sauntered out of the diner, hands stuffed in his pockets and an awkward, tense expression on his face.

"Jess. Hey."

"Jimmy," Jess greeted with a polite nod.

Rory immediately went into hostess mode. "Hi, Jimmy, I'm Rory," she said with a courteous smile, reaching out to shake Jimmy's hand.

"Oh, yeah, hey Rory, nice to meet you," Jimmy said, grasping Rory's hand in his firmly.

"Jess has told me so much about you," Rory said, immediately internally wincing in regret. Now was not one of the times in which that was a good thing. She shot a glare at Lorelai who poorly suppressed a snort.

"Uh oh," Jimmy chuckled.

The door opened once more and out came a woman in a blouse, flowy cardigan, and linen pants, a seemingly handmade knit cap covering most of her starkly white hair.

"Jess!" she yelled in delight.

"Hey, Sasha," Jess said with a warm smile, surprising Rory by welcoming Sasha's embrace.

"And this beauty must be Rory!" Sasha said, pulling Rory into a tight hug. "Gosh, it's so good to finally meet you!"

"Oh!" Rory said, startled. "Hi! It's good to meet you too!"

"Sorry, I'm a hugger and I forget not everybody is," Sasha said as she released Rory from her grasp and offering her a warm and welcoming grin.

"It's fine," Rory laughed. "I assume you've all met my mom then?"

"Hi, Lorelai, origin and namesake of this girl. Well, namesake of both these girls actually. It's become a weird tradition, I guess. Started with my grandmother, then Demerol had an effect on my decision, then came that one, and—" Lorelai halted her rambling at Rory's wide-eyed look. "Hi, nice to meet you all," she said with a grin.

"Those eyes!" Sasha beamed. "Aren't they just beautiful?" she asked Jimmy.

"Uh, yep," Jimmy said with a nod.

"Well, thanks," Lorelai chuckled, blushing a little at the compliment. "Um. Do we wanna head in, get some lunch?"

The whole group shuffled into the diner, Rory exchanging a look with Jess to check in with him. Jess nodded and smiled weakly in response, reaching for Rory's hand and giving it a squeeze. Rory squeezed right back, trying to offer some kind of reassurance to Jess. A silent promise that no matter what happened, everything would be okay.

Lunch went as smoothly as it could, peppered with awkward silences that Rory and Lorelai would jump to fill, and before they knew it the Marianos were heading to the inn to check into their room and Rory and Jess were heading up to the diner apartment to settle in for the next few days.

"Ugh, this weekend's gonna be exhausting, isn't it?" Rory groaned as she flopped onto the couch.

"I don't want to say I told you so, but…" Jess mumbled as he confirmed Ellie was sleeping peacefully in her crib, stationed on the side of the apartment that belonged to him, once upon a time.

His comment was met with a pillow to the back of the head, Rory having surprisingly good aim for a tired, completely unathletic person. Jess spun around with a surprised look on his face as Rory cackled to herself. Crossing the apartment, Jess plopped down onto the couch next to Rory, snaking his arms around her middle and tickling her sides with a devilish smile.

"Oh my God, stop, stop, I can't breathe!" Rory laughed, panting to catch her breath as Jess relented, instead leaning over her and running his fingertips under the hem of her t-shirt. He put his weight on one elbow, hovering over Rory and using the other hand to brush a stray strand of hair out of her face. Rory sat and examined him, a soft and content smile on her face.

"Did you really keep a picture of us with you when you were in California?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah. I missed you," Jess whispered, bumping their noses together.

"I missed you too."

Rory hummed contentedly as Jess leaned down to kiss her cheek, her neck, her collarbone.

"Whatcha doin'?" she asked with a little giggle as he nipped at her skin.

"I was feeling nostalgic. Luke and Lorelai won't bust in here to interrupt us now," he said against her neck.

"You do realize we've done way worse in this apartment, right?" Rory laughed. "If I remember correctly, Ellie was conceived right over there," she said, gesturing at the bed across the room.

Jess pulled back with a playful scowl. "Just let me have my fun, okay?" he said, tickling her side again.

Rory giggled and grabbed the front of Jess's shirt, pulling him down and meeting his lips with hers. "If you insist."

The Big Day started with a full breakfast at Luke's before the crew made their way over to the house to prepare for the party. As the saying goes, it takes a village to raise a child, and Rory had never been so thankful for their village. Knowing she didn't have to worry about where Ellie was at every second as she hurried around was a weight off her mind as she ran around putting up decorations and organizing goodie bags, and she checked in periodically with whatever family member or friend was taking care of Ellie just to make sure she wasn't needed or to get some cuddles in with her little girl, feeling nostalgic about how fast time was passing.

