Rory sat lost in thought as she stared at the delicate twinkling lights weaving in and out of the greenery. She peered over at her mom and Luke across the way. Both wore ridiculous grins on their faces as they chatted with Sookie and Jackson. The newlyweds couldn't stop glancing at each other every few seconds and their smiles only grew each time their eyes met. Rory smiled to herself as she looked around. Kirk really had outdone himself. A little over 12 hours ago Rory had been sitting a few feet away with her mom in the gazebo when she told her that she was pregnant. Lorelai had a million questions, but Rory insisted that Lorelai be the focus today. It was her wedding day and Rory had a day of pampering and beauty planned for them. Lorelai had begrudgingly agreed as long as Rory promised to tell her everything before she and Luke left for their honeymoon the next morning. Rory's thoughts were suddenly interrupted when someone pulled the chair out next to her and sat down.

Jess let out a sigh of relief as he plopped down next to her and said "I didn't think I'd ever get away from Kirk!"

Rory laughed and said "Let me guess he had to fill you in on the complete and utter joy fatherhood has brought him."

"Pig fatherhood." Jess interrupted.

"Right," she laughed "pig fatherhood."

Jess liked the way the corners of Rory's eyes wrinkled up more than they used to when she laughed. Her laugh still sounded exactly the same though. God, he had missed that sound. Her hair was swept us in a loose bun at the nape of her neck with a few soft pieces framing her face perfectly. Her porcelain skin looked like it was practically glowing. Maybe it was so noticeable because Rory was showing a lot more skin that she normally did. The sleeves of her long midnight blue lace dress left her shoulders bare and trailed down her long slender arms. A delicate gold necklace rested on her chest just above a subtle hint of cleavage. If Jess had the artistic ability, he probably could have drawn her from memory at this point because he had carefully studied her features as he stood across the gazebo from her during the ceremony. He barely noticed Luke and Lorelai standing between them exchanging their vows. Rory's eyes on the other hand were so transfixed on Luke and Lorelai that she thankfully hadn't noticed him staring.

Jess thought about the other time he'd seen Rory as a bridesmaid. It had been the day of Sookie's wedding. He had come back to Stars Hollow after Rory had visited him in New York and the first thing he had done once he asked Luke if he could move back was go to find Rory. He vividly remembered the way she looked that day too. Standing next to one of the ponds on the grounds of the old Independence Inn just about half a mile from where they were now was where Rory had kissed him for the very first time. It took him by surprise at first but then just as he had started to kiss her back she broke the kiss and begged him not to say anything before running away. Still to this day though it was one of the best kisses of Jess' life. Recalling this memory caused Jess to subconsciously raise his hand up and touch his lips. While Rory might not have noticed him staring during the ceremony it suddenly became embarrassingly aware to Jess that she did notice it now as she was gazing back at him quizzically.

In an attempt to break the awkwardness, he said "Oh Gilmore, you have no idea how badly I need to talk to a sane person after dealing with the insanity of the townspeople of Stars Hollow."

Rory chuckled and said "I hate to tell you, but even I don't feel that sane these days."

"Oh?" he questioned raising an eyebrow.

Not wanting to saddle him with the mess she'd made of her life recently Rory tried to blow it off by saying "Oh, nothing major." Well that was a lie she thought. She had another life growing inside of her and that was a pretty big deal. She hadn't even thought about it yet, but it just occurred to her that she needed to add Jess to the list of people to tell about the pregnancy. It's not like he wouldn't find out eventually and she owed it to him to tell him herself. She just couldn't do it yet though before she got the chance to talk to her mom and Luke.

"So when are you going back to Philly?" she asked.

"I'm actually staying in town all week until Luke and Lorelai get back from their honeymoon. He asked me to stay and help Caesar at the diner while he's away. I'm staying upstairs in the apartment though because last night at Liz and TJ's was almost more than I could take. I don't know why I didn't think of the apartment before. I told Luke I understood why he didn't think of it what with being busy being all Rande Gerber hot and everything while being giddy like any bride the day before her wedding. He really loved that let me tell you."

Rory giggled as she pictured this exchange between Luke and his nephew. She loved the way Jess still teased Luke like he did when they were teenagers and Jess, well Jess just loved that he could still make her laugh.

"So I take it work must be going well if the boss man can spend a week away without worrying about the mice playing too much." she said.

Jess smiled and said "Yeah, well I'm not the only boss man plus we have a really great team and I can handle my responsibilities from just about anywhere these days."

