thank you for reading/reviewing!
another chapter, because I had to get this one to you on principle - this is the first time (i think) posting a holiday chapter around the actual holiday! only took me 61 chapters to accomplish this lol
enjoy xoxo
ps - there are a couple small parallels to chapter 5 here - my very first thanksgiving chapter (and one of my personal favorites! anyone else have special chapters they like to return to? i reread that one a lot). anyway, just wanted to let you know in case you want to reread it too.
disclaimer: I own nothing
"We shouldn't be here if you're not feeling well."
Jess mumbles in Rory's ear. He holds her in his arms on a street corner in Stars Hollow; they had parked at her old house and decided to walk over to the diner. Feeling stiff and cooped up from the three hours they spent in holiday traffic driving up to Connecticut. After that scary date passed earlier in the month, her sickness started to recede. The nausea much more sporadic and irregular, dizzy spells come and go quickly. He attributes it to the overstimulating city; having to walk to the subway, take the subway to work, walk blocks to her office. Being accosted by sounds or light and crowds of people through the whole duration. She disagreed but has been letting him drive her to work for the past couple of weeks. She has not admitted yet that it helped.
But on this walk, she needed to stop as they passed Weston's bakery. The smell of cinnamon overwhelmed her stomach and her head, and Jess walked her to the next block to stand with her body pressed against his. His arms wrapped securely around her, one hand holding her head to his shoulder.
She mutters her reply, "then they would know something is up."
"I think if they see you running to the bathroom every time you smell cinnamon, they will definitely know something is up anyway."
"Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday though," she whines, pulling her head back to look at him.
"Rory, you're just starting to feel better, after not being able to keep down most foods for the last almost month. How are you planning to eat a whole Thanksgiving dinner?"
She frowns but it turns into a defiant look, "By force."
He shakes his head.
"Great idea. That won't upset your stomach at all."
"I'll be smart about it. I won't eat my regular Thanksgiving portions."
He sighs, and looks over her face before saying, "we could also just tell them, you know. You'll be twelve weeks starting next week."
She shakes her head immediately.
"Not yet."
"I figured. Ready to walk again?"
She takes a breath and nods; he wraps his arm around her shoulder and pulls her into him as they walk the last few streets to Luke's. As they enter the establishment, they see Lorelai at the counter with a bouquet of flowers and Luke giving her a look of disbelief.
"Jesus man, when are you going to just get a vase?" Jess teases as they walk up to the couple. Lorelai turns to them with an excited gasp. She places the flowers on the bar top and grabs Rory for a hug.
"You're here, yay!" she pulls away and looks over her daughter, "what's different? Did you lose weight?! Your face looks slim. Why are you losing weight? This sweater looks awfully big on you! Jess, are you not feeding my daughter? You can't just leave her to her own devices, us Gilmores gravitate towards coffee, candy and not much else!"
"Lorelai," Luke grumbles in a borderline defensive tone, "Jess cooks for them all the time. Relax."
"I was sick, mom. Remember? I told you I had the stomach flu," she explains, crossing her arms over her chest self-consciously.
"That was weeks ago!"
"It messed me up really bad, I haven't had much of an appetite," she shrugs, and looks over the counter, "Happy thanksgiving, Luke. I like your flowers."
He gives her a smile, "happy thanksgiving. It's always good to see you both."
"Thanks, Uncle Luke."
He shoots Jess a look, that Jess responds to with a smirk.
"Why don't you make yourself useful and pour some coffee?" he hands him a half full pot. Then turns to Rory, "oh, I made you and your mom a special batch," he leans in to whisper, "I added cinnamon to it. You know, to make it all seasonal and crap."
She folds her lips in and nods, "wow, that is…so nice of you."
"I'll pour it for them," Jess interjects as Luke goes to grab their special pot. He throws his hands up and moves out of the way, disappearing into the kitchen to work. Jess's eyes meet Rory's briefly, and she turns to her mom to distract her from watching him behind the counter.
"So, what time are we going to the dragonfly?"
"Well, Luke is closing early. He's only doing breakfast and lunch today until two. But since I'm like the manager and all," she rolls her eyes, "I'll be going back to work soon to oversee everything. In fact, Jess," she turns to him, and he quickly puts back the pot of decaf that was in his hand, "can you put mine in a to go cup? I should get back."
He nods and pours hers into a paper cup and pushes it across the counter. She takes a savoring sip, and as the hot coffee sits between them, the cinnamon spice hits Rory's nostrils. She gulps down nausea.
"So good," Lorelai murmurs, "you want to come to the Inn with me and hangout?"
Rory swallows again and shakes her head, "no, I think we're going to go hang out with Doula for a bit. She wants to introduce us to her girlfriend."
"Oh, you'll love her," Lorelai leans in and whispers, "she's a goth girl. Super cool. And she's getting Doula to listen to some different music. The other day she asked me if I had ever heard "Enjoy the Silence" or "Black Celebration"! Can you believe the blasphemy? As if I didn't grow up listening to good music in the eighties and nineties!"
Rory nods repeatedly, trying to breathe through her mouth to avoid smelling her mother's coffee, hoping that she will take it away soon.
"I'm glad to hear that," Jess mumbles, and looks over at Rory briefly, and points out the window, "hey, I think I just saw Sookie chasing Kirk down the street with a giant ladle."
Lorelai gasps.
"No! Not again," she groans and heads towards the door, "see you guys later, I have to run interference, so we don't have any expensive lawsuits!"
As soon as she is out the door, Rory turns and runs towards the apartment stairs.
"Wait!" Jess calls and runs after her,
"I can't!" she shrieks behind her on the stairs, running surprisingly fast.
"Rory, I think Brandon is -"
But she's already swinging the door open, and she gasps, "Martha! Brandon! Oh god."
"Up here," he finishes his sentence as he finally catches up to her. With her hand on her mouth and her stomach she mutters to the room and shuffles across the space,
"Sorry. Bathroom. Bye."
Jess looks at the young couple on the bed, who look as though they were simply sleeping, thankfully. Brandon sits up, his arms move from under the covers and Jess notices he's added more tattoos there.
"Hey, she okay?" he asks, eyes shifting towards where Rory just ran to.
