A trip to Stars Hollow, especially when it's someone's first trip, would not be complete without attending a town meeting. Or so Rory and Lorelai insisted when they told Alex about it.

The entire walk from the diner to Miss Patty's, Rory was sidled up next to Alex, talking her ear off about the apparent joy and hilarity that a town meeting could bring, sharing stories of Luke and Taylor getting in arguments, local debates being settled in front of an audience, and a million fundraisers to repair the same things over and over again. Jess and Ellie followed closely behind while Luke and Lorelai brought up the back, and as per usual, the group entered the packed building just a few minutes late, earning a disapproving glare from Taylor as they quickly found their seats.

"… and as for the matter of the downed tree outside the old Independence Inn, the removal team will be there to dispose of it on Tuesday. Please avoid the area and let the men do their work."

"What downed tree?" Lorelai asked, aghast.

"Lorelai, please raise your hand before speaking."

As Taylor opened his mouth to move onto the next piece of business, a hand popped up in the back.

Taylor sighed. "Yes, Lorelai?"

"What downed tree?"

"A tree fell in last weekend's windstorm. Now—"

"Is the inn damaged?"

"No, now if we could please move on…" Taylor said, voice full of impatience.

"Yeah, sure, do your thing."

Rory leaned across Luke to her mother. "You didn't hear about the tree?" she whispered.

"No, I did," Lorelai said with an evil grin.

Rory snorted and rolled her eyes.

"Does she always do that?" Alex whispered to Jess, voice shaking slightly with laughter.

"Yep," Jess said with a nod.

"I think I could get used to this," Alex said with a grin.

"Don't speak too soon," Jess said out of the corner of his mouth.

"Now, onto the next item on our agenda. Next week, there will be no New Year's Eve carnival– "

The entire building started to raise their voices in protest.

"Instead," Taylor said over the din, "there will be an all-day fair on New Year's Day. This will allow for less public drinking and more family-friendly activities. If you would like to sign up to run a booth, Miss Patty will—"

Taylor was abruptly halted by a happy squawk emanating from the back of the room.

"Miss Gilmore, Mr. Mariano, please control your offspring."

"Offspring?" Jess whispered.

"Shh," Rory hissed at Jess. "Sorry Taylor, we'll try to keep her quiet."

"Fine. As I was saying, Miss Patty will be available to take volunteers for—"

Another joyful screech rang out over the crowd, interrupting Taylor a second time.

"Now, really!" Taylor exclaimed, exasperated as Luke and Lorelai started to snicker, along with other attendees.

"Sorry Taylor, keep going," Rory said, bouncing Ellie on her knee and handing her a teething toy to try and keep her occupied.

"Right, where was I… ah, yes, if you would like to volunteer to run a booth at the Stars Hollow New Year's Day, '2008 Will Be Great' fair can sign up with Miss Patty or I at the end of this meeting. Now, people, this will be a family friendly event. Things that will be prohibited are as follows: excessive public displays of affection, more than one glass of Founder's Day punch per legal adult, public nudity Kirk," Taylor said with a pointed glance to a scarlet-faced Kirk. "… nor will anyone be allowed to refer to each other's significant other as anything crude, improper, or bedroom-worthy. Any objections?"

Lorelai raised her hand immediately.

"Fantastic, now…" Taylor continued, ignoring Lorelai's scoff. "Our last piece of business for the night is on the matter of donations for repair for Larson's Dock, as—"

The room was suddenly filled with an ear-piercing shriek, Ellie apparently very passionate about the referenced dock, resulting in poorly stifled laughter from her entire family.

Taylor's face was flushed with indignation as he glared at them. "If you cannot manage your child, you may leave."

The group, all doubled over with laughter, slowly and clumsily extricated themselves from the packed seating area and made their way outside where their laughter grew. Jess took a grinning Ellie from Rory and held her up in the air, smiling widely at her as she giggled back down at him.

"Proud?" Rory giggled, seeing the look on Jess's face.

"Like you wouldn't believe."

"So my mom is at the inn but she promises to answer her phone if you call, and Lane's number is on this list, and the local hospital, and Luke is right downstairs, but—but you knew that," Rory said with a sheepish grin as Alex nodded patiently.

"I did, but the reminder doesn't hurt."

"Sorry," Rory chuckled.

"No problem, I get it. But it'll be fine, really. She knows me, I have loads of babysitting experience, you guys won't be far, and like you said, we have tons of backup people."