Rory watched the way Jess' eyes lit up as he talked about Truncheon and how much it had grown. He talked about all of his employees in glowing terms. She could see why Jess' endeavor had been such a success. He still had so much passion in his voice when he spoke about all of the projects they had worked on and were currently working on. Rory was so proud of him that she felt like her heart just might burst.

She also really started to notice how much Jess had changed over the years. He had aged well. For the most part he still looked like the Jess she remembered. He still had the same boyish charm he always had, but now with an edge of rugged handsomeness. She noticed how broad his shoulders were and the way he filled out his navy blue suit nicely. She could see how muscular his arms were even with his jacket on. He'd taken off his tie and the top few buttons of his shirt were undone. She watched the way his Adam's apple moved as he spoke. Her eyes traced the sharp outline of his jaw covered in the stubble of a five o'clock shadow. She liked the current length of his hair and the way he tucked his dark locks behind his ear. Jess had always had great hair. Rory remembered running her fingers through his pompadour many times back in the day. Jess also always had that cool guy thing going for him. Always the epitome of cool, but never because he was trying too hard. It just came naturally. He still had that going for him, but now everything about him oozed virility. Rory felt herself getting flustered thinking about Jess in this way. It must be the pregnancy hormones she thought.

"So enough about me." Jess said. "How's it going for you, Ror? Three chapters on the book already? That's amazing."

Rory beamed. "Jess, you have no idea! I honestly can't thank you enough for giving me the nudge to do this! I really hope you'll read it and give me advice once I get more of it fleshed out. Maybe even leave me some notes in the margins!" She said as she nudged his shoulder with her own.

"Of course. I would be honored." He replied sincerely.

"Oh, I just remembered something! You will never guess who I ran into at Doose's the other day! It was the weirdest thing!"

"Santa Claus?" he joked.

"I wish! He still owes me an Easy Bake Oven!" Rory countered. "Dean! Dean Forester!"

"Wow, Dean… Man, I haven't thought about good old Dean in quite a while." Jess smirked. Suddenly feeling instantly immature, he continued "Seriously though, Dean's a good guy. I hope he's doing well."

"He really seems to be. He lives in Scranton now. He and his wife Jenny have three boys and a little girl on the way. I think he got the life he always wanted."

"That's great. And to run into him at Doose's of all places that's just comically bizarre. God, that seems like a lifetime ago doesn't?"

"Yeah," Rory sighed "it really does."

She felt tears starting to sting the corners of her eyes. Damn these hormones! She hoped to get it under control before Jess noticed because a sudden emotional meltdown would be hard to explain. As if by some mystic connection with her mother, even though Lorelai actually had no idea what was going on, Luke and Lorelai appeared before them.

Lorelai curtseyed and said "Hello, my darling daughter. Hello, my darling… nephew? Woah… that sounds weird. Do I have to call you that?"

"Please don't." said Jess dryly.

"Noted." Lorelai said with a wink. "So Rory, ready to head home? Mama's had a long day."

"Yeah, sure. Goodnight Jess."

"Goodnight, Rory. Congratulations again you guys." He said to Luke and Lorelai.

Unbeknownst to Rory and Jess and even Lorelai, Luke had eventually torn his eyes away from his new bride and had noticed his nephew and Rory sitting across the square. He had been watching them for quite some time. He couldn't help but notice a familiarity about the situation and perhaps because he was so blissfully pleased with his own life at the moment he decided he was going to do something about it.

"Uh, you two head on home. I just need a few minutes to go over some diner things with Jess." Luke said.

Lorelai and Rory started down the street toward home. Once they were out of earshot Luke began, "Okay, I didn't really need to talk to you about the diner."

Jess feigned surprise, "You mean you didn't really need to tell me something about working at the diner that never changes because it's run by Luke Stuck-In-His-Ways Danes? The diner I've previously worked at for two years and that also comes complete with your veteran cook/right-hand man? Let's get real, Luke. I know I'm just the hired help this week. Caesar's running the show."

"Yeah, yeah… wiseass. Listen and I mean really listen… hear me out, Jess." Luke exhaled before continuing, "I saw you with Rory tonight. I saw you with her the other day at the house. And don't give me any of that 'it's just a work thing' bull. I saw the way you look at her. I know that look, Jess, believe me. I know you and I know better than anyone what it's like to be in love with a Gilmore woman."

"Gilmore girl" Jess interrupted him.

"What?"

"Gilmore Girls… it's the title of Rory's book." Jess replied.

