another chapter because i love you all and am so grateful for you :)
also this one is just kinda fun (with an important conversation or two thrown in, of course)
thank you for reading/reviewing!
enjoy xoxo
disclaimer: I own nothing
"Are you sure we shouldn't go watch Jess teach Doula how to drive? Kinda want to see him scared for his life…" Lorelai asks as she sits down on the couch in Stars Hollow next to her daughter.
"Mom," Rory rolls her eyes, taking the bowl of popcorn from her hands, "that will just stress Doula out. Teenagers already think people are staring at them all the time, let's not make it worse."
"Do you think he's going to yell? Grab onto the safety handle? Oh, or maybe he will freak out and pull the emergency break."
"He's not like that."
"How do you know?"
"Because I know him."
"Can we please just go watch for a little bit? We can walk! The school parking lot is not that far away."
Rory sighs and finishes the popcorn in her mouth. She turns to her mother.
"Promise you won't antagonize either of them?"
Lorelai grins wide and holds up her pinky. Rory reluctantly wraps her pinky around hers before they get up from the couch.
"I had my fingers crossed," Lorelai whispers to her back as they walk out the front door.
"Hey, we can turn around right now. We don't need you causing an accident!"
"Ha! As if. Jess is great at getting in accidents all on his own."
Rory turns sharply and glares. Lorelai wraps her arm around her daughter's shoulders with a grin.
"I'm just teasing. I can do that now, because Jess and I get along. That's what you do with friends, you know. Tease them."
"Uh huh."
She squeezes her, "I mean that, you know. I like Jess."
"Like?"
"Yes, like. Like as in…I would send him flowers in the hospital if he got into a car accident," she shoots her a clever grin. Rory tries not to laugh.
"Mom! Admit it, you love Jess."
"No! Wrong Lorelai. You love Jess."
"Yes, obviously I love him," she rolls her eyes, "but so do you. In a different way, of course. We're not a Jerry Springer family."
"Oh, I don't know. Pregnant at sixteen does kinda scream trashy TV. May he rest in peace, by the way."
"Why can't you say it?" Rory questions, with a curious and partially perturbed look.
"I don't know," Lorelai frowns, "I think there's something wrong with me."
"There are a lot of things wrong with you. But which one is the reason you can't say you love Jess is what I'm asking."
"Wow, rude. Sometimes I think you forget that I gave you life, missy. And without giving you life, you wouldn't be here or be able to love Jess yourself!"
Rory's lips tick up, "I would never forget that you gave me life. Because I love you, mom. See how easy that was for me to say?"
"Ugh, you're my daughter. I love you too, that's easy to say!" Lorelai replies, "It's weird for me and Jess! Does Liz say she loves you?"
"Yes," Rory responds quickly, "she does. Any time she talks to Jess she says 'tell Rory hi and we love her'. And anytime I see her, and then leave, she hugs me goodbye and says 'love you'. What's your next excuse?"
Lorelai's upper lip lifts into something scowl-like.
"It feels unnatural."
"Could it perhaps be because you didn't like him for me before? You don't want to speak the ultimate statement that would prove how wrong you were?"
Rory knows that she's right, because Lorelai actually hesitates to answer.
"Mom…it's okay. I understand why our relationship made you nervous back then. I'm not holding that against you, and neither is he."
Lorelai looks over at her daughter with a subdued, but grateful smile.
"I know. He's really great to you." she replies softly, "You are really great together. He knows that. I love the way he loves you. I told him as much after the dance marathon."
Rory stops in her tracks, about a block from the school now, turning to her mom.
"You did?"
"Yes, see? I told you we're friends now."
Rory's surprised look slowly melts into a touched grin. She turns back to keep walking towards the school.
"Fine. You don't have to say you love him. Because we all know you do," she concedes with a sigh, "if you ever do feel comfortable saying it though, I think you should. I think he would like to hear it."
"He's going to make fun of me."
"Yes, he probably will," Rory catches her eyes as they walk, "and you know better than anyone that means he cares and appreciates it. Miss 'friends tease each other'."
"Ugh, sometimes I hate it when you make sense."
"I know you do," Rory pats her arm, "but…in all seriousness. He is a lot like you, mom. He didn't really get to hear that people love him growing up. And he may be tough, and confident, and…you know, makes it seem like he doesn't need to hear things like that. But…it's nice to hear it, isn't it? Don't you like it?"
Lorelai gives her a sympathetic look, nodding her head once.
"I'll keep that in mind, honey."
They walk down the sidewalk towards the parking lot, and Rory smiles as she sees them. Doula in the driver's seat of Liz's old Subaru SUV, and she can just make out Jess in the passenger seat, seemingly directing her into a K turn. They walk until they are at the edge of the parking lot and can see them somewhat clearly.
"You're right," Lorelai mutters, "he is chill. He's not even holding onto the door!"
"See? I told you. He's smart. He knows freaking out will just freak her out."
As Doula turns the car around, all four of them see each other and wave. She starts to drive towards them, very slowly.
"Oh, she's kinda like you were as a driver, babe. Slow and steady. Obeying all traffic laws. Stopping for deer…"
"Who doesn't stop for deer?!"
As she gets closer, they watch as she accidentally veers to the right.
"Oops she's going over the curb. Now he's going to freak, right?"
They look into the windshield with interest, but nothing seems to change.
"Damn, since when is he Mr. cool, calm and collected?"
"Since always! Unless something pisses him off. Or he's genuinely worried. What could she possibly do in an empty parking lot learning to drive that would freak him out?"
"Well, she is getting a little close to that tree," Lorelai mumbles, eyes trained on the car, "aaaand she came within an inch of hitting it. Still nothing except a hand in the air to stop her! Huh."
"He knows how to talk to people."
"Give me 'things I never would have said about Jess twenty years ago for six hundred, Alex'! Wow, may he rest in peace too. We've really lost some greats," Lorelai suddenly gasps and turns to her with a horrified look, "wait you've known each other for over twenty years?! I've known Jess for over twenty years?"
"How are you just realizing that?"
"I don't know! That's crazy!"
Doula and Jess get out of the car and start walking towards them.
"Jess, do you know that we've known each other for over twenty years?" Lorelai exclaims as soon as he steps up to them, "I'm glad you're okay by the way, Doula. Thought that tree was coming for you!"