Despite Alex's assurances, Rory still felt a wave of anxiety wash over her at the thought of leaving Ellie. They hadn't left her with anyone yet, not even Luke and Lorelai, simply because they hadn't needed to. But, since they were in Stars Hollow with plenty of trusted people around, they'd been convinced to go on a date.

Rory had been rethinking her decision ever since.

Jess exited the apartment bathroom to find Rory, eyebrows drawn together and bottom lip held by her teeth, watching Alex play with Ellie. He crossed the room to her, lightly running his fingers down her spine before wrapping his arm around her waist. As his lips met her temple in a soft and reassuring kiss, her shoulders lost some of their tension.

"She'll be fine."

"Everyone keeps saying that, but…"

"But nothing. We're not leaving town, she has tons of people she knows and loves around, and we deserve a little break."

"A little break," Rory emphasized, holding her thumb and forefinger a few centimeters apart.

"Just an hour or two to ourselves, alright?"

Rory inhaled deeply before letting out her breath in a short huff, eyes still fixated on Ellie as she sat transfixed by the book Alex read to her.

"C'mon, she's distracted, let's go."

"What are we doing, anyway?" Rory whined as Jess ushered her out the door, grabbing a basket Rory hadn't previously noticed from the hallway before they went down the stairs. "It's not like we planned anything for this."

"Have a little faith in your man!"

Rory gasped dramatically. "You planned something?"

"Maybe," Jess said with a nonchalant shrug.

"Okay, I'm a little more interested now."

"Thanks, that makes me feel real special," Jess teased with a pinch at Rory's side as they left through the backdoor of the diner.

"So…?" Rory asked, drawing out the word and grinning widely. "What's the plan?"

"You'll see," Jess said, an air of mystery surrounding him and lighting an excited warmth in Rory's gut.

Moments later, arms wrapped around each other, Jess led Rory into the pizza shop to pick up his pre-ordered pizza before moving them towards the outskirts of town. Rory's stomach continued to grumble at the smell of the pizza and it distracted her just enough for her to not notice where they were going. When they got to the bridge, Rory's already piqued curiosity grew. Walking onto the bridge, Jess wordlessly handed Rory the pizza box, set down the basket, and pulled out a soft, woven blanket, along with a thermos of hot chocolate and two mugs and then sat down, silently inviting Rory to join him.

Rory grinned softly, eyes burning with a mixture of cold air and happy tears as she sat down next to Jess on the blanket.

"Jess…" Rory said, hushed and touched as she reached out and cupped his face in her mittened hand.

Jess leaned into her touch, turning ever so slightly to place a kiss on her palm. "Good plan?" he asked.

"Very good plan."

They both eagerly dove into the warm pizza and hot chocolate, searching for warmth after being chilled from the wintery air. And though the conversation could have been considered mundane, being able to just be them was freeing. There was no need to listen for baby cries, no work that needed to be done, just the two of them, present in the moment, enjoying each other's company.

As present as they could be, of course. It didn't stop them from frequently checking their phones to make sure Alex wasn't trying to get ahold of them.

As the pizza was finished, they sat in a comfortable silence. Rory stared out at the water, sipping from her mug of cocoa with a content smile on her face. Jess's gaze, however, was not on the lake. It instead rested on Rory, studying her, taking in her beauty. Her cheeks, pink in the chill. The way her hair was a little frizzy as it peeked out from the edge of her beanie. The innocent, childlike happiness that shown in her eyes with every sip of her hot chocolate.

He really couldn't believe he was lucky enough to spend his life with her.

A sigh of total contentment escaped him right as Rory's phone chimed, startling them both out of their revelry. Jess looked at Rory concernedly, silently asking if it was Alex. Rory shook her head.

"Just Paris. She's freaking out about next term at med school."

"When isn't Paris freaking out about something?" Jess muttered as he began to clean up the remnants of their picnic.

"Well, apparently, she heard rumors about one of her professors being a total creep to his female students, promising to give them better grades if they wear skirts to class and crap like that."

Jess grimaced in disgust. "That's sick."

"I know."

"Does this professor have a name? An address, perhaps?"

A small smile lit up Rory's face. "Are you offering to go beat up Paris's professor for her?"

"No, and don't you dare tell Paris that because it would be a lie. I just think idiots who prey on women should get what they deserve."