"Uh," Jess starts, and he hears her start to retch in the bathroom, "yes. Just getting over the stomach flu. Do me a favor. Go help Luke downstairs for a little bit. I was supposed to fill coffee cups but abandoned the task."
Martha, looking like a teenage version of her mother with round dimpled cheeks and strawberry blonde hair, sits up then and looks at the clock.
"Oh my god!" she exclaims. She jumps out of bed and hurries around the room in her pajamas, "I'm supposed to be at the Dragonfly helping with Thanksgiving dinner! I gotta go. Oh, and hi Jess," she gathers her stuff and pulls her boots on, not changing out of her candy cane pajama pants or t-shirt.
"Do you need a ride?" Brandon asks, getting out of bed too.
"No," she shakes her head, "I can get there faster by running. I know some shortcuts. Bye!"
She shouts and Brandon jumps out of bed, "wait wait wait."
Jess moves out of their way, looking away as they share a more romantic goodbye.
"I'll see you at dinner later, right?"
"If I don't sneak into the kitchen to see you before then, yes," Brandon mutters his reply and Jess chuckles at his smoothness, "bye MandM ."
"Like the rapper?" Jess asks in confusion after Brandon closes the door. He clears his throat and turns to Jess.
"Like the candy, obviously."
"Right and what does she call you? Raisin Bran? Since you're so much older than her."
"Ha-ha," he rolls his eyes, "I'm only three years older, thanks."
"Uh huh, so it's going well?"
The slight blush on the young man's cheeks does not go unnoticed by Jess, though he attempts to hide it as he puts on a sweatshirt. He shrugs.
"It's good."
"How romantic," Jess mumbles, "you met Sookie and Jackson yet?"
"Yeah, they're nice."
"They are nice," Jess agrees, then raises his shoulders in question, "a little looney tunes though, no?"
He laughs, "much more harmless than any looney tunes character, but yes. A little. It's cute. Having dinner with them, spending time in their home it's like…stepping onto the set of an old black and white sitcom. All happy and cozy, someone always cooking or baking. Everyone is friendly," he pauses, "except Davey. He hasn't warmed up to me yet."
Just then, they both hear Rory throwing up again, and Jess's friendly demeanor vanishes.
"Go help Luke. I'll see you later."
"Yes, boss."
Jess ignores his teasing and hoofs it to the small bathroom. He pushes the door open just as she gags again; he crouches down and puts his hands over hers where she is holding her hair back. She lets go and he takes over, pulling strands of loose hair from her face with his other hand.
"It's okay," he murmurs supportively, "I'm here. I've got you. It will be over soon."
She heaves once more, but nothing comes out. She gives her body another minute before finally sitting back on the bathroom floor.
"How am I going to have dinner if cinnamon is bothering me? I'm pretty sure Sookie puts cinnamon in all of her thanksgiving foods."
He sighs, not wanting to say it again because he knows he'll get the same answer, but he does anyway.
"We could tell everyone."
"No," she shakes her head, "I want to tell mom and Luke alone. After week twelve."
He looks her over.
"Okay, we could…just not go? We can say one of us got an emergency work call maybe?"
She frowns and rubs her eyes.
"I want to go. I love Thanksgiving," she insists, "I'll just deal with it. Mom and Luke think I had a bad case of the stomach flu, so if anything, I can always fall back on that. Right?"
He tilts his head to his shrugging shoulder, "sure."
She takes a deep breath, as her stomach finally feels settled. She looks at Jess and asks,
"Do you think they're sleeping together?"
He blinks, "who?"
"Brandon and Martha," she whispers.
He smirks and whispers back, "they're not here anymore, you know. And clearly they sleep together, we just caught them doing that."
She rolls her eyes.
"You know that's not what I mean."
"Can you clarify exactly what you mean?"
"Jess," she kicks the air near him in annoyance, "do you think they're…having sex?"
His eyebrow raises.
"I don't think that's any of our business."
"I'm just curious."
"You seem invested in it a little bit. Like when you cried because he said he wanted to stay in New York back in August."
"Okay, that was romantic! I want them to be happy and be together if that's what they want," she states, "but, I don't want him to sleep with her a few times and then decide that the distance is too much or that he's not ready for something serious or some other lame 'twenty-one year old man with the world at his feet' kind of excuse!"
"Rory-"
She gasps, "do you think he buys her alcohol? And they drink together? Because he's twenty-one and she's not. I don't think Sookie would like that."
"Hey Rory," Jess says to stop her, "I know that you are…maternal. And that you're pregnant and that probably is amplifying that part of your personality. But, Martha is not your daughter. And even if she were, they are old enough to make their own decisions about these things, and old enough to be sleeping together if that's what they want to do. Just relax. Trust Brandon and trust Martha."
She gives him a look but nods.
"Fine. Where are we meeting up with Doula?"
He stands up and takes his phone out of his pocket to check his messages. His mouth twists.
"She wants to meet at Weston's," he meets Rory's big eyes and continues, "but I'm going to tell her to meet us at Luke and Lorelai's house. We can watch a movie or something, and this way if you feel sick, you can hide in the bathroom upstairs."
She slowly stands and smiles at him, "perfect. Thank you."
After spending a couple of hours watching a movie with Doula and her new girlfriend, they all drove over to the Dragonfly for dinner together. The group came early enough to help set up the tables, and slowly family and friends have started to pour in to the cozy affair. Lorelai went overboard with decorations, and the dining room looks like it's straight out of an anthropologie catalog; tables lined with candlesticks and rustic flowers, lustered wine glasses at every setting. Rory thinks it's almost too pretty to eat around. She has fortunately been fine since getting sick at Luke's earlier, though Jess has kept a close eye in case that changes.
Being at the inn on this holiday, in this setting, helping Rory set the table again - it brings him back to that Thanksgiving seven years ago. And the realization of where they are now after that pivotal day and night, has him momentarily rocked. He stands near where Rory is talking to his sister, his hands in his pockets as he gazes over the woman that he's developed this incredible relationship with over the last seven years. That he is now engaged to and having a baby with. And he would be lying if he said he wasn't hoping for something this serious and permanent back then, in the apartment above Luke's on that couch when she asked to kiss him. He is so glad he took that leap and trusted her not to hurt him and trusted himself not to hurt her too.