Doula blushes.
"We haven't really though," Jess replies with a shrug, standing in front of them with his arms crossed, "it's not like we've had regular hang outs or anything."
"Right right. Okay. That makes it make more sense. So really, I've only known you like..ten years? Cool! So, I'm like…still forty-five to you."
"How do you figure that?"
"My age minus ten."
"Huh," he mumbles and rubs his face with one hand, "sounds like some weird Lorelai logic to me."
"Yes, but under Lorelai law you have to follow Lorelai logic."
He turns to Rory, "you guys put shrooms in your coffee today or something?"
"What I'm saying is," Lorelai leans forward, calling his attention back to her, "when someone asks you about your mother in law, you can tell them I'm only forty-five!"
Rory rolls her eyes, "mom, we're not even-"
"Don't you think they will think something is up when I tell them Rory is thirty eight?" he responds with a raised brow, "and why would I use your age to describe you anyway? That's not significant."
"Oh, that's kind of a nice thing to say."
"He's nice, mom. You know this"
"What would you say to someone that asks you about me?" she prods, expectant look on her face. He shrugs.
"That you should have been admitted to a psych ward a long time ago. But I won't tell them specific years, you know, since age doesn't matter."
Lorelai turns to Rory, "see? Still mean sometimes."
"You're provoking him! For a fifty-five year old trying to pass as a forty-five year old you are really acting like a child."
"Speaking of children," Lorelai quickly changes the subject and turns to Doula, "how was your driving lesson?"
She grins, "it was good. Driving with Jess is much better than driving with my parents. They are so overdramatic! He didn't even flinch when I accidentally hit the curb."
Jess smirks, "well, you were going at a snail's pace. I knew nothing bad would happen."
She sticks her tongue out at him but laughs.
"Thank you for helping me. I'm so excited to get my license."
He gives her a pat on the back, "any time. You're going to do great. How about we drive over to the diner and pick up Brandon for dinner? He should be done playing around with the bike by now. Think you can handle that?"
"Yes! I can do it. You're the best!" she gleams, jogging towards the car.
He watches her go with a laugh, then turns back around. He steps up to Rory and places a chaste kiss on her head.
"Lame kiss," Lorelai mumbles. He meets her remark with a wicked look, then turns back to Rory who attempts to step away before he can do what she knows he's about to do, but she's not quick enough. He wraps her up tightly in his arms, and the force of his raunchy kiss pushes her slightly backwards.
"Blech!" Lorelai grunts, turning away from them, "alright, you've made your point! The sexual attraction is still alive and well, I see. I'm sorry for teasing, I take it back."
Jess releases Rory, and she staggers back at the loss; he grins at her red hot cheeks and puffy lips.
"There's more where that came from," he winks, and Lorelai grunts in disgust again, "at another place and another time."
Her furious blush increases, "go! Help Doula drive and pick Brandon up. We'll see you at the house for dinner, menace."
He gives her a gorgeous smirk before nodding at Lorelai and walking away.
"Crazy how much the same he is now as twenty years ago, and how much different too," Lorelai mutters thoughtfully, turning to Rory. She looks to her mom with a small smile.
"I know. I love everything about him."
"I bet you do," Lorelai grins wide and wiggles her eyebrows.
"Gross, come on. Let's walk home."
"I love teasing you," she bumps her shoulder as they start walking back down the street, "everything though? There's nothing that he does that annoys you? At all? Because Luke drives me crazy when he asks me a million questions during a movie."
Rory laughs and looks upward in thought and shrugs.
"I can't think of anything."
"That's not normal!"
She shoots her mom a look.
"He's amazing! Sorry. Do I wish that he would always remember to put the seat down in the bathroom? Of course, but he does remember nine times out of ten."
"Ohhh now we're getting to the good stuff! What else?"
Rory rolls her eyes but can't help laughing.
"He has left the caps off my highlighters a couple of times. That annoys me a little."
"A little?"
"Fine, it drives me crazy! It's so easy to just put that cap back on," Rory laments and then sighs, "but, everything else makes those things meaningless really. I'm not perfect either, I'm sure I do lots of things that annoy him."
"Oh, you?! No way. You're a perfect angel, just like me," Lorelai jokes, pulling her close.
"That's not narcissistic at all."
"Nope, like I said. Perfect."
"Right. You're delusional."
"So supportive," she mumbles sarcastically and changes the subject, "Anyway how's work going? Any cool trips coming up?"
The tone shifts from fun to serious quickly, and Rory is momentarily speechless. Because she is not sure what she's ready to say or not say to her mom. She stops on the sidewalk and Lorelai follows, awaiting look on her face.
"Work is good," she starts, but before she can say anything else, a familiar voice shouts her name across the street. She looks up and greets Lane with a wave and a smile.
"Can you come over for a few minutes? I have something for you," Lane yells to her. Rory looks over to her mom who grins and nods.
"Go ahead. I'll take care of dinner," she winks and waves to Lane before continuing home. Rory sighs in relief, and then crosses the street to walk with Lane.
"Hi! Aren't I going to see you tonight at the secret bar? Because I have something for you too that I planned to give you there."
"Oh, cool! And yes, but I didn't want to bring kimchi there."
"Huh?"
"Kimchi," Lane repeats herself, leading her up the steps to her house, "it's what I have for you."
"Oh. Well, I love all food gifts, so…thank you?"
"Mama Kim made it. I saw her a few days ago and asked for an extra jar to take home," she shimmies the key in the lock and pushes the door open with a smirk, "she was so happy, I saw the corner of her lip tip up. I couldn't bring myself to tell her that it's for you and not me."
"Oh, I guess I understand that," Rory starts to say and then shakes her head in confusion, "actually, I don't. Sorry. I'm trying to get on your brain wave, but I'm lost."
Lane laughs and walks over to her fridge, opening it and handing Rory a cold jar.
"I don't know how true this is, you can probably ask Paris, but Mama told me a long time ago that fermented foods are good for fertility. Like she told me way before I needed that knowledge," she mumbles and then grins at Rory, "but…I figured it can't hurt. Right?"
Rory gasps quietly, overcome with the meaning of Lane's gesture. She takes the jar from her to place it on the counter and give her a big hug.