"I'll check with Paris about the name and address," Rory snickered, replying to Paris's text.

Jess continued to clean up their picnic site as Rory chatted with Paris. By the time she looked up from her phone, the only thing left to do was fold up the blanket they were sitting on.

"Date over?" Rory chuckled.

"My ass is freezing and I miss our kid."

A frown formed on Rory's face. "I miss her too."

"Then let's go, she should be up from her nap by the time we get back."

"Ooh, good thinking!"

Rory hopped up from her place and grabbed the blanket from the ground, gathering it into a rumpled ball and setting off in the direction of the apartment.

"Aren't you gonna fold that?" Jess called after her, laughing.

"Folding can happen after I kiss the baby!" Rory called back.

Jess snorted as he picked up the picnic basket before jogging to catch up with Rory.

Yeah, kissing his kid as soon as possible was way more important than making sure everything was neat and tidy.

As the days between holidays passed, the contentment of the previous week faded a little. Ellie was officially overwhelmed by the constant attention she got when they were in Stars Hollow and seemed to have developed a new hatred for the crib she used in Stars Hollow and was protesting sleep, and of course, that meant that Jess and Rory weren't sleeping either. They were all constantly irritable and snippy and even though they felt awful after every brusque interaction, they were distracted by something before they had a chance to apologize. It sucked, to put it simply. They hated having tension between them.

The night before New Year's Eve, Ellie finally ended her strike on sleep and fell asleep immediately after dinner. Jess had passed out soon after her, but Rory found herself battling her own insomnia. The past few days had made her feel mentally and physically miserable. It was no longer the blissful holiday trip home she had been looking forward to and her fatigued mind felt mushy and unsettled as she tried to push away her worries and go to sleep.

Looking at the clock for what felt like the millionth time that night, she felt her stomach sink even lower than it had. They'd have to be up in just a few hours for Ellie's breakfast, and then she wasn't expecting today to be any better than the few previous. She lay still in bed, the covers pulled up close to her chin and her fingers worrying the hem of the sheet as her mind swam with the what-ifs and worst-case scenarios that had been plaguing her since Lane told her about the divorce, the fears getting more intense with every night of sleep loss.

"I can practically hear you thinking," Jess said from beside her, voice rough with sleep, as he turned over to face her. "What's going on?"

Rory bit her lip anxiously before whispering into the dark, gaze fixed on the ceiling.

"Did we rush into things?"

Jess blinked in confusion before propping himself up on his elbow. "What do you mean?"

"I know we didn't have much of a choice since I got pregnant, but… but what if we moved too quickly? What if we jumped into life together without really considering everything that that entails?"

Jess felt his stomach twist in fear as he tried to decipher Rory's words. Was she second guessing their future? Did she not see them lasting anymore?

Doing his best to keep his voice from betraying his dread, he asked, "Where's this coming from?"

Rory quickly, almost frantically, moved herself up until she was sitting ramrod straight in bed, eyes wide as she turned to Jess.

"I don't want to be Lane and Zack," she said quietly, voice quivering.

Jess felt his worries melt away in a second, shifting up to lean against the headboard. He reached forward to cup Rory's cheek in his hand.

"We're not going to be Lane and Zack."

"But how do you know?" Rory asked desperately. "Lane and Zack loved each other, they have kids, they thought they'd be together forever but they jumped into life together really quickly and now…"

Jess gently stroked Rory's cheekbone with his thumb, wiping away the stray tear that had escaped Rory's waterline.

"I know. I know because there's nothing that can ever make me want to leave what we have. I have known from the first time I saw you that you were it for me. Yes, in some ways we moved quickly, like with Ellie and moving in together. But we've also been working our way here since we were seventeen, Rory. We've been through a lot of shit and we're still here. We're gonna go through more shit, too, and no matter what I will always fight for our family. And I'm pretty sure you feel the same way," he added, an unspoken question in his eyes.

Rory nodded a little before leaning into Jess's touch. "I do," she whispered, her voice watery.

"Then there's nothing to worry about."

Rory nibbled at her lip, searching Jess's eyes. "You've really known you loved me since you met me?"

"Maybe not love at that moment, but I knew you were going to be someone very important to me."

"How?" Rory asked, shaking her head in bewilderment.

Jess shrugged casually. "I just knew."

