Rory felt somewhat embarrassed when she woke up the next morning, reaching for the spot where Jess had been. The memory of their sordid evening together sent her heartbeat hammering faster and made a blush rise on her cheeks and chest.

She savored the quiet moment in bed remember the bliss of his fingers all over her, inside her, and the feel of him in her hands. They explored many firsts together last night. That it had all taken place in her childhood bedroom made it more precarious but also more special.

She had dreamed about what might happen with Jess in her room after all those times when he snuck in and out through her window, just as she had imagined what trysts might occur in the apartment above Luke's diner, on his bed, on the couch… they had made great strides in their physical relationship there too.

Rory hoped it was still early enough that she might not run into her mother that morning, but when Rory came out to the kitchen, clad in her pajamas and with rampant bedhead, Lorelai was right there waiting for her, a mug of coffee poured and a strawberry frosted pop tart still warm on a plate at the table.

Rory cringed inwardly as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, sighing as she wondered how loud they might have been last night if this was the welcome that awaited her.

"Morning, mom," Rory greeted as Lorelai looked up from her mug of coffee.

"Not so fast, child of mine."

Rory gulped as she sat down, fearing the worst.

"What was with the surprise Jess visit, huh? I'm totally willing to give the kid a chance, but you need to butter me up first so I can be nice to your beau. Not spring him on me in the middle of the evening!"

"I thought your manners might take over if it was a surprise, though. And I was right! You were on your best behavior!"

"Yeah, well, I promised you I would try."

"And Jess was pretty well-behaved too, you have to admit."

"Yes, but I don't know how well he kept his hands to himself after I went upstairs…"

"Mom!"

"Hmm, not that well, then."

Rory's blush deepened and gave her away. She stared down at the pop tart and hoped the world would suck her into a black hole.

"Any juicy details?"

When Rory glared at her mother, Lorelai laughed instead of sharing the distress she felt inside. Jess might be a little bit more grown up and a lot in love with Rory, but that didn't mean she wanted them falling into bed together.

"Mom, no."

"Fine, but you did promise to tell me if—"

"Nothing happened, mom."

Lorelai raised an eyebrow at Rory, knowing that wasn't the whole truth.

"Okay, nothing like that happened. We still haven't—you know—yet."

"Hun, if you're going to do it, you should probably be able to say it. And you're still on the pill, right?"

"Yes," Rory answered through the curtain of hair she was desperately trying to hide behind.

"Rory, it's fine. You're nineteen years old, you're a mature, responsible adult, and you should be able to have sex with your boyfriend if you feel ready."

"Wow, you almost didn't look panicked as you said that."

"I'm trying here, kid. No mom wants her little girl to grow up too fast. I can see that you love him, and that he loves you. I just don't want you to get hurt."

"There are worse ways to lose your virginity, mom."

"I know that, I know, I just want you to be sure."

"I will be."

"And to not be anywhere near my house when it happens."

"I promise. No hanky panky in the house."

"Good. And, not at Luke's either. I have to go in that apartment sometimes, and I don't want to be thinking, 'Is that where Jess defiled my daughter?' every time I do."

"Fair enough, although don't you already think that after last year?"

"I don't need any more images of the two of you horizontal in my mind, thank you. One was plenty."

"So you don't want to hear about last night then, right?"

"Right. Well, maybe leave out all the details. Just tell me, you're happy, right?"

Rory nodded and smiled.

"And Jess is making you happy? Like, emotionally, and physically, and all that?"

Looking away, Rory nodded more emphatically.

"Okay," Lorelai said, an air of grudging acceptance about her. "Then that's all that matters."

Rory strode into the diner, cheery and glad to see Jess behind the counter.

"Hey Caesar! Still need that order of French toast and sausage," he shouted. From the kitchen, Caesar responded with a "Sure thing, boss!"

When Jess saw her, a smile crossed his face and he pulled a giant mug from behind the counter to set down in front of her.

"How'd you sleep?" he asked, seeing her blush at a memory of the night the two of them had shared.

"Pretty well," she admitted with a grin. "But then, someone really tired me out."

"Huh," he said. "Interesting. Who might that have been?"

Rory's blush was all the response he got, and then she leaned up over the counter to offer him a good morning kiss.

"I'm sorry you didn't get very much sleep. I know you don't like having to get up this early."

"I wouldn't trade last night for anything, especially not just a great night's sleep."

"Good to know," she said.

"So, how bad was it this morning, with Lorelai?"

"I don't think she actually heard anything," Rory explained, "But there was certainly a talk."

"Geez, you really are going to tell her everything as it happens, aren't you?"

"Is that okay? I mean, I don't think I'll tell her everything. I certainly didn't share any details about last night, but I will probably tell her when… when stuff happens."

"It's fine. I've just never really had that type of relationship with a parental figure."

"I'm trying to imagine you and Luke having 'the talk' now, and it's just really funny."

"Yeah, well, I guess no relationship is quite like yours and Lorelai's, so there's probably no getting around it."

"Don't worry, she's not going to embarrass us in public or tease you or anything."

"God, I hadn't even thought of that."

"Well, good. She'll probably only make really uncomfortable jokes, like she does with every other subject in our lives."

"Oh, good. Just that."