"Lane…that is so thoughtful," she squeezes her hard before pulling away, "I'm so grateful for you. And Mama Kim. Thank you."
Lane's smile melts into a sympathetic look.
"I know you're worried, after what happened to you," she says gently, "anything that can be done to ease that worry I think is a good idea."
Rory's eyes mist slightly, touched by the power of their love and friendship. From talks on the playground in elementary school and passing notes in class, to dealing with family and boy drama together as teenagers, to being adults that have an equal investment in each other's life desires coming to fruition; complete non-judgmental love and support that only two, basically, sisters can have.
"I really love you Lane," she hugs her again, "this is so much more than a jar of fermented cabbage to me."
"I'm happy to hear that," Lane chuckles, and pulls back to regard her friend again, "you deserve to get to be a mother. On your terms. And I hope that comes easily for you. You're my best friend and I want you to have everything you want."
"Oh Lane, are you trying to make me cry?"
"I wish I could do more. But something tells me that Jess has that covered."
She blushes a little, and a smitten smile crosses her face.
"He's putting in the work."
"And then some, I'm sure."
"Maybe," Rory giggles and hugs Lane once more before picking up the jar, "I have to go. We're having a dinner at my mom's as a belated birthday celebration for Jess. Do you want to come?"
"Thanks, but I have to pick the boys up from their friend's, feed them, and then drop them off at a different friend's for the night."
"Wow, they are very popular."
"They are, thank god. Makes it easier for me and Zack to do our music stuff."
Rory grins, "I love that. Stars Hollow is good for that at least, the community thing."
"Yes, they are also incredibly invasive, but gotta take the bad with the good I guess."
"Thank you again for this, I'm going to eat some every day."
"You're welcome. Good luck, and maybe next time I see you you'll have some exciting news for me?"
Rory's smile is small but optimistic, "Let's hope. Bye Lane!"
"Bye Rory! Tell Jess I said happy belated birthday."
Rory begins her walk to the house, jar held safely in her hands. She walks in the door when she gets there, heading to the kitchen. She finds Lorelai sitting there, thumbing through a magazine.
"Hey you, that was fast," she remarks with a curious look, "whatchu got there?"
Rory turns and opens the fridge, hiding it behind condiments in the door.
"Kimchi. Lane saw Mama Kim a few days ago and brought me back a jar."
"Huh, is offering you kimchi a cultural thing that I'm too white to understand?"
Rory turns and gives her a look but then nods.
"Yes. Let's go with that."
"Alright," she shrugs, "I like being ignorant sometimes. I ordered dinner from Al's. Should be here soon."
"Cool, no seafood right?"
"You think I want to poison our whole family?"
Rory laughs but then gives her a smug look.
"Family? I knew you loved Jess."
Lorelai groans and looks up at the ceiling, "will she ever let this go?"
"She will not," Rory pours herself a cup of coffee and then takes a seat across from her mom, "so, I hear you're going on a long trip to a very cold place?"
Lorelai's grin slowly widens.
"I'm taking Luke on an Alaskan cruise. Fishing and hunting for him, bottomless mimosas and desserts for me! There's a theater on board too that does musicals and Drag Shows!"
"You're not planning on getting off the ship, are you?"
"Not if I can help it."
"That makes much more sense," Rory nods, "when Jess told me my first thought was 'my mother isn't that selfless'."
Lorelai gapes, "hey! I'm plenty selfless. I told Luke if he wants me to do any of the excursions with him, I will. As long as they last less than two hours and I can bring a flask, and a takeout box of food from the ship. I'm not paying for endless meals for nothing, you know."
"Right, not thinking about yourself at all."
"Exactly," Lorelai nods deeply, then questions Rory, "what about you? Any work trips coming up?"
The question from earlier that Rory was somewhat happy to dodge comes back. And it's her mom, one of her best friends. Of course she wants to share with her, but at the same time…she just told Jess it is between them. And Lane only knew from that phone call in December. She opens her mouth a couple of times as she tries to think of how to respond.
"Just West Chester next week."
"West Chester? Not familiar. What continent is that on?"
Rory swallows, "North America."
"Hm," she ponders thoughtfully, "no wonder it doesn't sound eloquent. So, Canada?"
Rory bites her lip and shakes her head slowly, "no. It's in New York."
Lorelai's eyes narrow on her, brow raised in anticipation.
"Is the New York Times understaffed?"
"No," Rory shakes her head again, then looks at the ceiling in thought, "well, they could be. I did wonder why my old coworker Pete was in the elevator with a coffee for my old boss. Oh my god, unless they're secretly dating! He hasn't mentioned Grindr in a long time!"
Lorelai's eyes widen and she releases a short laugh.
"As much as I love office gossip about people that I will never meet, I do feel like you are withholding some information from me, daughter."
Rory looks over at her mom a little guilty. She grabs onto the handle of her coffee mug just to have something to do with her hands as she confesses.
"You're right. But it's really new, Mom. It's not like the miscarriage thing, don't worry," she promises, giving Lorelai a small smile, "I'm reporting on local news now. I transferred from my international correspondent role."
Lorelai's jaw drops in surprise, soundless as her eyes rake over Rory.
"Did something bad happen? Did you get hurt or something?!"
Rory shakes her head quickly, wanting to laugh because of how similar her reaction is to Jess. She smiles wider and reaches out a hand to touch her mom's.
"No. It was my choice. It just…felt like the right time to try out a more…settled lifestyle."
Lorelai takes a deep breath as calm comes over her, happy to hear that there is nothing ominous behind this decision. She smiles softly and looks Rory over again.
"Good for you," she winks and squeezes her hand supportively.
"Thank you."
Lorelai folds her lips, as though trying to keep something from coming out. But on her exhale, she asks,
"So, do you…have any special plans for all of this extra time at home you'll have on your hands?"
Rory meets her curious yet knowing look with a sort of pleading look of her own. Her shoulders tense up slightly and she lifts her mug to her mouth to avoid answering. Lorelai softens and nods perceptively.
"You'll tell me when the time is right."
Rory relaxes completely and nods in confirmation.
"Okay," Lorelai squeezes her hand again, "I'm so proud of you, babe. For doing what's right for you."
"Happy birthday to you -"
"No," Jess exclaims, holding up his hands as a cake is placed in front of him and the room starts to sing, "please no. Don't sing to me. It's bad enough I have to blow out these candles."