"Oh ok… well like I was saying, I know what it's like to be in love with a Gilmore girl. It's an all-consuming, gut-wrenching will they/won't they kind of thing but oh Jess, I'm telling you it's all worth it in the end. You can't honestly sit there and tell me you don't have feelings for her, Jess. I saw you with my own two eyes."

Jess swallowed hard and sighed before saying "No, okay you're not wrong, but I just can't go there with Rory again, alright? It's just too painful when it doesn't work out. I told myself a long time ago that I had to close that chapter on my life. I've still come around like I have all these years because of you and also because despite any unresolved romantic feelings, I still care about Rory as a friend."

"Jess, you don't know that it's not going to work out. Believe me I know how painful it can be. Hell, I've known Lorelai longer than you've known Rory and I just now married her today. Plus, I had to see her day in and day out coming to the diner. Seeing her with different boyfriends, even a fiancé and husband at one point, but I stuck it all out and I'm telling you Jess… it was worth it. And I wasn't just watching you, Jess. I saw the way Rory was with you too. I know that girl, Jess. I watched her grow up. She's just as much a daughter to me as April is, maybe even a little more so just because I spend more time around her. Please Jess, at least tell me you'll think about it. You have this week here and Rory will be around. Jess, don't miss this opportunity. Don't wait as long as I did. You deserve happiness and I think you know in your heart that Rory is the one for you. I know I keep repeating myself, but no one understands this situation better than me. Please don't give up on her just yet."

"I'll think about it. Really… I promise."

Luke slapped his nephew on the back and then stood up and headed home to his new wife and stepdaughter. Back at the house Rory had been filling her mom in with all the highlights as they sat at the kitchen table. She was pregnant. Logan was the father. She had known for a few days and had contemplated flying out to London to tell him in person, but finally decided to hell with it. He was too hard to catch up with anyway between Odette living with him now and his work obligations and his father. It was all too much to deal with plus honestly she knew that if she saw him face to face he might ask her to try to make it work again and even though she knew that's not the life she wanted her resolve just wasn't that strong at the moment.

So, she emailed him and asked him to find a time when he could talk and she would call him. He had her call at same ungodly late hour. No doubt as to not alert Odette. She told him about the pregnancy and of course he was shocked at first. Then just as she had suspected he started saying things about them trying to make things work between them. She nipped that in the bud quickly. She told him that the Huntzberger life wasn't the life she wanted for herself or their child. He reluctantly agreed. She told him he could be involved as much or as little as he wanted, just as her own father had been with her. Rory told him he didn't have to decide anything right now. He still had several months to think about it before the baby would be here. He could call or email her in the meantime. The only thing she requested was that he didn't tell his family or Odette. She just thought that was best and he agreed.

When Rory finished telling Lorelai everything her mom hugged her and told her how proud she was of the way she was handling everything. Lorelai said she would be there with her throughout everything. To which Rory responded with a resounding "Duh!" Both women were still sitting in the kitchen crying and laughing and hugging when Luke walked in a few minutes later.

"What's going on?" Luke asked entering the kitchen to find this sob fest.

"Oh, Luke… you're going to need to sit down for this one because it is a doozy!" Rory said.

Luke pulled out a chair and Rory proceeded to tell him everything she had just told her mom. When she was done Luke just sat there for a minute slack jawed. Once he snapped out of it he repeated the same sentiments that Lorelai had. He was proud of how well Rory was handling everything and she had his full support. Then it hit him… he had just told his nephew barely twenty minutes ago to go for it with Rory.

"Uh, Rory… one thing… it's not really my business but are you planning on telling other people about the baby anytime soon? Like Jess?" Luke asked.

"Actually I was just thinking about that tonight while we were talking, but I wanted to tell you two first. It's not like people aren't going to find out soon enough so I figure it's best to get out ahead of it."

"Okay, good." Luke said. "I just figured he'd really appreciate hearing it from you rather than me later."

There was one more round of congratulatory hugs and then Luke and Lorelai headed up for bed because they had an early day ahead of them tomorrow. Luke thought about telling Lorelai about his conversation with Jess earlier but then decided against it because he didn't really feel like arguing with his wife on their first night as a married couple. He even thought about warning Jess, but he knew it was Rory's news to tell and he had inserted himself enough in their business already and look where it had gotten him. No, Luke had made his bed and now he had to lie in it… literally. So, Luke just kept it all to himself as he endured a sleepless night worrying about his poor nephew and the bomb that was about to be dropped on him.