Before they knew it, guests started arriving, laden with gifts that Rory started to realize they were going to have to find to fit in the apartment. Maybe some could just stay in Stars Hollow for when they visited. She was staring at the pile in amazement when she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder. She turned to see who the guest was, her face lighting up with a childlike smile.

"Mia!" She reached out and hugged her with the arm that wasn't holding Ellie, ecstatic at seeing her.

"Rory, my sweet girl! How are you?" Mia said with a loving smile, hugging Rory back.

"I'm good, how are you!"

"I'm good and even better now that I'm here! Now, is this the little lady we are celebrating today?" she asked, reaching out to playfully squeeze Ellie's toes.

"It is! Mia, this is Ellie," Rory said with a proud grin.

"My word, she is just the spitting image of you when you were a baby. May I…?" Mia asked, gesturing with both hands towards Ellie.

Rory nodded and passed Ellie over to Mia who held her on her hip, smiling softly at her. Ellie became transfixed with the bold and bright necklace Mia was wearing, grabbing at it clumsily with eyes wide. Mia laughed brightly, throwing her head back, bouncing Ellie a little and tickling her side, eliciting a giggle.

"I think she likes you," Rory said happily.

"Well, I'm honored," Mia said, beaming.

After chatting with Mia, Rory meandered through the party with Ellie on her hip, performing her hostess duties and chatting with friends and family as they were stationed throughout the house. She was chatting with April and Lily, who had become fast friends, when she heard Liz's voice coming from outside the front door. Having already seen Jimmy, Rory's heart skipped a beat in anxiety and she went off to find Jess, hopeful he could help keep them separated. After sending Jess to find Jimmy and keep him occupied, Rory went to greet Liz and hopefully distract her by having Doula and Ellie play.

"Rory!" Liz cheered, arms open wide as she approached.

"Hi, Liz," Rory said with a tight smile.

"Give your ol' mother-in-law a hug!" Liz said, wrapping her arms around Rory and Ellie at the same time, sandwiching Ellie between them.

"Jess and I aren't married," Rory chuckled awkwardly.

"Ah, yeah, but you've got the kid and you live together, it's close enough! Now, gimme my granddaughter!"

Rory handed Ellie over to Liz while she glanced over Liz's shoulder. "No Doula and TJ?"

"No, Doula's been hurling all over the place the last two days, poor thing, so Gary stayed home with her so I could make an appearance. See my kid and my kid's kid, y'know?"

"Oh no, poor baby," Rory said, trying to school her expression and keep the terror that was suddenly coursing through her veins from being put on display as she gingerly grabbed Ellie back from Liz, making a mental note to bathe her as soon as possible. They were not going to bring home a stomach virus if Rory had anything to say about it.

"I know, and Gary's been lookin' a little green too, I just hope I don't get it next!"

"Oh, well, if you need to go home, it's totally fine—"

"Nah, I'm good! And I wanna see Jess! Where's that boy of mine?"

Rory cleared her throat. "Uh, somewhere around here, why don't I go find him for you? Stay here, I'll be right back." Before Liz could object, Rory darted back into the house and immediately went into the bathroom to wash Ellie's hands and wipe down her face, shooting Jess a panicked look on the way. As she was trying to clean up a wiggly Ellie who was objecting to the washcloth her mother was scrubbing her with, a tap sounded on the door before it opened. Jess snuck in and closed it behind him.

"What's wrong?"

"Doula and TJ have the stomach flu and your mother just hugged me and Ellie!" Rory exclaimed in a harsh whisper, eyes full of panic.

"What?" Jess asked. He covered his face with his hands, groaning into his palms. "I'll go take care of her just… wash everything."

"Working on it…"

Rory finished cleaning Ellie and herself to the best of her ability without stripping and showering them both and carefully exited the bathroom, a now very grumpy Ellie held closely to her chest.

"Are you trying to deprive me of time with my niece?" came a voice from the kitchen, false accusation in his voice.

Rory spun around with a grin on her face. "Matt! Hi!"

Matt enveloped her and Ellie in a hug before snatching Ellie out of Rory's arms and hugging her like a teddy bear, her face squished against his.

"Man, don't squeeze her to death," Chris said with a smile, coming up behind Matt with a beer in his hand. "Hey, Rory," he said, wrapping an arm around her and giving her a squeeze.