"God, you're such a Luke sometimes," Lorelai huffs, grabbing a knife and plates and putting them on the table, "here, since you don't want to be treated special for your birthday. You dish out the cake."
"Fine," Jess takes the knife, but has a thought and turns to Rory, "hey what about the pie you made? Didn't you want everyone to try it?"
Rory shrugs, "It's okay, this cake will be better. Let's just eat the cake."
"She told me not to put it out," Lorelai tattles in a stage whisper to Jess.
His eyebrows scrunch, and he turns to his girlfriend, "Why? You worked hard on that dessert."
"But we didn't try it, we don't know if it's good."
Jess gives her a look and then turns to the rest of the table, "no one gets cake until you try Rory's pie."
"Oh, would you look at that, the boy who doesn't want to celebrate his birthday making a birthday decree," Lorelai remarks smartly.
"Boy?"
"Ugh don't be infuriating. I'll get the pie if you let us sing happy birthday!"
Jess rolls his eyes and huffs, "fine, but no recording."
Lorelai grins and starts singing, everyone else joining in while Jess stares up at the ceiling until it's over. He blows out the candles and Luke puts the pie on the table, seamlessly dishing out slices to everyone. Lorelai puts a carton of ice cream out too.
"Can't have pie without ice cream. It's in the bible."
"The Bible?" Jess question, scooping vanilla ice cream on top of a slice of pie and handing it to Rory, "Let me guess, The Lorelai bible. Lorelai law, Lorelai bible, Lorelai logic. You've managed to completely create your own universe."
"So, you do get it," she grins wide, "I knew you weren't stupid."
"Mom."
"It was just a joke, please. I knew he wasn't stupid from the start. That's what had me so worried about him and you."
Jess gives her a look but then gives her a complacent smirk.
"So that's why you weren't worried about Dean? Because he was an idiot?"
"Jess," Rory tsks, knocking her knee into his under the table.
"I wouldn't say an 'idiot'...oblivious is probably a better word for it. And actually, I was worried about Dean at the beginning."
"That's right. The two of them accidentally passing out overnight at Miss Patty's set you off, didn't it?" Jess inquires, as Rory glares at him.
"You had a sleepover in Miss Patty's?!" Doula gasps, "wow, was she so proud of you?"
"Oh my god, it was an accident! We fell asleep reading a book together."
"Probably too dull for him," Jess surmises with a slick smile.
"Jess!"
"I would definitely say idiot," Luke grumbles from across the room, leaning against the kitchen counter with a small slice of pie.
"So, Doula. When is your driving test?" Rory loudly forces a subject change, turning to the teenager. Jess chuckles to himself.
"Next month, right before school starts. I really want to get my license and be one of those cool kids that drive themselves to school!"
"Don't you live a five minute walk from school?" Brandon inquires, earning him an annoyed look from Doula.
"It's not like New York," Jess shakes his head, "kids around here do whatever the fuck they want even if it doesn't make sense."
"Hey!"
"Hey, I did it too. I'm not judging you," Jess insists, holding a hand up in defense, "I'm just saying. You don't have a choice in a city like New York. It's just different."
Doula's eyes shoot guiltily across the table, "sorry. Stars Hollow is kind of a bubble, I forget that sometimes."
Jess pats her arm, "So, you want me to come back for your driving test? You have to drive there with an adult, don't you?"
She looks over at her brother, relieved smile forming on her face, "really? You'll come back just to take me?"
"Oh, no. I was going to guilt Lorelai into doing it."
She frowns. He leans into her.
"Kidding. Yes, I'll come back for it if you want me to. I'm sure going with Liz or TJ will have you all worked up by the time you get there, and that's how mistakes happen."
"I love you, thank you," she exclaims, leaning over to give him a quick hug.
"Wow, nice older brother you've got there," Lorelai teases with a wink and gentle nudge to Doula's shoulder. But she smiles and nods.
"He's the best."
Rory's eyes turn to him then, and she catches an indiscernible look on his face. He feels her and meets her gaze, offering her an encouraging grin.
"This pie is pretty good, Rory."
"Really?" she asks, "I've only had the ice cream so far. I was afraid."
"Why are you afraid? It's good, try it. You worked hard on it."
"I know, but, you know. Gilmores aren't great in the kitchen. It's like a curse."
"Oh, honey," Lorelai sighs regretfully, "I'm sorry. Do you feel that way because of me? I honestly just never had time or the ability to learn, you know. And it's not like my mother could have taught me. But that doesn't mean that you can't try!"
Rory smiles, "I know, mom. But I've tried to cook a few things over the years and let's just say more often than not I had to open all the windows and order takeout."
"Well, at least you're trying babe."
"I just want to be able to do a few things. Nothing crazy. I don't even want to learn how to cook a whole meal. Just…small, easy things."
"Well, nothing about this dessert seems small or easy," Lorelai grins, taking another bite, "and it's delicious. So, you're doing it!"
With an excited feeling, Rory takes a bite of her pie and smiles wider.
She turns to Jess, "This is way better than the first one!"
He gives her shoulder a loving squeeze, "it's great. Very proud of you. Now we just have to work on the eggs."
"Eggs?" Lorelai questions, looking between them. Rory blushes slightly.
"I'm trying to learn how to make scrambled eggs, but I keep burning them."
"Hm, transferring to local reporting, a sudden interest in learning how to bake and cook… are there any other fundamental parts of your identity that you've changed that I should know about? Please don't tell me you're trying to like sports too!"
"You transferred to local reporting? You're not traveling for work anymore?" Doula asks, voice laced with curiosity and excitement, "why? I thought that was like your life dream!"
"Doula, come on," Jess scolds and she gives him a look of disbelief.
"What did I do?! It's just a question."
Rory shoots her mom a look and she cringes, "I think the foot and mouth thing is a disease. It won't go away."
Behind her, Luke's eyes are locked on Jess as soon as he hears this information. Jess meets them momentarily, with a simple twitch of his eyebrow in response. A Luke-esque grin spreads on his face knowingly.
"It's okay, Jess," Rory finally says, turning towards his sister, "you're right. It was my dream for a long time. But dreams change, you know. I had a really rough year at work last year, as I'm sure you remember. And it just put things into perspective for me. That's all."
