Epilogue

A/N: This is about two years in the future from the last chapter. Brett's six, and at CNN, Rory's been promoted to an on-air job for four hours of the evening. The first part of this story takes place when she and Brett are home, while Jess is off doing work at the bookstore, where he still works with Alice, but Alice is turning it into a cafe/bookstore, so they're a lot busier.

~*~*~*~

No one's convincing me this isn't paradise.
--Joan Osbourne

All the fishes in the sea, they could not be happier than me.
--Jewel

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

*Rory*

Well, come on and let me know...
Should I stay or should I go?
Should I stay or should I go now?
Should I stay or should I go now?

A just-celebrated-her-sixth-birthday Brett rushes into the living room, where I'm finishing setting up Jess' surprise.

"Daddy's here, he's here, he's here, he's here, he's here!"

"Really? Well, then, let's get ready!"

"Yay!" Brett jumps up and down and claps. I put a hand on her back and gently herd her through the house to the small sitting room upstairs. As planned, we jump onto the couch and hide under the blanket, pretending to sleep. As an afterthought, I rush to the stereo directly behind the couch and turn the volume all the way up, kicking the repeating Clash song from a four to a ten.

Just as I'm settling back into my snug position, the front door slams.

"I'm home," Jess yells. I hear what sounds distinctly like a large bag of books spill onto the wood floor and roll my eyes.

"Rory? Brett?" he asks, finally realizing no one ran to greet him. His voice fades as he walks around downstairs, and then I hear his footsteps on the metal staircase. Brett giggles, and I poke her under the blanket. We both smile at each other, and then close our eyes. I squeeze Brett tight--this is it.

~*~

*Jess*

"Should I Stay Or Should I Go?" restarts itself as I walk up the stairs, and I pause for just a second to play along to the opening chords. I resume walking as the singing starts.

Darlin', you got to let me know
Should I stay or should I go?
If you say that you are mine
I'll be here 'til the end of time
So, you got to let me know
Should I stay or should I go?

The stereo's in the upstairs sitting room, and Rory and Brett are snuggled under a blanket. I'm a little suspicious of the arrangement when I see not Brett's, but Rory's eyelids flutter and a smile grow on her face. I start to walk to the stereo to lower the volume, then stop.

SHOULD I STAY OR GO? a huge poster boasts over the stereo. There's an arrow under "Stay" pointing to a box, and a similar one under "Go". I glance back at Rory and Brett snuggled in the blanket together, and make my way to the "Stay" box.

It's a shoebox--normal enough, but inside are three red velvet jewelry boxes. I open the first one, a long, thick one. A Brett-size tiara stares me in my face. The second one, a...ring-sized one, holds...a ring. A small, simple, feminine, white-gold...wedding band. My mind warming a bit to the idea, I open the third box, revealing an almost identical wedding band, this one thicker and more my size. A slight grin on my face, I turn around to face the couch.

Rory and Brett are "awake" now, hanging over the back of the couch and grinning.

"So, whaddya say?" Rory grins. Brett clasps both hands over her mouth and giggles. I grin.

"What do you want me to say?"

Rory thinks for a second. " 'I thought you'd never ask.' "

I nod, walk over to the couch, and crouch so that I'm face to face with Rory. "I thought you'd never ask," I whisper, before kissing her.

~*~*~

*Brett*

Yesterday I was six and a half exactly. And I got to celebrate with a pretty dress, a prettier crown, and flowers to throw. I had lotsa fun.

My daddy married this lady named Rory, who's really really really really nice, and I sometimes call her Mommy, and that makes her smile.

The best part about my daddy marrying Rory was that we went up to Connet-- Connit-- Connecut-- Stars Hollow, where Uncle Luke and Aunt Lora-- Lore-- Lor live. And Susie and Will live there too. I like Susie. She's fun. Will's just a baby, so I don't really know him.

Rory's best friend Lane came to the marrying-party, too. Lane brought her baby Kurt, who's not really a baby 'cause he's two. Kurt's daddy, Dave, came too, and they all played songs. Except for Kurt, 'cause he's too little.

Daddy's mommy and daddy came and gave me presents. Daddy's mommy had a marrying-party a little while ago to a nice boy named Ted, and Ted came too. He didn't give me a present, but he was still nice. He told me I was the best flower girl he'd ever, ever seen.

Grampa came with Sasha and Lilly. Lilly's...Lilly's...doesn't talk to me a lot, but she can be very nice. Sasha's always nice, and she gave me Grampa's present. Grampa hugged me and told me that I had the best family in the world.

Daddy and Mommy kissed a lot yesterday. It was gross. But they smiled a lot, too. That was good, 'cause I didn't get in trouble for breaking that vase of flowers. It was an accident, no matter what Susie says.

The marrying-party lasted a long time. I didn't get to see the end of it, 'cause I fell asleep. I didn't mean to, though. But I did. And then Mommy and Daddy woke me up. They told me goodbye and cried a lot, and then they both kissed me. Then they got on a airplane and went a long, long way away. Daddy said they went over the big pond, but Mommy hit him when he said that. Then she said they were going to Is--Is--Israil, where she was gonna get to be on TV and talk about fighting. It's not good to fight--I learned that in school.

If Mommy does a good job being on TV, then that means she'll get to be on TV all the time. Then, Daddy says we'll have to choose. We can stay in Atalanta and only see her some of the time, or we can fly around with her, but we'll have to get a teacher to teach me things.

I don't know what we're gonna do. I like Atalanta, but it'll be fun to fly.

I'll just have to wait an' see what happens.