A familiar brunette figure catches his eye across the room. She's carrying two drinks in her hands, and by the path she's paving he can tell exactly who the second one is intended for. He excuses himself from Rory and Doula, and quickly strides across the room.
"Hi," he stops he, blocking her just outside the dining room, "where are you heading with those?"
"Uh hi Jess," she laughs in confusion, "I'm going to have a much needed drink with my daughter while I tell her all the funny details, that I remember, about my trip. And by the way, that was not Sookie chasing Kirk earlier, it was Lulu. So thanks for that unnecessary panic attack."
She goes to step around him, and he blocks her.
"Sorry, I saw a kitchen tool and assumed it had to be her."
She scrutinizes him, "right well it wasn't. Can I get by?"
"Sure," he shrugs and then grips one of the wine glasses in her hand, "I'll take that wine glass, thank you."
He sips it and she stares back at him incredulously, mild irritation simmering behind her look.
"That wasn't for you, Johnny Depp," she huffs, "that was for my daughter! You know, your fiancée. The person that you seem to be blocking me from."
He then steps to the side, holding out his hand for her to pass. She stares at him with furrowed brows and an expression of utter confusion; he stares back and lifts the wine glass to his mouth. Her jaw drops as he throws it back, finishing the glass completely.
"That was good," he nods, wiping his mouth of any red residue, "what was that? Syrah?"
"Did you just chug a glass of wine?!"
He shrugs, "it's not a beer, I wouldn't call it chugging. Tell me what kind it was so I can refill it for her."
Lorelai blinks at him and shakes her head and realizing she's not going to be able to make sense of this, she replies, "no. It was cabernet."
"Great, I'll be right back."
He steps away from her with the empty wine glass, almost breaking a sweat from the alcohol suddenly surging through his blood and the stress of hiding information from Lorelai. He walks to the bar area and grabs a clean wine glass. He looks around for something red to substitute, and curses when he doesn't find anything. The sounds of Sookie and her team working in the kitchen nearby catch his attention, and he turns in that direction. As he rounds the corner, he spies Brandon hanging around the door, no doubt waiting for Martha to have a break. He smirks to himself and walks over to him.
"Hey," he hands Brandon the wine glass, "can you do me a favor and ask your girlfriend to fill that about halfway with cranberry juice? Or any dark red juice will do."
Brandon looks down at the glass curiously and then up at Jess.
He clears his throat and shrugs.
"No mixers at the bar other than club soda."
"Right. Um. I told her I wouldn't bother her again."
"You can tell her it's for me. I just don't want to go in there, because I know Sookie will immediately shove food down my throat."
"You think I'm safe from that?"
"Martha will protect you."
"Fine."
Brandon creeps into the swinging door, and out of sight for a few minutes. When he comes back out, he hands the half full glass to Jess with a small smile and a sheen on his cheek.
"Thanks," he takes the glass and smirks, "nice blush. I did just hear from Doula today that the 'glossy skin' look is in."
Brandon wipes his knuckles harshly across his face, removing the sticky residue.
"It's just a little lip gloss. No big deal."
"Uh huh. So, I noticed you didn't correct me. She is your girlfriend?"
He runs a hand through his hair in a way that Jess is very familiar with.
"Well, yeah. Does she seem like the type of girl that would settle for anything less than a relationship?"
He shrugs, "I don't know her that well, actually."
"Well. She's a relationship girl, and I like her a lot. So…I'm in my first relationship, I guess."
Jess tames his smile to a grin, and he pats Brandon on the shoulder.
"Congrats. I think you're gonna love it."
He blushes slightly and turns his look away from Jess.
"So far so good."
"Thanks again. I gotta go bring this to Rory."
"I thought you said you were using it as a mixer?"
Jess turns away, stumbling a bit over his words, "yes. She is, not me. Bye."
He quickly walks back to the dining room, and up to the table where Lorelai and Rory still sit.
"Here's your funny valentine," Lorelai comments, looking up at him, "How's that glass of wine you chugged feeling huh?"
He laughs and hands Rory the new glass. He takes a seat next to her at the table.
"I'm fine. Not the first time I drank too much too fast."
"And why did you do that exactly?"
He looks around the room and finds his scapegoat. He nods in her direction.
"Liz. Driving me crazy already."
Lorelai's inquisitive and suspicious look softens.
"Well I know what that's like," she turns to Rory, "do you like it? We started working with a new local winery, so I need feedback."
She takes a tentative sip, and tasting what's actually in the glass, a grateful smile passes her face.
"Yes. It's good. Not too dry."
"Really? Did he get you the right one? It looks extra purple. Let me try."
Rory pulls the glass away from her, "mom, I just had a horrible flu. Do you really want to share a glass with me?"
She makes a face and shakes her head, "no thanks. I don't want to throw up my delicious three servings of Thanksgiving dinner and ten slices of pie."
"Then I suggest no glass or coffee cup sharing while we're in town."
"Fine," she mutters then looks between them curiously, "did Jess get sick too? He lives with you after all."
They share a look and Rory opens her mouth, but he is faster.
"Yeah, I actually am the one that infected her. I watched Connor one afternoon, and he wasn't feeling good."
"Aw," Lorelai tuts, "how is he and Liam by the way? Luke told you that you could invite them today, right?"
Jess relaxes at another hairy topic being passed, and he nods.
"He did, they have plans with family though. An aunt, apparently, that lives in Jersey."
"Oh good! That's nice."
Just then, Martha walks into the room with trays of dinner food, Brandon following behind to help.
"How about those two, huh?" Lorelai whispers to Jess and Rory with a smile, "they moved fast. But they're so cute together. Real opposites attract situation don't you think?"
Rory smiles too and shrugs, "I don't know. Brandon just looks tough because of all the tattoos. He's really a sweetheart."
Under the table, Jess places a hand on her leg - thanking her for doing as he said and trusting them.
"Yeah, he is. He helped out in the diner when he got in last night, you know. Luke was going to be stuck there late because Caesar is out of town for the holiday. But Brandon took over and told him to go home."