"I remember. You did a lot of scary stuff last year," Doula mumbles, then she gives a satisfied nod, "that makes sense. I wonder if one day I won't want to dance or draw anymore."
"Anything's possible," Jess remarks, moving his hand under the table to squeeze Rory's leg.
"Yes, but you did promise you would put my artwork up at Truncheon if I graduate high school, so I'm definitely going to stick with that."
"I did not," Jess scoffs, "what I said was, you have to get your diploma for me to even consider it. I made no promises."
"Wow, brother giveth and brother taketh away," Lorelai teases the two, "but that's how siblings are from what I hear."
"They sure are," Luke mutters behind her, and sighs, "but if I didn't have Liz, then we wouldn't have Jess. And my life would have been very boring and, dare I say, calm without him."
Jess pretends to scowl, but a smirk quickly overtakes it.
"You get softer as the years go by, don't you Uncle Luke?"
"Damnit Jess," he grunts, "alright, all of you, out of my house. I know you have plans. Get to them."
Doula looks at Jess and they share identical smirks before saying at the same time, "Yes, Uncle Luke."
Luke sighs and as the group gets up to leave, he stops Rory.
"Yeah Luke?" she asks with a small smile. He leans in and says quietly.
"Add cream. It will make them smoother and harder to burn."
Her look turns puzzled. He sighs again.
"The eggs. Add cream to your scrambled eggs before they go in the pan. Or whole milk. Either will work."
Her eyes widen, and she smiles wide in appreciation. She leans forward and gives him a quick hug.
"Thank you Luke!"
He pats her on the back, and his familiar half smile perks up.
"Call me if you need any other help. Jess is great, I know because I taught him," he teases as they pull apart, "but I did teach him."
"So you're the expert."
He rubs the back of his neck with his hand, "something like that. Now go, have fun at the secret bar. But not too much."
"Oh, I'll make sure she doesn't dance on any tables tonight," Jess taunts with a raise of his eyebrows, pulling Rory away by her shoulders, "that's for my eyes only."
Luke groans, and fumes in exasperated discomfort,
"Goddamnit Jess! Go!"
"Oh, you make it too easy for him, honey," Lorelai pats him on the arm and shouts after Jess and Rory, "you guys have fun! All the fun you want. Dance on as many tables as your hearts desire!"
"Jess got this for you!" Rory proclaims happily, handing the bag from the record store to Lane. The three of them stand near the outside of the secret bar before Lane and Zack go on to play.
"He did not," Jess argues with a hard shake of his head.
"He found it in the record store and thought of you! But I bought it for you. I didn't let him pay for anything that day. Still, it was a team effort."
"Well, this is riveting, I can't wait to see what's in here," Lane teases, opening the bag with her eyes closed. She gasps as she pulls the record out.
"You got me a Bowie picture disc?! Oh my god! You know I've been wanting this for years."
"Oh, Jess did not forget," Rory smiles at him, earning her an eye roll.
"It's no big deal, jeez."
"It's a big deal to me!" Lane insists, catching him by surprise when she wraps him up in a hug. He makes a face before patting her a few times on the back.
"I'm glad you like it."
"I love it!" she shrieks, turning to give Rory a hug too, "thank you both! Now I just have to keep it hidden from my kids. They love stealing all my cool stuff."
Jess laughs, "at least they have good taste. I'm still trying to get Doula to listen to music other than mainstream pop. Which is not bad, not hating on it at all, but I just know somewhere deep down she would really appreciate some moody Radiohead or some angsty Fiona Apple."
Lane shakes her head, "word to the wise, you have to start her off with music that's similar to her tastes already. Ease her into the eclecticism. Once she hears some older pop greats - The Go-Go's, Madonna, Prince, her mind will start to open to the other stuff. Oh, you know who she would probably love? Kate Bush. She's poppy and dancey and crazy and cool. I have some CDs I can loan you."
"Huh. Okay. Maybe I'll try that."
"I promise it works. Much to my dismay, my boys were not born with an extensive appreciation of music. You remember how obsessed with Justin Bieber they were, don't you Rory?"
She nods grimly, "Oh yes I do. They had Bieber fever bad."
"See?" Lane throws her hands up, "anyway, the point is that it takes dedication and patience. But that's what older brothers are for, right? You got this."
"Lane, they're quietly chanting for us. We gotta go on," Zack waves her in from the entrance, he turns to Jess and Rory with a nod, "hey guys. Any requests?"
They immediately share a knowing look, and Jess turns back to Zack.
"Think you can manage 'Guns of Brixton' on those instruments?"
"What do you think, babe?"
"We'll try, but I make no promises that it will resemble the song in any way that you will recognize," Lane replies, and then runs into the bar.
Jess chuckles and wraps an arm around Rory's shoulder, walking her into the alley and grabbing a table in the corner. It's a little crowded, but Jess notices that no one that really gets under his skin is there, and he's grateful for that. Someone comes by to take their drink order and Jess turns to Rory, "what do you want?"
She hums in thought and looks around the bar. She moves a piece of hair behind her ear and says, "Um, I'll have a glass of wine. Whatever red you have."
"I'll have that too, thanks."
The waiter walks away, and Jess turns to Rory again.
"You know I've never been here before."
"Really? Not even when you practically lived here when you took care of Doula?"
He shakes his head, "nope. I saw enough townies working at the diner. The couple of times I wanted to get a drink, Luke and I would drive a little out of town and hit a dive bar."
"You and Luke hung out at dive bars together?! That's so cute!"
Their glasses of wine are placed in front of them then, momentarily interrupting the conversation. He tips his glass to hers to cheers and takes a sip.
"Wasn't really hanging out," he half-heartedly argues, "but it was nice."
"That does sound nice, especially with everything that was going on at the time," she gives him a gentle smile, but then it lifts into something more fun, "where else did you guys hang out together? The mall? The grocery store? Strip clubs?"
Jess makes an annoyed face, and Rory is caught off guard when he suddenly looks like he's lost in a memory.
"What?" she asks, "what's going on in your head?"
He chuckles, "nothing serious. Did either of us tell you about going to a strip club for TJ's bachelor party?"
Her jaw drops and her eyes widen.
"No! Most definitely not! Details, please."