Rory lunged forward, capturing Jess's lips with her own, her mouth moving against his in a frantic kiss, trying to convey everything that was making her heart swell and her head spin in that moment. Eventually she pulled back, lungs searing with lack of oxygen, seeing Jess's eyes dark and heavy-lidded.

"I love you," she breathed.

"I love you, too," Jess whispered back, pressing a series of kisses to her mouth, her cheek, her temple.

Rory took a deep, shuddering breath before pillowing her head against Jess's chest, sighing in fatigue and contentment as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pressed his lips to the crown of her head.

"I know Lane and Zack are in their own unique situation," Rory said quietly. "I just… watching them go through it made me realize it can happen to anyone. And I was so afraid it would happen to us."

"Hey, never," Jess said, squeezing Rory in a tight hug.

Rory nodded, absentmindedly tracing vague designs on Jess's shirt. She tilted her head to look up at him.

"I know that now," she said with certainty. "Just because it can happen doesn't mean it will. I just needed to convince my head of that," she said with a sheepish smile. "And this sounds so lame and after the fact now, but even if it took me longer to realize it than you, I know now that this is exactly where I'm supposed to be. Here, with you and Ellie and our life."

"Not lame," Jess said with a soft smile. "I appreciate hearing it."

Rory sighed as her eyes fluttered closed, curling in against Jess's chest.

"I'm excited for our life together," she said sleepily.

Jess sighed in contentment, scooching them down under the covers as Rory fell asleep in his arms, knowing in his bones that nothing could or would ever tear them apart.

"Me, too."

New Year's Eve was spent relaxing as much as possible, everyone weirdly drained after moving through the strange time vortex that is the week between Christmas and New Year's Eve. The group lounged around Luke and Lorelai's house, reading, watching movies, playing card games, and simply enjoying each other's company. Ellie was often the center of attention, much to her delight, as she repeatedly pulled herself to stand with the help of the coffee table. Each time, every single adult in the room would watch in rapt attention, waiting with bated breath for her to take a step. But each time Ellie simply grinned and laughed before plopping back down on the floor, attention shifting back to the tower of blocks Jess was building from his place on the floor across from her, laying on his side, head propped up on his hand. He had narrowly avoided getting pummeled by a shower of wooden cubes multiple times as Ellie kept knocking over his tower, but her shriek of laughter brought him so much joy it won out over protecting his face from the potential assault.

Once Ellie tired out and her bedtime arrived, Rory and Jess tucked her in in the portable crib in Rory's old room before joining the increasingly raucous adult activities in the living room. Alex had somehow convinced Lorelai to let her have a beer, despite being underage, which was probably due to Lorelai already being a little tipsy. Luke, on the other hand, was quietly napping in the armchair across the room, oblivious to the goings on around him.

Half chuckling, half grimacing at Lorelai's impromptu karaoke session as they came into the room, Jess and Rory grabbed themselves drinks and settled into the couch together. Rory eventually succumbed to her mother's desperate pleas to join the karaoke-turned-dance-party, and it wasn't until Alex got up there with them too, jumping around in front of the TV while Jess read the book he'd brought with him, that Luke snorted himself awake. Upon noticing her now conscious husband, Lorelai gasped and ran to him, sitting in his lap and begging him to join their frolicking.

"No," Luke said gruffly.

"Come on!" Lorelai pleaded with a pout. "It's our first married New Year's!"

"No, it's not."

Lorelai paused and stared into space for a moment as if scanning through the files of her memory before letting out a drunk giggle. "Oh, right." She returned her gaze to Luke, opening her mouth to ask again.

"The answer is still no."

"No singing required!"

"I am not dancing to Britney Spears, or whoever this is."

Lorelai's jaw dropped in offense. "Excuse me, sir. This is no Britney. This, my dear husband, is Rihanna."

"Rihanna who?" Luke asked with a confused squint.

"Just Rihanna. And while she isn't my usual go-to, girl makes good dancin' music."

"Why is her name just her first name? Even Britney Spears uses her first and last…"

Alex couldn't contain her laughter any longer and excused herself to the kitchen to get some water, chuckling the whole way.

"Okay, old man, enough with the name games. We don't question pop stars and their decisions because they're often questionable. What we do is we dance to their music so come on!" With that, Lorelai jumped off Luke's lap and grabbed his hand, attempting to pull him to standing. When he stayed put, Lorelai stuck her lower lip out in an exaggerated pout. "Fine, what if I put on a slow song and promise just one dance?" she asked sweetly, bending over to caress his cheek in a soft and suggestive way that made everyone else in the room avert their eyes. With a smirk, Luke succumbed to Lorelai's pleas and rose out of the chair with a groan as Lorelai skipped gleefully to put on a slow song. On his way to her, Luke turned to where Jess still had his nose buried in his book.