"Hey, Chris," Rory said, returning his squeeze. "God, it's so good to see you guys! Has it really been a year?"

"Yep, last time we made the trip was when you popped this munchkin out," Chris said, frowning slightly as Matt made silly faces at Ellie as she giggled. "Hey, where's Jess?"

Rory sighed. "Parental management."

Matt snapped out of his baby fever and turned to Rory. "Parental like… both parents?"

Chris's eyes widened. "Jimmy's here?!"

Rory hushed him and lowered her own voice. "Liz doesn't know, we're doing our best to keep them apart and avoid a situation."

"Jeez, yeah, okay," Chris breathed, taking a sip of his beer.

"Right now, Jess is trying to get Liz to go home because Doula and TJ are home with a stomach bug."

Matt's eyes widened and his jaw dropped.

Rory held up a hand. "Don't even get me started."

They were all startled out of their conversation by Ellie screaming, "Dadadadada!" and reaching over Matt's shoulder. They all turned to see Jess making his way toward them. Rory took note of the tension in his shoulders and jaw, his muscles softening a little as he got closer to Ellie.

"Hey, Ellie bean," Jess said, taking her from Matt before she threw herself into his arms herself.

"Jeez, it's like I'm not even important to him anymore," Matt teased.

"Compared to my daughter? Yeah, you matter less to me than her."

Matt held a hand to his heart in mock offense. "Harsh."

Jess huffed a laugh, wrapping an arm around Matt first then Chris, clapping them each on the back. "It's good to see you guys."

"Liz?" Rory asked.

Jess just shook his head tiredly and gestured outside. Rory craned her neck to see out the door and saw Liz talking animatedly with Miss Patty. She sighed heavily, deciding to mentally table the issue for now.

The four chatted for a while, grateful for time to catch up, when a thought occurred to Rory.

"Wait, Matt, didn't you mention bringing someone—"

"Don't—" Chris started, eyes intense as he held up his hands.

Matt dropped his head, staring at his feet and taking a breath before looking back up at Rory with glassy eyes. "Heather dumped me."

"Oh, Matt, I'm so sorry."

"Yeah, uh…"

"Changing subjects, totally," Rory said, suddenly noticing Richard and Emily in the living room. "Jess, go find Alex and make introductions."

"Host stuff is your thing," he whined.

Rory shot him a look and reached out for Ellie and Jess begrudgingly handed Ellie over to her, making his way through the craziness with the guys to find Alex while Rory found the relatively quiet corner that her grandparents had claimed as their own.

"Grandma, Grandpa, hi," Rory said, kissing them each on the cheek.

"Rory, how lovely to see you!" Richard said with a grin.

"This is quite the bash for a toddler," Emily said, eyes scanning the room with confusion, intrigue, and just a little disgust.

"Yeah, well, you can't say Stars Hollow doesn't like to party."

"Even if it's for a one-year-old?"

Rory shrugged. "Everyone here loves Ellie. That's pretty much one of the best things I can ask for as a parent," she said with a smile, heart feeling full.

Emily softened a little, a smile crossing her face. "Well, I suppose you're right about that."

Rory sat and chatted with her grandparents for a while, thankful for the time off her feet and loving how enamored her grandparents were with her daughter, when a shout across the room sent her heart into her gut.

"Jimmy?!" came Liz's harsh voice, loud over even the loudest conversations.

"Oh God," Rory breathed.

"What? What is it?" Emily asked, hushed and intrigued.

"Uh, well, Jess's parents haven't seen each other since Jimmy went to go get diapers about, say, twenty-four years ago, and it sounds like Liz just found out Jimmy is here."

"Oh dear," Emily said, genuinely concerned.

"Yeah, uh, can you…?" she stood and gestured to Ellie who was contentedly playing in Richard's lap.

"Yes, absolutely, go."

Rory hurried her way through the house until she reached the front door, finding the source of the commotion on the lawn outside. She froze on the porch, stopping so abruptly that Jess collided with her, both watching Liz and Jimmy verbally tear into each other in the gravel driveway.

"Crap," Jess hissed, swerving around Rory to try and go split up the fight before anything bad happened.

Rory could barely hear distinct words in the argument, Liz and Jimmy's voices overlapping and colliding in a haze of anger and long held grudges as Rory stood watching in horror.

"… you're saying I'm an incompetent parent? You're the one who couldn't even manage to remember to come back after leaving for diapers!" Liz screamed.