"God, it was horrible. My mother and Luke both guilted me into going, first of all. That's just not really my thing, you know?"
"Oh, I'm sure it must feel like a foreign concept to you to have to pay for a woman's attention."
His eyes narrow on her in a glare, and she giggles.
"Continue."
"Anyway, I brought a book. TJ didn't like it, he gave me a hard time. It pissed me off and I tried to fight him. Luke broke it up."
She sits listening to his words, illustrating these events in her mind.
"So…just to make sure I got this right. You went to a place filled with sexy, naked-"
"They weren't naked, are you kidding? You think they would allow something like that within twenty five miles of Stars Hollow?"
"Fine, you were surrounded by close-to-nude women, that probably wanted to give you a nice lap dance, and you brought a book to read instead?"
"That's right," he replies, lifting his glass to his mouth.
"And you're not just telling me that for boyfriend points are you?"
He holds a fist to his mouth to stop from laughing out his wine.
"What does that even mean?"
"You know, how sometimes guys lie about that stuff. To seem all loyal and romantic. Because it doesn't matter to me, you know. It's not like we were dating then, and dancing with barely nude girls is no big deal. That was a regular Friday night for many of my classmates at Yale."
He chuckles but gives her a serious look.
"Why do I feel like a Logan experience is behind this?"
She shakes her head but then shrugs.
"No, not a specific experience. But he is definitely the type of guy to lie about something like that. I'm just teasing anyway. I believe you."
"I really brought a book and ignored the barely-nude women. You can ask Luke," he shrugs. He puts his hand on the table, and she places hers on top of it with a smile.
"I can't believe you tried to fight TJ!"
"You can't?"
She looks up to the sky in thought.
"I guess I can."
Jess smirks and stares into her eyes that are luminous from the candlelight.
"I was too busy thinking about us."
"What?"
"At the strip club. At my mom's wedding. The whole time I was in Stars Hollow," he swallows and sighs, "it was hard not to think about that, when it was both the best and worst part about living here. I had it in my head that because I was the one that said I love you at the firelight festival, that the ball was in your court. I was delusional enough to think that you would come to me."
She gives him a tender look. He continues.
"Until Luke talked some sense into me and told me how ridiculous that was. That it was bad communication for me to tell you I love you and then run away and expect you to think it was some romantic gesture."
She frowns, "it could have been."
"It could have been," he shrugs, "but it wasn't really, was it?"
She looks him over, sympathetic look on her face.
"To be honest, I always kinda wondered if you did it that way to give me space. Because of what I said to you on the phone that day I graduated, and you called me and didn't say anything. I thought maybe you were trying to respect my wishes to move on."
He shrugs again, "to be honest with you, I don't really think I knew what I was doing. All I knew was that I needed to tell you. It was making me crawl out of my skin, seeing you over and over again in town and knowing that you didn't know what you really meant to me."
She squeezes his hand under hers.
"Well, I definitely know now."
His eyes roam over her face; he bows his head down to bring her hand to his lips for a kiss.
"And so do I."
At the same time, they notice a familiar melody in the song that's playing. She smiles wide.
"Hey, that almost sounds like it! They're amazing."
"Very impressive," he nods, "too bad Brandon is missing this."
"Oh yeah, where is he? Weren't we supposed to meet him here?"
"We were," he starts, "but…he met a cute girl at the diner earlier. And he is hanging out on Jackson's farm with her."
Her eyebrows furrow, "what? Who? Jackson's farm?"
"Don't be weirded out okay," he pleads and then explains, "the girl is Martha."
She gasps.
"Martha Belleville?! The little girl that I'm a godmother too?"
He shoots her a look, "she's eighteen now, Rory. She's not a little girl."
"I know she's eighteen, but, she also still is a little girl to me!"
"Okay but, in reality, she's an eighteen year old. An adult. I feel it's very important we acknowledge that because I don't want anyone to mistakenly over hear that the man I brought into town is talking to little girls. That is the last thing I need."
"Okay she's an adult, I get it! Oh my god this is so weird."
"Not that weird."
"And wait, he lives in New York! And he's moving to Philly soon. He can't mess with Martha like that, Jess!"
"Hey, relax," he soothes, "don't worry. I told him not to do anything stupid because she's practically family to you guys. He's smart. Trust him."
She gives him a dubious look, "he may be smart but he's also a young man. You guys don't always think with your brain if you know what I'm saying."
He laughs, "trust me, I know what you're saying. It's not going to turn out bad I promise. They're just hanging out."
She sighs.
"At the farm though?"
"Yeah, she said she wanted to show him the strawberry fields."
"That sounds like a euphemism."
"It does, but something tells me it's not."
"You're probably right."
As the song ends, they quietly clap and wave a thanks to Lane and Zack.
"I would have asked you to dance but It's cramped enough in here."
"That's okay, I'm tired anyway."
"Is that why you haven't had a sip of the wine you ordered?"
She looks up at him, guilty blush on her face. She doesn't say anything but pushes the glass slowly to him.
"Can you drink it?"
He gives her a sweet smile as realization dawns on him, "Rory, I don't think one glass of wine is going to do any damage. You should drink it, while you still can."
He gives her a wink. She bites her lip in thought but ultimately declines.
"No. I'd rather not take any chances. I only ordered it so that people here that might know me don't see me not drinking," she leans forward closer to him, "when I was pregnant before and housesitting for mom and Luke, I wouldn't go out in the mornings because I was afraid people would see me avoiding coffee. I love this town, but it will be a good thing to not live here while pregnant."
He searches her face, afraid that she's holding back the gravity of her fear. There have been a few things here and there like this since she told him she wants to start a family. Moments where he can tell she has the outcome of her previous pregnancy on her mind. She doesn't seem like she's hiding anything; so he nods, lifts up the wine glass and drinks half of it in one gulp. He smoothly fishes his wallet from his pocket, pulls out cash and puts it on the table. Then stands up and holds his hand out to her.
"Walk with me?"
She grins at him and takes his hand, turning to wave goodbye to her friends. He pulls her out onto the quiet streets of Stars Hollow, wrapping an arm around her shoulders once they have enough room to walk next to each other. He turns his head to kiss her cheek. It puts a loving smile on Rory's face; she crosses her arms over her chest while they walk in silence towards the gazebo. Jess's phone buzzes a couple of times, and he takes it out, laughing when he reads his messages.