"Very thoughtful," Rory agrees, and her gaze turns to Jess, "sounds like someone I know."
"I just know you're not talking about Jess, who more than once sat upstairs watching reruns instead of helping Luke out," Lorelai teases with a playful wink.
"I'm reformed, Mrs. Gilmores-Danes. Haven't you heard? Gave my penance and everything."
"Lorelai! Can you help carry stuff out here please?" Sookie shouts over a towering pile of pans. She sets them down on the table and gasps in excitement.
"Rory! Jess! I haven't seen you two in so long," she runs over, and they both stand up to greet her, "I hear congratulations are in order?!"
A blush tints Rory's cheeks as she holds out her left hand to Sookie.
"Oh my god, pictures do not do it justice! It's beautiful and so unique," she gushes and wraps Rory into a hug, "just like you my little chickadee! God, when did you get old enough to be engaged, huh?"
Jess clears his throat and tilts his head across the room to Martha and Brandon, who has his arms wrapped around her from the back, whispering something in her ear that makes her giggle loudly.
"Might not be too far behind."
Sookie places a hand on her chest and frowns.
"Oh no, don't say that. And just when I was about to compliment you on your taste!"
"You'd have to compliment my mother actually," Lorelai murmurs, "it was her."
"Emily seems to love giving rings away. It's too bad she's not here today, I would love to get my hands on one of those!"
"Aw, you can borrow my ruby, Sook. Maybe on a date night with Jackson?"
"Mom, I think your pie timer is going off," Martha calls across the room then and Sookie jumps.
"Gotta go!"
Lorelai stands up to follow and Jess holds his hand up, "I'll help carry stuff."
"Alrighty then," Lorelai smiles, "I guess you're back on my good side."
"I didn't know I was ever there in the first place."
And with that he goes to the kitchen, taking two trays of food that are placed in his hands, and he leaves to bring them to the table. His mood is playful, his heart feeling light at being surrounded by what he considers family, and with Rory feeling better. But as he turns to step into the dining room, it gets muddled by Liz clearly standing there waiting for him. The small smile on his face drops when she walks towards him, blocking his path.
"Son," she greets him with a smile, "Can I ask you something?"
He shrugs.
"You can ask."
She leans in and whispers, "Is Rory pregnant?"
He stays stoic, his features revealing nothing as he replies,
"I'd love to see you ask her that to her face."
"Oh, stop," she nudges him, "I don't mean she looks bigger. In fact, I'm asking because she looks…a little sickly. Her face is leaner. Like she lost weight."
His eyebrow raises.
"That's what happened to me, the first few months I was pregnant with you," she explains with one of her inappropriately nostalgic looks, "I was so sick all the time, that I actually lost weight. I looked like a disaster."
He gives her a hard look.
"Maybe that's because you were going through withdrawal. Maybe it had nothing to do with being pregnant. Ever think of that?"
Liz cowers back slightly and frowns.
"No. It's not just me. I've met other women who have experienced it too. It was just a question, Jess."
"An extremely personal one," he mumbles and shakes his head, "she had a bad stomach bug. Lasted a while. That's all."
She looks over his face and doesn't push him further.
"Okay. If you say so."
"I do. These trays are getting awfully heavy, you know how much food Sookie cooks. Can I please get through?"
Liz moves out of the way for him to get to the dining room, and he expeditiously sets the food down and takes his seat next to Rory, before any other unwelcome guests can stop him. Rory turns from her conversation with Doula and smiles brightly at the food around her. Seeing her excited to eat again has happiness sweeping through him, and relief, because there don't seem to be any scent on the table bothering her at the moment.
"I'm so hungry," she states, and he watches as she bounces in her seat and places a hand on her stomach. She meets his eyes and blushes, dropping her hand away. She leans over and covers her mouth to whisper in his ear, "we're so hungry."
He needs to take a settling breath, because since finding out she was pregnant, they haven't had many opportunities to have moments like this. After taking the tests, most conversations were spoken against the silenced but latent possibility of them being wrong, until they finally got bloodwork done to confirm. It seemed like she immediately started experiencing that horrible bout of sickness and dizziness soon after that. And with her feeling sick so often, there wasn't a lot to feel excited or celebratory about. In this moment though, they can revel in it privately, and they do with an exchange of sweet grins and moony eyes. He leans over and places a soft kiss near her ear.
"Well, as usual Sookie made enough food to feed a whole city," he mumbles to her, and pulls back with a teasing wink, "that should be enough, right?"
She meets his wink with a brow raised in challenge.
"I guess we'll find out!"
He places a hand on her leg under the table, "I'm really glad you're feeling better, Rory."
They share one more secret look loaded with meaning as the table fills around them. Lorelai and Sookie stand at the head of the table, lifting champagne flutes in the air.
"Please join us in a toast," Lorelai starts and then lowers her voice to say, "to absent friends."
"Mom," Rory admonishes, "must you reference Rocky Horror every Thanksgiving?"
She giggles, "I couldn't help myself. Come on now, you all have champagne on the table in front of you. Even those underage."
Rory and Jess share a look before lifting their glasses up in the air with everyone else.
"I'm grateful to run a business that allows me do big gatherings like this with the people that I love," Lorelai says sincerely, and places a hand on Sookie's shoulder, "and I'm even more grateful to run a business with the greatest chef in the world. Thank you Sookie, and all of your cooks, including our girl Martha, for this mountain of delicious food. I can't wait to eat enough that Luke has to roll me out of here!"
All eyes turn to him then with a laugh, and he gives her a look.
"Just kidding, honey," she winks, "we have motorized scooters. Cheers!"
The table clinks their glasses together, and Rory holds hers up to her mouth, pretending to take a sip. He nods and drinks half his glass, then seamlessly switches them to make it look like hers. She gives him a thankful smile, and then joyfully turns back to the food on the table in front of her.
"You want me to make you a plate?" Jess asks, hand resting on the table in preparation. She shakes her head and leans over the table to start dishing herself food.
"Nope, I can do it."
A breathy laugh escapes him as she piles up her dish with mashed potatoes, then reaches past them for gravy. He turns to her then.
"Here, if you won't let me make you a plate," he mumbles, taking hold of her arm, "at least let me roll up your sleeves so you don't dip them in people's food."