"How the hell did you get out of dancing with Rory?"

"One, she didn't ask, and two, we're not married so I'm not obligated," Jess said without lifting his gaze from the pages.

"Right, about that…"

Jess dropped the hand with the book to his lap, dramatically letting his head fall back against the couch as Rory sat next to him. "Ah, jeez, not this again…"

"Not what again?" Rory asked.

"Listen, you guys have a baby, you live together, when are you two getting' married?"

"When we want to, and that's the end of that, so go dance with your wife like you said you would."

Rory snickered at Luke's disapproving frown before curling up next to Jess, grabbing his arm and pulling it around her shoulders. "Speaking of…"

"Yes?" Jess asked, pressing his lips to the crown of her head before meeting her gaze with a soft expression.

"When do we want to?"

"To…"

"Get married, dork," Rory laughed, hitting him lightly on the chest.

Jess turned in his seat to face her better. "You wanna start talking about it?"

Rory smiled. "Ellie's almost a year old, we're in a good place with work and finances… yeah, let's start talking about it."

A soft grin spread across Jess's face as he nodded. "Alright, we're talking about it."

Before they could actually begin the discussion, Alex came into the room, grinning widely.

"Hey lovebirds!" she called over the music.

"Which ones?" Jess asked.

"All of you, it's almost midnight!"

"Ooh ooh, turn on the TV, we need to see the ball drop!" Rory squealed, lunging for the remote.

"The champagne!" Lorelai cried, sprinting to the kitchen to retrieve the bubbly from the fridge.

"How the hell did we end up with them?" Luke asked Jess with an amused look in his eye.

"Beats me, but I wouldn't have it any other way," Jess replied, gazing lovingly as Rory passed out 'Happy New Year!' party hats.

"Sap," Luke snorted.

"Says the guy who just danced with his wife to Foreigner. Foreigner, Luke."

"Shut up."

Lorelai returned with the champagne as the countdown from ten started. The whole group focused their attention to the TV, chanting in chorus with the partygoers in New York.

"Three… two… one… Happy New Year!" everyone cried together, blowing party horns and cheering, Luke kissing Lorelai and Jess kissing Rory, Alex pouring champagne for the group and getting a surprise kiss on the cheek from both Lorelai and Rory. As the chaos quieted just slightly, Auld Lang Syne playing from the speakers, Rory's ears perked up to the sound of Ellie crying on the baby monitor. With a kiss on Jess's cheek, she went to check on her.

Slowly opening the door and stepping into the bedroom, Rory smiled softly as she approached the crib that held a whimpering, wailing Ellie. She peeked over the edge and reached down to brush the wispy baby bangs off of Ellie's forehead. In a second, Ellie's crying softened to sniffles and she reached to hold her mother's finger.

"Mama…"

Rory's heart stopped in her chest.

"Did you just… did you say Mama?"

With a shuddering sigh, Ellie's face brightened with a gummy smile.

"Mama!" she said happily.

"Oh my God!" Rory breathed, tears gathering along in her eyes. "Yeah, baby, that's me! I'm Mama!"

"Mama, Mama, Mama…" Ellie babbled joyfully as Rory let out a watery laugh.

Rory pulled away just enough to stick her head out the door and call for Jess, who quickly came in the room with a questioning look on his face.

"Ellie just—"

"Mama!" Ellie cried with glee.

"Yeah, that!" Rory laughed. "Oh my God, Jess, she's talking!" Rory squealed, hopping up and down.

"Oh my God…" Jess breathed, leaning over the wall of the crib to place a hand on Ellie's tummy. "Hey, you." He let out a breathy chuckle. "Wow…" he said, voice soft and reverent. "Good job, kid. You're pretty smart."

Rory sidled up next to Jess, wrapping an arm around his waist and placing a soft, tender kiss to his cheek.

"Happy New Year, Jess."

Jess turned to her with a crooked grin on his face.

"Happy New Year, Rory."

A/N: Was still editing this chapter up until like five minutes before I posted it, and I'm still not 100% happy with it, but oh well I guess. Please let me know what you think!