Rory wanted to change the subject—it was a little odd talking about this when there was a diner full of people who just loved to know every little detail about her life (especially her love life)—so she said, "Have you heard from Luke? His appointment going okay?"

"Yeah, he said he got there fine. I can't imagine how much this must be costing him."

"Yikes. Okay, no spontaneous marriages, got it."

"Nope." He popped the 'p' to enunciate it overdramatically. "Don't want to end up like good old Luke here. I mean, would you?"

"Definitely not. But then, my mom and dad were never married, and I'm too young to have ever even gotten close. So I doubt a shotgun wedding is anywhere in my near future."

"It better not be, cause I'm not really the marrying kind."

Rory's smile faded a bit at that admission. "Yeah, that's what I figured."

"I didn't mean," he started, seeing her face fall. "I meant that's not really how I've ever thought of myself. I didn't have the most stable parental upbringing, either. No good models of marriage to take after."

Rory nodded. "But you don't think you'll ever…" she trailed off.

"I don't know, Rory. I think for the right girl I'd do just about anything, but it's kind of soon to talk about that, isn't it?"

"Oh, I wasn't… I'm not doodling 'Rory Mariano' on my notebooks or anything, I just…" Rory took a deep breath. "Let's start over."

Jess nodded his assent, wiping down the counter next to her to avoid her gaze.

"I don't want to make bad relationship choices, whether they be about marriage, or babies, or whatever else. I want to be with you, right now, and for the foreseeable future, and I hope you do too. That's all I want or expect."

Jess's shoulders relaxed and he smiled. "How romantic," he joked. "When you propose, you better have some prettier words for me, Gilmore."

That got a laugh out of her, and Rory grabbed his hand. "I didn't mean to scare you, Jess. I love you and I know you love me, and that's all I care about."

"Good, cause I feel the same way. I'm not going to run out on you, Rory."

"I know. I'm not worried about that."

"Ah, so you're worried the magic will be gone soon."

"Yup, that's it, you got me. I am terrified, because after our one passionate night together I now find you repulsive."

"That's what I figured. Oh, well," he said, flourishing his order pad in one hand with a liveliness Rory hadn't seen from him in a while.

He came around the counter and wrapped his arm around her waist, kissing her soundly in the middle of the diner. Miss Patty, who had been watching them from the corner table, whistled loudly and winked.

"Well, if the entire town didn't already know we're back together from the whole walking hand-in-hand through the town square thing, they do now." Rory pulled back only slightly.

"Gotta love that Miss Patty," he said, rolling his eyes, and kissed her once again, briefly, before walking towards a two-top that had just seated themselves.

He took their order while Rory sat at the counter drinking her coffee, pulling out a book for school she had brought with her.

Fifty-two pages, three cups of coffee, and too many kisses to count later, Rory and Jess were settling back into their old Stars Hollow rhythms. It was like he had never left, like she was still a Chilton student visiting her boyfriend at his job.

As Jess came back behind the counter, the phone started to ring. He ambled over, assuming it would be Luke. "Luke's," he answered with his usual disaffected manner.

Jess's brow furrowed and he turned toward the kitchen, away from Rory. She heard only snippets of the conversation. "Sorry…you want me to tell her?...coming to get her?...Luke til 1...yeah, together…okay, bye."

"What was that about?"

"It was your mom."

"Is everything okay? What happened? It sounded serious."

"Rory," he started. "She got a call this morning…geez I'm no good at this…your great grandma died last night. Your mom sounded pretty upset, and she's on her way to Hartford to… I don't know, help, I guess."

"Gran died?" Rory asked in disbelief.

Jess shrugged and nodded, not sure how to help. "You guys close?" he asked.

"Not really. I feel bad for my grandpa, though. God, she was just—last week—and now she's…"

Jess scuffed his foot against the floor, not sure what to say or do. Grief wasn't his strong suit. Really, publicly expressed strong emotions of any kind weren't his strong suit. He put the order pad down and went over to hug her. He tentatively put his arms around her and held her as she burrowed her face in his shoulder. She wasn't really crying, more like she was in shock.

"I can call Luke, get him back here. I'll drive you to Hartford," he offered.

"No," she protested. "I'll go get our stuff and take a bus. Maybe you could just pick me up later so we can head back to New Haven together. If you don't mind, I mean. You don't even have to come in, just wait in the driveway."

"Rory," he started.

"Or I can take the car and come back and get you later, since we don't know when Luke will be done. Or maybe Caesar could cover…no." He could see her mind contemplating all the possibilities.

"Rory," he tried again.

"I should go get my stuff. Oh, God, my gran was dying and we were…"

"Rory!" he got her attention this time. "However you want is what we'll do. Don't worry about me. I'll figure it out if you want to take the car. I can get back on my own."

"No, no. I probably shouldn't be driving right now anyway. I'll take the bus, you pack our stuff and come get me whenever Luke gets back and you can escape. I promise, you don't have to see or talk to anyone. My grandparents probably wouldn't notice even if you did come in, though, they'll be so busy with the arrangements."

"It's fine, Rory. I'll get your stuff and bring it with me. Luke should be back around one, so I'll be over some time after that. Seriously, stop worrying about me. Are you sure you want to take the bus?"

She was distracted, now, thinking of too many things to really be listening to him.

"Thanks," she said, barely looking at him and offering him a short kiss before grabbing her books and running out the door, the bell dinging as it closed.