She bites her lip and laughs to herself, waiting patiently as Jess takes the end of her sweater sleeve and rolls it towards her elbow. He then stands up and goes to the other side of her. She smiles warmly and lifts her left arm, enjoying his affectionate focus on rolling that one up too.
"Wanna roll my sleeves up, Jess?" Doula teases him, lifting her arm in the air. Rory chuckles and Jess ignores her except for a resounding, "nope."
"There," he mutters to Rory, and gives her bare forearm a kiss. As he goes back to sit down he whispers near her ear, "please eat vegetables."
She glares at him but then smiles and holds out her hand, "gladly, can you pass me those brussels sprouts?"
With a look of surprise, he grabs the dish near him and spoons some onto her plate and then his own. He begins to fill the rest of his plate, and when he finally starts to eat, he notices that she has already eaten half of hers.
"Is my daughter eating brussels sprouts or are my eyes deceiving me?" Lorelai asks from across the table, putting a hand over her eyes as though she's squinting. Rory roughly swallows the bite of food in her mouth and replies somewhat easily.
"Sookie puts maple syrup on them. They're sweet."
"Not sweet enough to win me over," she mumbles in response, then holds up a nearby bottle of wine, "you need a refill, here Brandon, can you pass that down to her?"
He takes it and hands it to Jess, "I thought you were drinking vodka cranberry or something? I can go get you more juice from the kitchen if you want, I know where it is now."
Rory stuffs her mouth with food, trying to delay enough to think of a response. Lorelai scrutinizes Rory across the table.
"I knew that liquid wasn't the right color! What's going on?"
Jess pours himself a glass of wine, emptying the bottle out.
"Sorry wasn't much left," he apologizes loudly to Rory, placing the bottle on the table.
"We have more," Lorelai insists, and Rory puts a hand over her glass and shakes her head.
"I'm okay, thanks."
Lorelai's look turns back to Jess, "what's up with you and drinking large amounts of wine today? And can someone explain the cranberry juice situation?"
Jess throws Brandon a quick but slightly scathing look, as he takes a huge gulp of wine, actually feeling like he needs it now.
"I just didn't want wine," Rory mumbles, covering her reddening face with a glass of water. Jess can feel Liz giving him a look from her seat near Doula, but he refuses to give it any attention.
"So…you told Jess if someone walks in your direction with wine, to chug it and sneakily replace it with cranberry juice? Just want to make sure I have all the clues here."
Jess swallows his wine, and looks over at Rory who is looking like she's starting to sweat. He gives her a questioning look, asking if she wants him to step in and improvise. Instead, she slams her water glass down on the table and exclaims,
"Oh my god mom! I have a UTI. Okay?! I'm taking an antibiotic for it, and the doctor said not to drink alcohol while I'm on it, and you know how I feel about rules! It's really embarrassing, and I didn't want to have to explain it. But now we all know, okay. I have UTI and I'm on an antibiotic and I'm drinking cranberry juice instead of wine!"
The table quiets around her, and Lorelai has a deeply contrite look on her face. The way that Jess looks at his fiancée is fully impressed by her believable fib, but he cleverly hides it behind a tamed smirk. Brandon clears his throat first.
"I'm sorry, Rory. For mentioning the juice."
Rory gives him a smile that turns into an entertained laugh.
"It's okay, you didn't know. It's all kinda silly anyway."
At that, people begin to start conversations again around her. She meets Jess's eyes next to her, and he leans forward to place a kiss on her head.
"That'll do, pig. That'll do."
She laughs again and the volume in the room increases. Doula leans over and whispers to her,
"My friend had a UTI once. Her mom made her drink so much cranberry juice. But she did get to miss school for a couple of days."
"Trust me, there are no other benefits to having one. They are terrible," she replies breezily between bites of food, "and females are more at risk than males because of our anatomy. There's no way God is a woman, because I just know she wouldn't put all this on us."
Doula cackles and nods in agreement, "I don't believe in God anyway."
"Oh well, that's your right. And to be honest with you, I'm in the gray when it comes to religion myself," Rory shrugs, "but let's save that talk for another time. We don't want to offend anyone. I am Martha's godmother, you know."
Jess listens to the conversation between Rory and his sister with a wistful smile, knowing that these kind of interactions are in his future, in his own home.
Doula pouts, "You are?! I'm so jealous! I'll pretend to be religious if you will be my godmother?"
"Doula," Jess interjects, "she's going to be your sister-in-law. Remember? That's just as good if not better."
"Speaking of," Liz interrupts their conversation upon hearing this, "do you two have a date or venue in mind? Done any planning yet?"
"It's been a month," Jess states flatly, "can you give us a little time?"
"Um, it's been over two months actually," Lorelai corrects him, "and I'm interested in this information as well. I'm hoping that, oh, I don't know, a family business might have the great privilege of hosting your wedding? And taking pictures to post on the website to encourage other beautiful couples to get married there?"
"Very discreet," Luke mumbles teasingly near her, earning him a glare from his wife.
"Mom…we haven't talked about it yet. But, we will take your words into consideration."
"Please tell me I can make your cake?" Sookie begs from her spot at the head of the table, "no matter where you decide to get married, please please let me be in charge of the cake! As soon as your mother told me you were engaged, I started getting all kinds of ideas. I would love to be in charge of food too, but I will totally settle for cake!"
Rory laughs and looks at Jess, who shrugs.
"Of course Sookie, we would love for you to make the cake. And maybe the food too, we will see. We're in no rush."
Their eyes meet again, conveying more secret messages of love and affection, and at last the attention is taken away from them as they offer no more details.
Eventually, the table is cleared for dessert and Rory ate so much at dinner that it's not a lie when she tells her mom,
"I'm too full for dessert right now."
Lorelai gasps, "that goes against Lorelai law!"
"Mom," Rory rolls her eyes and crosses her arms over her chest. Jess wraps a supportive arm around her shoulders.
"She just got over a stomach bug. You think it's wise to push her limits? Besides, it's not like there won't be leftover pie in your fridge tonight. She will know where to find it if she wants it."