"At least I knew what was best for him at the time! I'm not the one who exposed him to years of neglect and shitty people and drugs and booze and whatever hell else you let into his life before shipping him off to an uncle he didn't even know!"

"And what the hell are you doing here anyway, huh? You're basically a sperm donor for how much involvement you had in his life, what makes you think you can just show up at his kid's birthday party?"

"Because he's my kid and he invited me! And I want to have a chance to make up for the mistakes I made, which I'm pretty sure is more than I can say about you!"

"Oh, what the hell is that supposed to mean?!"

Jess had heard enough, ears and neck hot with humiliation and anger, his jaw so tight that somewhere in the back of his mind he worried he was going to break a tooth. He forced himself in between his parents just as Sasha came running out of the house.

"Both of you, knock it off!" Jess shouted. "Liz, go home."

Liz's eyes widened in shock and indignation. "Me?! You're kicking me out?!" she shouted. "I raised you!"

Jess had to literally bite his tongue to keep from letting himself say what he wanted to, instead taking a breath to try and remain calm, nostrils flaring. "Doula's sick, she needs you. Go."

With a huff and a shake of her head, Liz turned away and practically stomped down the driveway, but not without turning and shouting, "Good luck with that," at Sasha with a sneer.

Jess stood, hands on his hips tightly to keep them from shaking, head down with his chin pressed to his chest.

"Jess, I—" Jimmy started.

"Don't." Jess turned slightly and saw Luke standing on the porch, mouth and eyes open wide in shock.

"I just—"

"Jimmy," Sasha said with such authority that Jimmy had no room to argue. "Jess, I think we're gonna head back to the inn. We'll say bye before we leave tomorrow, k?"

Jess nodded stiffly, hearing the crunch of gravel under their feet and Sasha calling for Lily.

"Think it's time for cake?" Lorelai whispered to Rory.

"I don't think Jess is quite ready for cake yet, Mom."

"How about cake for the grown-ups? We'll do Ellie's cake smash later."

Rory nodded and shot her mother a grateful look. As Lorelai went off to do her hostess thing, to get everyone focused on something else and ply them with sugar, Rory went to check on Jess. She sidled up next to him, bumping his shoulder affectionately.

"I didn't realize we hired entertainment for this shindig."

Jess glanced at her, giving her a wry smile.

"Sorry. Too soon."

Jess inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly, shakily. "I'm gonna go for a walk."

Rory nodded understandably. "We're holding the cake smash until you're back."

"Thanks," Jess mumbled, giving Rory a quick peck on the cheek before walking off in what Rory assumed was the direction of the bridge.

Walking back inside, Rory found Lorelai, Sookie, and Mia frantically serving cake and drinks to the guests.

"Oh, good. Sugar and alcohol. That'll definitely help eliminate any more potential drama at my daughter's birthday party."

"We were more hoping the sugar would make them happy and the alcohol would make them forget about the drama that already happened," Sookie said with a wince as she handed Rory a plate laden with a large slice of triple chocolate cake.

"Never mind, I'm with you," Rory said with a nod, taking a large bite of cake herself, eyes rolling back into her head in pleasure. "Sookie, you have seriously outdone yourself with this," she said, mouth full.

"Elizabeth was always excitable…" Mia sighed. "Are you alright, Rory?"

Rory grimaced, shoving another bite of cake in her mouth. "I'll be fine. I'm just worried about Jess."

Mia smiled sweetly, eyes crinkling at the corners. "You wouldn't be you if you weren't," she said, reaching out to pat Rory's cheek gently.

"I don't mean to interrupt…" came a voice from behind them.

Rory turned around to see her grandmother holding Ellie away from her. "No, Grandma, you're not interrupting anything. What's up?"

"It seems as though Ellie needs a diaper change and I didn't have any supplies over with me."

"Oh, no worries, Grandma, I'll take her," Rory said, handing her plate of cake to Lorelai and grabbing Ellie from Emily and catching a whiff of what her grandmother was referring to. "Oh, wow, yeah I see what you mean, I'll be back… soon."

When she got back from changing Ellie's diaper, she found Jess sitting alone on the front porch steps, the party guests all having migrated inside after a spring drizzle had emerged. Rory shuffled outside. Closing the door behind her, she sat down next to Jess, bouncing Ellie on her knee. Jess reached out and took Ellie from Rory, holding her close and burying his nose in her hair, inhaling deeply, taking in the sweet and mild scent of her baby shampoo. Tension seeped out of him on the exhale.