"Brandon just texted me. Said that Davey is there too, being protective and shit. And he's annoyed but he's being respectful," he puts the phone back in his pocket and looks at her with a pleased smile, "See? All good. Like I told you."
She grins proudly, "good big brother!"
Those words have the playful grin softening on his face, as he thinks again about something that has been on his mind. He turns his look away from her, directing her more purposefully towards the gazebo now.
"Lot of memories here," Rory mumbles as they sit down.
"I don't have very many," Jess states, taking a seat next to her and putting an arm around her shoulders, "but the few that I do have are pretty unforgettable."
They share a look, thinking about the bid-a-basket, and she giggles.
"Well, I do have a good what…sixteen years? On you as a resident of this town."
"Something like that," his smirk is gentle, "guess I was an out-of-towner in my own way."
"Definitely my favorite out-of-towner ever."
He moves the fingers on his hand that's resting on her shoulder to rub his thumb across her jaw.
"Really? Not Emily or Richard when they came to visit?"
She hums in thought, "nope. They've got nothing on you in that regard. Besides, they are at least from Connecticut, and compared to New York, it's a small town state, if you will."
"I love your words."
She grins brightly. He smiles back but it softens as he asks,
"You really don't miss living in a small town?"
"No," she shakes her head immediately, "I love living in the city."
He nods slowly, "that's good to hear."
She looks at him curiously, and opens her mouth to ask a question, but he speaks again first.
"Rory…can we clarify something?"
Her curious look stays put and she nods for him to go on. He pushes just enough away from her so that he can see her whole face as he asks,
"Kid or kids?"
"What?" she blinks in surprise. He pauses at her look but presses forward carefully.
"In the past we said kids, but I noticed you said kid the other day."
"Oh," she breathes out, and Jess watches as her usual vulnerable body language takes over: arms crossed, and shoulders slumped. He waits patiently for her thoughts.
Finally, she looks at him through pieces of her hair and says, "Well…we have to work on them one at a time anyway."
"Rory…" he replies gently. He moves the hair out of her face and looks into her eyes, silently asking her to be open with him about this. His stare unravels her easily, and she admits the truth.
"Yes I want more than one. But…I'm nervous about it happening at all. I don't want to be greedy."
"It's not greedy," he affirms, eyes still fixed on hers with his soft intensity.
She stares back still, but doesn't say anything to that. Feeling uncertain about her agreement with that statement.
Eventually he asks, "Can I share my opinion?"
Everything about her softens for him, and she nods emphatically.
"Of course."
"It's dark but the reality is…we are having kids basically in our forties. We won't be around the ways that your mom has been and will be for you, if you know what I mean."
Her jaw drops, "God, that is dark!"
"I know, I'm sorry. But I think it's important to consider. We wouldn't want to leave a child with no one. Right? It would make their lives much better to have siblings, to have each other."
Realization melts her look, and she whispers,
"Like Doula has you."
"And Connor has Liam," he shrugs, "and Martha has Davey. Liz has Luke."
"Aw, Jess. You've been thinking about this."
He tilts his head softly, "it's been on my mind."
"Why didn't you bring it up sooner?"
He shrugs again, "I didn't want to overwhelm you. I've already inundated you with questions and…logistics, as you put it. But helping Doula today, and Brandon, and hearing comments about siblings…I couldn't wait longer. I want to know more about what our future looks like to you."
A prickling warmth spreads through her chest; she leans forward and kisses him. She pulls back and gives him an imploring look now.
"Jess…do you want a big family?"
His serious expression doesn't change as he replies, "I'm not hoping to set a record or anything."
"Jess-"
"I want as many of you as you'll let me have."
Her whole chest lights up, and she has to take a breath before responding.
"Us, Jess. They will be both of us."
"Oh, well. If we can't guarantee they'll all be like you, maybe I just want one."
The side of his mouth perks up teasingly. She starts to smile against her will.
"You're incorrigible."
"I think that should be put on my grave at this point."
"Jesus, why so morbid tonight, Wednesday?"
He chuckles and pulls her close to him, kissing her head and the side of her face. She manages to uncross her arms and wrap them around him. They sit in this embrace in comfortable silence for some time.
"I want to have…" Jess starts to speak in a murmur against her head. He pauses and starts over.
"I just want to feel a lot of love in our home."
His words pull harder at her heart, and it almost makes her tear up.
"Oh Jess. There will be, no matter how many people are in it."
He kisses her head again, and feeling comfortable in this moment of vulnerability, he shares more.
"You know, my favorite thing about your relationship with Doula is…your energy together. I love how you support her and are playful with her. And also take her seriously when she wants to be taken seriously. You two radiate something…so bright. I would be the happiest person on earth to be surrounded by something like that, for the rest of my life."
Affection stirs within her from head to toe; his words evoking lovely scenes of their life together. She understands what he is saying, because she feels the same way about him and all of the younger lives he has connected with and stuck by. She wants what he wants too, and she knows he wants to hear that.
"I think that sounds wonderful."
He slowly pulls back to see her face, and grins at her sincerity.
"I can't make any promises of what I can give us, but I would be happy with…a few."
His grin grows wider at her words.
"A few?"
"Sure, a few," she nods, and he becomes curious as her face tints slightly pink.
"God, I'm going to be like Sookie, aren't I? Constantly pregnant for a couple years."
A genuine laugh erupts from him, and he pulls her close again to kiss her this time on the lips.
"If everything goes well, then yes. I would plan for that if I were you."
"Oh boy. Early forties are going to be interesting."
He smirks, but it softens into something cherishing as he holds her face with one hand.
"I'll be by your side through everything, don't forget. I'll take care of you every step of the way. I will make this as easy as possible for you, because you'll already be doing the hardest work of all."
She looks back at him with adoration.
"I can't wait," she replies honestly, then laughs as she says, "I guess I'll have a lot of time to finish the book."
She watches, entranced, as the look on his face changes.
"I'm so glad you brought that up. That's another thing I wanted to ask about but didn't want to overwhelm you," he bumps his knee into her, "we haven't really talked about that piece of all the incredible news you've given me lately. What's bringing you back to it?"
She looks back at him, almost in disbelief. Because she thought it was obvious, but the awaiting look on his face makes it clear that it's not. She shakes her head with a soft chuckle.