Lorelai pouts slightly and then frowns, "a stomach bug and UTI? Jesus Jess, what exactly are you doing to my daughter? What? You…put a ring on it and now you're trying to slowly kill her, so you get all her trust fund money when she goes?"
It's a joke, Jess knows it's meant to be a joke, but he cannot help the offended irritation creeping up in him. Because he prides himself on being a good partner to Rory, and because of their distant past, he doesn't take jokes about this commitment lightly. And, being as connected as they are, Rory reads it on his face before he can get a word in. She brings a comforting hand to his chest before responding for him.
"That's not funny," Rory shakes her head, "he's been taking really good care of me. It's just been a weird couple of months, that's all. I think we're going to head back to the house, unless you need more help cleaning up around here?"
Lorelai slumps, "oh don't leave because I said something stupid! I'm sorry."
Rory shows her a small smile, "no, that's not why. I'm exhausted. From the being sick and now having an infection. And I haven't been able to eat as much as I did tonight in a while. I'm ready to pass out."
Jess squeezes her shoulders and kisses the side of her head before turning back to Lorelai with a taunting look.
"Don't worry, Lorelai. I'll walk her home," he mock whispers, "though I might fail to put a coat on her. You know, so she gets pneumonia."
"Yeah, yeah. I'm an idiot, I know," she sighs and pats Rory on the arm, "alright, you two crazy kids get out of here. Hurry, before Sookie starts trying to talk cake flavors with you."
They say their goodbyes to everyone, and step out of the Inn. Once they're on the porch, Rory looks around at the darkness and she shivers when she feels a cold breeze.
"We're not really walking, are we?"
Jess chuckles and takes her hand as they walk down the front steps.
"We drove here from the house. It would be silly to walk," he takes them to the car and unlocks it, "I just said that to get back at your mom."
"I'm sorry she said that to you."
He shrugs and starts on their drive.
"It was meant to be a joke. I know how she is."
"But it wasn't funny."
"Well," Jess tilts his head, "if she actually knew what was going on, it would be funny. Because my response to what I've been doing to you would obviously be -"
"Ugh, something explicit, I'm sure."
"Exactly."
She laughs but it turns into a yawn, and she leans her head against the door.
"How are you feeling?"
"Exhausted," she replies, "that part wasn't a lie."
He places a hand on her leg and rubs it over her tights.
"Not sick though, right?"
"Nope, not sick. Thank god. We had to put out enough fires tonight. Can you imagine if I had needed to leave the table to throw up?"
"We would've been fine," he squeezes her leg and adds softly, "next Thanksgiving though…that's going to look a bit different."
Her heart flutters at the thought, and she places her hand on top of his on her thigh.
He pulls into the driveway of Rory's childhood home, and she seemingly gets sleepier as soon as they step into the door.
"Do you need help?" he asks, as he eyes her very slowly taking off her coat and shoes, energy seemingly depleted. She shakes her head.
"Okay, would you like anything before I tuck you into bed?"
"I don't need to go to bed yet."
He looks her up and down.
"I disagree."
She frowns, "but it's so early."
"But you're growing our child."
She sighs, half in content at that statement and half in concession.
"How about…we watch TV or a movie? If I fall asleep on the couch, you can just leave me there."
He crosses his arms over his chest in thought and eventually gives in.
"Alright. I'm not going to leave you there though, I can carry you to bed."
"I wonder how much longer you'll be able to do that," she mutters, walking past him to her old bedroom to change into comfier clothes.
"What does that mean?" he asks as he follows her, "I'll always be able to carry you. You're light as a feather."
She gives him a 'be serious' look before tugging off her clothes and digging through her bag for sweats and a t-shirt. He steps into the room to change into more comfortable clothes too.
"You think I'm not going to be able to do that when you're more pregnant? You're crazy."
"You're crazy if you think I'm not going to be huge."
"You might be huge," he shrugs, and she gasps, "but I'll still be able to carry you."
"Jess!" she tosses a shirt at him, "why would you say that to me?!"
He pulls a shirt over his head and kicks off his jeans.
"Rory," he steps up to her, placing one hand on her shoulder and the other on her currently bare stomach, which doesn't yet show any sign of the life that's in it, "have you seen other pregnant people? Yes, your belly is going to be big."
Her brows furrow and she places her hands on her hips.
"But," he continues, stopping her before she can go off on him, "compared to the magnitude of what your body is doing, carrying and growing and caring for a human life, it will still be quite small."
After a beat, she softens, dropping her arms from her hips and smiling gently at him.
"You sure do have a way with words, Mariano."
He smirks and leans forward to kiss her lips. Then, he kneels down and trails kisses from her neck down to her stomach; his lips work to cover every inch of her skin from hip to hip. She watches with complete adoration. He stands back up and asks,
"That's how I hooked you, isn't it?"
She takes a breath and wraps her arms around his neck, cuddling into his shoulder.
"It was so much more than that."
She wakes up the next morning from a deep sleep with debilitating nausea. She sits up in the small twin sized bed, flinging Jess's arm from off her waist in the process. He wakes immediately and sits up in bed too.
"Rory? What's wrong?" he asks, no trace of the sleepy state he was just in in his voice. She places a hand on her stomach and stands up.
"I feel sick."
He throws the blankets off and gets out of bed, swiftly joining her side. He places a hand gently on her back and guides her out of the room.
"I'm sorry, baby," he mumbles almost guiltily, as though he's somehow to blame, "you probably ate too much yesterday, after going through all that horrible morning sickness for weeks. It probably wasn't the best idea."
She swallows hard as the annoyingly familiar feeling of bile rising hits her throat. As they walk past the living room to go up the stairs, she sees a clock showing that it's six in the morning.
"Luke might be awake," she mumbles. He rubs her back and leads her to the bathroom.
"Don't worry about that. If you need to get sick, you need to get sick. Can't control it," he turns the light on and sits her on the edge of the tub, "I'll find a way to cover for you if necessary."
She gives a small nod and covers her face with her hands, as ill feelings tug in her stomach some more. He rubs her arm and looks over her sympathetically.
"Can I get you anything? Water maybe?"
She gives a slight shake of her head to decline. He scoots closer to her and wraps his arm around her, pulling her into his side.