"How are you?" Rory asked tentatively.

"Okay, I guess."

Ellie reached up and patted Jess's face with her open hand, smiling up at him. Jess smiled back down at her, so thankful he was going to be able to give his daughter the stable childhood he didn't get.

"I never should have thought it would work, having both of them in the same place," Jess said, shaking his head.

"Hey, no, what happened was not your fault," Rory said sternly. "It is not on you that your parents can't get their shit together for their granddaughter's birthday party."

"But—"

"No. No buts."

Jess turned to face Rory, prepared to object further, but the cold fire in Rory's eyes stopped him short.

"Okay," he said roughly, nodding. He cleared his throat and shifted his gaze back to Ellie. "What do you say we get some cake in this kid?"

Rory smiled, albeit a little weakly, and hummed her agreement.

As the large group of party guests sang happy birthday to Ellie, Rory felt the burn of tears behind her eyes. The day had been such a rollercoaster of emotions, and she knew it was far from over, knew Jess was still beating himself up over the drama. But at the same time, she felt such overwhelming joy and love for the amount of people that loved her baby. She looked over at Jess as the singing voices washed over them, sending him a smile that he returned, saying a million things with no words.

That night, hopped up sugar while simultaneously over tired, it took forever for Ellie to fall asleep. They put her to bed at the house, planning to move her to her crib at the diner apartment and hoping she would resettle quickly, and she laid there and babbled and fussed for a good hour before finally passing out. Most of the guests had left, just close family friends like Lane and the Truncheon crew remaining as the sun set.

Searching for some quiet, Rory grabbed a cup of coffee and made her way out to the porch, surprised to find Lane already outside on the porch swing.

"Zach take the kids home?"

"Yep," Lane said, drawing out the word more than necessary and slumping down in her seat.

"You okay there?" Rory asked, chuckling.

"I may have had a few too many beers," Lane drawled with a guilty smile. "Just a two or so."

Rory snorted, sitting down next to her friend. "Well, I'm sure Mom and Luke will be fine if you want to sleep it off on the couch."

"No, sure, I'll be fine in a minute, yeah."

Rory eyed Lane with dubious amusement. "Okay, sure, whatever you say."

The two sat in silence, save from the creaking of the swing. Rory closed her eyes, letting the spring breeze wash over her face.

"Hey, who's Heather?" Lane asked suddenly.

"What?"

"Heather, who's Heather?"

"Heather, like, Matt's Heather?"

Lane sat up, eyes wide. "Matt has a Heather?"

"Had, she broke up with him a couple weeks ago."

"Ohhh, that explains the crying…"

"Wait, back up, what crying? What happened?"

"Well earlier when we were kissing—"

Rory's mouth dropped in shock.

"What? We're both consenting adults, and both single!" Lane said defensively. "But he started crying about some Heather and then that other one, the tall one, the other Trunfeon one…"

"Chris," Rory snorted.

"Right! Right, Chris, he came and grabbed Matt and brought him back to the inn or something, so then there was no more kissing." Lane shrugged and slumped back in her seat. "Are you thirsty? I'm thirsty."

Rory laughed and got up, patting Lane on the knee. "I'll get you water, stay here." She went into the house and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, popping into her old room to check on Ellie and finding Jess asleep on the bed next to the bassinet where Ellie slept. She tiptoed in, smiling at Ellie as she softly snored and watching Jess with concern, running her fingers through his hair and hoping he could rest peacefully. When she got back outside, she found Lane unconscious on the porch swing. She laughed and shook her head, sitting back down next to Lane and pulling a blanket over them, letting Lane sleep against her shoulder for a bit.

Rory was just enjoying the peaceful evening when Lane shifted with a sniff and an intelligible grumble.

"What was that?"

"… miss Dave…" Lane mumbled before falling back to sleep, snoring not five seconds later.

Rory frowned. She hadn't heard Lane talk about Dave since they drifted apart after his move to college, and she was pretty sure that if her friend wasn't in a drunken stupor, she still wouldn't have. But after Lane's drunken admission, her heart ached for her friend, wishing she could do something to help her find love again.

A/N: Ahhh the chaos. The DRAMA. Anyway this might be the longest chapter I've ever posted? Go me. A little update: due to just schedule and life stuff, I'm going to start posting once every other week. I'm sorry! I wish I could keep up with posting every week but it's just not plausible right now. Please keep reading! I promise there is still so much to come! Thank you all for sticking with me and for leaving such lovely reviews 3 3 3