"Jess…it's you."
His head cocks.
"You're the reason I want to return to it. Everything you've done for us, for me…you've inspired me in so many ways. You write about us, you write about parts of my life that you weren't even there for with this insane understanding. You have been part of all of this…healing I've gone through to get to the point where I am actually happy with all parts of my life, and excited for the future. I want to write the rest of our story so far. I want to publish something that shows the world how much I love you, like you have done for me."
There is barely a breath between her last word and his lips covering her mouth. He moves both hands to hold her face as he fiercely kisses her. They barely break apart, and he looks between her eyes and then down at her lap.
"You're all recovered from last week's escapades, right? I've given your body enough days off?"
Her eyes dilate, and she laughs huskily.
"I think so."
"Just checking," he kisses her again, "we're staying over Luke's tonight. Come on."
"But I thought Brandon was staying there?"
He shakes his head and stands up, pulling her with him.
"I'm going to text him to stay in your old bedroom. He should really sleep in the twin size bed anyway."
She laughs as he pulls her towards the diner, "but what if he's not comfortable with that?"
"He'll be fine," he waves her off, "and anyway, maybe he'll end up staying somewhere else tonight instead."
She gasps.
"You think he's going to sleep with Martha?!"
"I think it's none of our business, because, again, they are both consenting adults."
"Oh god," she groans at the thought as Jess reaches above the entrance for the key. She watches as he feels around and comes back with nothing.
"Huh, that's weird. It's not like Luke to change something up on us. Step back I'm going to check under the door mat. Can you look around too?"
Rory steps away and searches around the steps and nearby plants.
"Maybe this is a sign that we shouldn't be doing this."
"No. It's not. And even if it is, I will happily disobey it."
"Of course you will James Dean," she mumbles then steps up to him again, "have you tried just opening the door yet?"
He stops his movements and looks back at her, then turns and tries to open the door. To his surprise, it works.
"I've always felt you were my better half. Definitely my smarter half," he holds the door open for her, "come on, you have too many clothes on."
"I'm only smarter because you're not thinking with your head right now!"
"I am definitely thinking with my head. Just not the one you're referring to."
"Oh my god, aren't you worried about the door being unlocked?" she asks as she follows him up the steps to the apartment.
"I'll worry about it later. I'm on a mission and I cannot have any distractions."
"A mission?!"
"Yes," he says sternly as he turns the apartment door handle, "I call it 'get Rory pregnant or die trying'."
"Jess!" she exclaims, but then gasps in surprise as they walk into the apartment to see Doula sitting on the couch and watching TV.
She looks back at the two of them with her jaw dropped. Jess sighs in frustration, covering his face with his hands as he exclaims a curse word.
"Are you guys having a baby?!" Doula shrieks, jumping off the couch.
"No, forget everything you just heard or I'm not helping you get your license," Jess replies rapidly and loudly, moving his hands from his face to his hips, "what the hell are you doing up here?"
Now she puts her hands on her hips too.
"Luke says I can come up here whenever I want if I need to get away from home."
His face softens slightly, "what's wrong at home?"
She drops her attitude and her arms.
"It's nothing bad, sorry. I didn't think about that before I said it. Mom and Dad just got back from the Ren Faire this week and they have been incredibly overbearing. I just wanted some alone time."
He looks over her suspiciously, "okay. You're not hiding anyone in a closet today?"
She rolls her eyes and her attitude is back.
"No, Jess. I'm not you. Well, only that one time and that was because it was Liam."
"What do you mean you're not me?"
Her irritated face turns amused.
"Oh, Luke told me about you hiding girls in the closet up here."
"Jesus," he mutters in exasperation, "I did not hide her in the closet. She heard someone coming and for some reason jumped into the closet. I could not have given two fucks if someone walked in on me making out with that girl."
"And I don't care if anyone walks in on me kissing a girl either," she replies with a mischievous smirk on her face, "guess we are a lot alike."
"Yes, you two are identical sometimes," Rory steps in, putting a gentle hand on Jess's arm and looking over at Doula, "like right now. Both of you decided to come up to this apartment for some privacy. It's kinda funny, isn't it?"
"Not funny ha-ha," Jess answers immediately.
"I'm not leaving. Besides, Brandon is supposed to sleep here tonight. Isn't he? I was planning on leaving when he got here."
"He's sleeping at Luke and Lorelai's instead and we're staying up here."
They hear footsteps coming up the stairs then and Jess looks sharply at Doula.
"You did invite someone to come up here with you."
Her brows furrow in indignation, but before she can answer, Brandon walks through the door.
"Hey," he looks around the room, "we having a party?"
"What are you doing here?" Jess asks with a sigh.
"I'm staying here, aren't I? Just left the Belleville's and decided I should probably head in for the night," he shrugs, "Not like there's anything to do in this town after nine o clock, according to you."
"But I texted you to stay in Rory's old room."
"Oh, I haven't checked my phone. Sorry. Should I leave?"
Jess looks at his sister, then over at Brandon, and finally at Rory; silently asking her a question. She smiles softly in response. He sighs and turns to Doula.
"What are you watching?"
"The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina."
"This TV gets Netflix?!" Rory asks in disbelief. Doula nods excitedly.
"Yes! It's new. Luke got it. He claimed the old one stopped working, but I think he secretly did it for me."
That makes Jess crack a smile, and he looks around the room once more before saying,
"Okay. Let's watch. This like a remake of the Melissa Joan Hart show or something?"
"Uh yeah," Doula replies smartly, "if you add thirty minutes to each episode and make it darker, sexier, and scarier, then yes. It's basically Sabrina the Teenage Witch."
"My mom loves this show! I haven't had a chance to watch it," Rory skips over to the couch, taking a seat next to Doula.
"I've heard it's based on the original comic, so I'm in too," Brandon replies, joining the girls. They all look over at Jess and he huffs out a breath as he easily reads their thoughts.
"Fine. I'll make popcorn and coffee," he turns to the kitchen, "please start the show without me."
"Was going to anyway," Doula sing songs, pressing play on the remote, "thanks! You're the best brother."
In light of the conversation they just had, Rory meets Jess's eyes across the room. They share a sweet look of acknowledgement, conveying a silent message of understanding; yes, this is what we want.