"This sort of stuff should be over soon," he whispers comfortingly to her, "most women stop experiencing this kind of nausea and sickness after the first trimester. You're almost there."
His words do comfort her, and even though she knows he's read books and done research, it always is particularly touching when he repeats these findings back to her at times she needs to hear them the most. Her lips curve against her palms, and she moves to sit up and turn her head towards him. But the motions cause her stomach to lurch, and she quickly turns back to the toilet in front of her and releases parts of her Thanksgiving dinner.
"Oh Rory," he lulls sympathetically as he takes her hair in his hand and rubs her back. A disgruntled sounding whine escapes her before she throws up again. He continues his soothing strokes on her back but jumps when there is a knock on the door.
"Rory?! Are you okay?" Lorelai's voice calls from the other side, "I know that's you throwing up. I've unfortunately had to hear it quite a few times as your mother. The sound always breaks my heart!"
She can't respond, all she can do is throw her hand back to hit Jess's leg, hoping that he will say something to keep her mom from entering.
"She's okay," he calls back to Lorelai, "just…had a little too much at dinner last night."
"Too much what? She didn't drink."
"Food. She had at least three Hulk size servings of mashed potatoes."
This time she hits his leg in reprimand.
"That's nothing! We are Thanksgiving champs! She's never gotten sick from eating her weight before."
"Well, you know, these things get harder with age."
"Um, not for me!"
Rory's retching finally starts to calm; she flushes and sits back next to Jess. His heart aches at the tears on her face from the power of her body's convulsing. He runs his fingers through the front of her hair to push it back away from her mouth and eyes. He knows that she needs a minute, to feel normal again and to clean herself up to her liking.
"Lorelai, she's okay. We'll be downstairs in a few minutes."
The doorknob shakes, and they can tell she's debating on whether to actually walk away or not. They hear her sigh reluctantly.
"Okay. Luke is making breakfast," she replies softly, "we'll see you soon."
As they hear her jog down the steps, Rory turns again to Jess. Her lip is pressed under her teeth as she thinks over something. His eyebrow rises in waiting. She releases her lip.
"Let's tell them."
Both of his eyebrows raise now.
"Really?"
She gives a shy nod.
"Yes. Like you said, the first trimester will be over next week. And it's my mom, you know. If I hadn't experienced what I did before," she pauses and shrugs one shoulder, "I know I would have told my mom right away. I want to tell her. And Luke."
"Okay," he agrees softly, lips upturned in a subdued smile, "let's tell them."
She stands up and in front of the sink, "after I brush my teeth and hair."
He nods and waits patiently on the edge of the bath, attempting to underplay his excitement. He knows Luke is going to understand what this means to him, what it means to them, and he's looking forward to that unspoken conversation they'll have in the form of looks and proud smiles.
"Okay," she turns to him again, and he's happy to see a refreshed look in her eyes, "let's go tell them they're going to be grandparents."
He nods and follows her out the door. He can't tame his grin any longer; his lips stretch across his face as he walks behind her. As they turn into the kitchen, he manages to suppress it to a normal size (for him). Lorelai steps away from where she was leaning against the counter, a mug of coffee outstretched to Rory. Luke glances over and sighs.
"I tried to tell her. Coffee is the last thing you need after getting sick."
Rory timidly takes the mug and holds it between her hands. Lorelai winks and whispers.
"He still doesn't accept how the Gilmore body works," she places a hand on Rory's shoulder and tilts her head, "you okay, babe?"
"I'm okay," she confirms with a nod. She turns to Jess who already has an encouraging look on his face for her; he gives her the quickest wink and places a supportive hand on her back. She turns back to her mom, who still stands before them sipping her coffee. She looks past her to see Luke dishing out breakfast.
"Luke," he turns towards her, "can you come here for a second?"
"Sure," he replies without question. He wipes his hands on a dish towel and steps up next to Lorelai.
"Mom, Luke….I didn't have the stomach flu. And I also don't have a UTI."
She hears a quiet laugh from Jess, and it makes her feel comfortable, and helps her forget any concern she held onto for not waiting until a couple more weeks to tell them. She turns to share a quick smile with him.
"Okay…" Lorelai says, waving her hand in the air as she waits for more information. Rory's shoulders and mouth rise as she confesses,
"I'm pregnant. Me and Jess are having a baby."
Lorelai gasps and shoves her coffee cup into Luke's hands, then takes Rory's and hands it to Luke too. She hastily wraps her up in a big hug, and he turns to place the mugs on the table nearby.
"Oh honey!" she gives her a small squeeze and then leans back to look her over, "that's amazing. Congratulations!"
Jess looks over mother and daughter with a roaring warmth in his chest, he feels Luke's eyes on him, so he turns and meets them. They stare at each other for a moment, with the proud smiles Jess had hoped for, and then Luke opens his arms up.
"That's great news," he hugs Jess, giving him a firm pat on the back, "really great news. Congratulations."
They share one more smile and a nod before Luke steals Rory for a quick hug.
"I'm happy for you guys," he smiles at her, and then nods between her and Jess, "you'll be great parents. God, what a weird thing to say to two people I've known since they were kids themselves."
They laugh, and Lorelai gives Jess a look. She opens her arms, and after a beat he accepts her gesture and hugs her back.
"Congrats daddy," she says as she steps away from him, she giggles and turns to Rory, "hope you don't call him that in bed."
Her face lifts in disgust, "Mom! Please don't make me feel nauseous again."
"Jesus, Lorelai," Luke grumbles.
"What? I'm not naive enough to think my daughter doesn't have some daddy issues. It's not a bad thing."
"That term is sexist now, mom."
She gasps, "what? Damn I'm a bed feminist! But how can I keep up, everything changes so quickly! Is being dominated sexist too?"
"God Lorelai, why?" Luke groans
"I'm sorry, I heard that some people like to work their daddy issues out in the bedroom is all. Especially with older men."
"Older men?!" Jess scoffs, "I'm not Hugh Hefner, she's only a year younger than me."
"You heard? Where did you hear, mom?"
Lorelai gives them a Cheshire Cat smile.
"Oh god," Luke grumbles and waves his hand, "you don't want to know."
"Well, now we have to know," Jess insists, looking between them.
Luke grimaces, "the crazy lady, Julie, she met on the cruise showed her these…books. On the tablet thing."
"The kindle?" Rory inquiries, and then gasps, "are you reading dirty books?!"
Lorelai wiggles her eyebrows.
"Dirty is not a strong enough word, believe me. Some of the crap she's shown me…" Luke mutters, "and then she…never mind."
Everyone catches the wink Lorelai throws her husband, whose face turns bright red, and he averts his eyes from the group.
"Damn my morbid curiosity kinda wishing you finished that sentence," Jess mumbles and Rory hits him on the arm.
"Do not encourage her!"
"You guys don't sell books like that, do you?" Luke turns and looks at Jess, cheeks less inflamed now. He nods.
"We sell some. They're popular."
"I didn't know you had a dirty section at the store!" Rory exclaims.
"There is no "dirty" section, my censorship Queen," he mocks, recalling the memory of her image at the video store, "But I'd be happy to pick some out for you next time we're at the shop."
"You guys aren't too…highbrow for that?" Luke questions.
"If I ever refer to myself or my business as "highbrow" please shoot me. And no, we may avoid mainstream shit, but we also like to make money. Those make a lot of money. We don't edit or publish them though, we just sell them."
"Oh man I know what I'm asking you guys for this Christmas!" Lorelai jumps around.
"Okay, okay this train is teetering on the tracks! Let's not derail," Rory exclaims, wanting the topic to be passed, "me and Jess are starting a family, remember?"
"You're right honey sorry. God, you're pregnant! My baby is having a baby!" she gasps and turns to Jess, "oh. Now I know what you've been doing to her."
"Oh my god," Rory puts her face in her hands.
"I'm sure Uncle Luke knows how babies are made," Jess jokes, patting her supportively on the back.
"Okay, you can leave me out of this now," Luke turns back to the kitchen, "I'm going to finish breakfast. Rory, you're getting a double serving."
"Thank you! I'm starving," she drops her hands from her face with excitement, "and a slice of pie?"
Luke looks over at Jess, who puts his hands in the air.
"Give the woman what she wants. I'm just happy she can eat again."
The corner of his mouth tips up gently and he nods, "pecan, pumpkin, or apple?"
Rory rubs her stomach, "let's start with apple."
Lorelai then inspects her daughter's midsection, "how are far along are you? I don't see anything cooking yet."
Rory laughs and looks down at herself too, "Week eleven starts today. I'm almost done the first trimester."
"Aw, so you had some really bad morning sickness, huh? You know I didn't have any of that with you," she looks up at the ceiling in thought, "perhaps being sixteen years old had something to do with it."
"Maybe," Rory shrugs and Lorelai meets her eyes again with a big smile on her face.
"I'm going to be a grandma! Oh, we'll need to work on that name. I don't like Grandma, but, anyway. My mini-me is having a mini-me!"
She wraps Rory up in her arms again.
"I have a sonogram in my wallet," Jess mumbles, turning into Rory's old room and returning with his wallet in his hands, "here. You guys keep this. We'll be getting another one soon anyway, and we have a copy at home."
Lorelai takes the picture in her hand, holding her other hand to her chest as she looks it over.
"Wow, what a beautiful little dot of life. And it says you're due in June? What a perfect month to have a baby!"
"Is there a bad month to have a baby?" Rory questions with a laughing smile.
"Oh yeah, if you're due in October like I was, that means you have to be huge and pregnant in the heat of summer," Lorelai makes a face and in a moment gasps, "wait! You're eleven weeks? That means…hold on…you got pregnant in September!"
Rory bites her lip and crosses her arms over her chest. Jess stares at Lorelai with a raised brow.
"Oh my god. Did you guys…make a baby in my mother's house? That weekend you got engaged!"
Rory's entire face and chest turn red; Jess smirks.
"You did!" Lorelai accuses pointing at the two of them, "can I please tell her?!"
"No!" Rory shouts, "no you cannot. And we aren't telling her until we see her next which will be for Christmas."
Lorelai pouts.
"Breakfast is ready. Maybe take a break from torturing your pregnant daughter, Lorelai," Luke suggests, placing food on the table. Rory jumps at the opportunity to get away from the topic and sits down in front of an overflowing plate of food. She sips the water that Luke poured for her and says a quiet thanks. He gives her one of his soft, paternal looks and nods, "anything else you need, you just let me know."
She smiles and feels Jess rub her back. They begin to eat, but a few minutes in Lorelai bursts into giggles.
"Want me to call a psychiatrist?" Jess offers casually, not taking his attention off Rory or his plate.
"It's just really funny," Lorelai giggles out, "how freakishly close me and Rory are."
Everyone at the table looks at her then, as laughter continues to pour out of her. Rory takes small bites of her pie, as she waits with apprehension for her mom to finish her thought.
"So freakishly alike that we both got pregnant in my mother's house!"
Rory grimaces, "it was not the same house, mom. Don't make it weirder than it needs to be."
"What?! It's not weird! It's special," Lorelai insists, reaching across the table to touch Rory's hand, "And it may not be the same house but it's still her house."
"I think you're making everyone a little uncomfortable, Lorelai."
"I'm okay," Jess replies to Luke with a shrug.
"You know what this means?" Lorelai continues, not taking her mischievous look off of Rory.
"I don't think I want to."
"This means that one day you'll have to make sure, somehow, that your daughter gets pregnant in one of Emily's houses. Probably the same house, I'm sure she plans to leave Nantucket to you two."
Jess frowns, "okay now you're going too far. And what if we don't have a daughter anyway?"
Lorelai turns her look from Rory to Jess now, and her smile changes from teasing to one of confidence as she says, "oh, you will. Maybe not the first time around, but at some point you'll make your very own Gilmore girl."
And Jess's heart soars with love and pride, when Rory responds in a soft but adamant voice, not wanting to exclude him in the ways that she has had to erase her own father,
"Gilmore-Mariano, mom. She'll be a Gilmore-Mariano girl."
PPS - did I say five pregnancy chapters? you won't hold me to that, will you? :)
it may be more than five, but less than ten for sure.
I am very grateful for you all, and hope you have a wonderful thanksgiving!