CHAPTER 5

How the other half lives

"Hannah Banana Havana Copacabana!" Annie exclaimed, raising up Hannah Danes in her arms and into the sky. "You're getting too big to carry," she added.

"I'm a big girl, daddy says," Hannah replied.

"That she is," Lorelai replied. "She was all gung-ho about going to New York and then it's Mommy, I don't wanna walk no more!" She took a drink of her coffee and tossed the empty to-go cup back in the Jeep.

Both Jess's junk-heap of a car and Lorelai's Jeep were parked in the ample driveway of the elder Gilmores. Rory and Lorelai called the few minutes before walking into the dragon's lair their "getting it together in order to survive the night" time. Jess and Luke would roll their eyes about something or another, Rory and Lorelai would finish their coffee, and Annie would prance around with her cousin.

"You ready?" Rory asked her mother. Lorelai shrugged. Her hair, the shortest it had been in years, bounced when she moved her head.

"Is anyone ever really ready?" Lorelai wondered out loud.

"Hannah is. Annie is," Rory answered, muttering.

"Yeah, well, they have it easy. They're grandkids," Lorelai whispered, narrowing her eyes at the two girls.

"Hey! I'm a grandkid too," Rory complained.

"Yeah, but you're the unmarried-grandkid-living-with-a-hoodlum-raising-his-sister," Lorelai pointed out. "You're the Jerry-Springer-style-grandkid."

Rory took the final sip of her coffee. "Right," she said, tossing the cup in the car.

"Are we going to go in sometime today?" Jess asked, walking up to Rory.

"Can I ring the doorbell, daddy?" Hannah asked Luke, pulling at his flannel shirt. "Please, please, please?"

Luke grunted. "Knock yourself out."

Hannah, aided by Annie, reached up and rang the doorbell.

Off-guard, Rory, Jess, Lorelai and Luke all rushed to the doorway.

"Finally," Emily answered, holding the door wide open. "You've been standing outside making chit-chat for twenty minutes."

"Has it been that long?" Lorelai wondered out loud.

"I timed it," Emily confirmed.

"Huh," Lorelai said.

"Well, come on in, no sense in spending another twenty minutes outside. Give your coats to Lola," Emily said, leading the way into the house.

"Did she say her name was Lola?" Annie asked, leaning in to Rory.

Lorelai grinned. "I bet you anything she was a showgirl."

Jess and Luke rolled their eyes.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Over drinks, of course, the standard questions applied.

Work, schooling, ballet lessons, and, always a favorite, marriage.

Emily, as always, had news. "Logan got married."

"Logan?" Annie asked, confused. Jess tensed.

Lorelai leaned in to fill her in. "Rory dated him in college. He proposed in a party right here. She said no."

"I thought he was already married," Luke said, obviously behind on the gossip.

Rory tightened her grip on Jess's hand, her way of saying, Take a deep breath.

"Divorced. Remarried. His first wife was of the Cape Cod Williamson's. Very cruel people," Emily commented.

"I hope he married someone less cruel this time around, for good," Richard replied absently, letting his paper fall to the couch beside him. "Marriage is an undervalued institution," he added, looking straight at Jess.

"Grandma, Grandpa, can we please not get into this again?" Rory asked, looking to the ground.

"Into what, dear?" Emily asked. "I was simply telling you some news about an old friend."

"Right," Rory whispered. Jess squeezed her hand back. His way of saying, Let it go.

"I'm hungry," Hannah said, as if on cue.

Richard laughed heartily. "Well, we mustn't keep the lady waiting," he said, taking Hannah's hand and leading her into the living room.

Everyone followed except Rory, who hung back for a minute, holding Jess's hand. Jess leaned in and kissed her hair. "You alright?" he asked.

"Every time," she whispered, tears stinging her eyes. "I finally understand the dread Mom felt every Friday night when I was a teenager."

"Hey," Jess whispered, hooking a finger under her chin and leading her eyes to his. "They love you, and you know this. They're just... traditional minded."

"But to bring up Logan..." she started.

"A low blow. I guess he'll always be the one who proposed," Jess exhaled.

Rory shrugged, drawing him closer. "But you'll always be the one I love."

"Good to know."

Just then Annie burst in. She smiled softly at the scene. "Come on, cowards. Let's go!" she said, taking their hands and dragging them into dinner.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

The car ride back to Stars Hollow was tense. Jess stole looks at Rory, who pensively stared at the road, leaning against the window. Annie had conked out in the back-seat, covered by an old blanket.

"Is it something you'd like to do, Rory?" Jess asked. "The whole getting-married thing."

Rory separated herself from the window and looked at Jess in confusion. "What?"

"You know, wedding, signing of legally-binding contract. Is it something you want?"

Rory buttoned up her jacket. "It was, when I was a kid, you know? I worked so many weddings that I used to dream about my own. But then I grew up and other things invaded my dreams. You know that."

Jess looked out to the road, concentrated. "I don't want you to miss out on something just because..."

"Jess," Rory started. "I fell in love with you, I chose to share my life with you. We're a family. I'm not missing out on anything."

"You don't wish even for a second that you had a wedding?" Jess asked, his hands gripping the steering wheel.

"We did," Rory said, grinning widely at Jess's confused look. "You were standing under a tree and I was wearing a teal bridesmaid dress. I kissed you, then I ran away to Washington. I can't believe you don't remember our wedding."

"We were seventeen," Jess said, laughing.

"We married young, didn't we?" Rory replied.

Jess shook his head. "I'm just saying. If you ever feel like it's something you want to do..."

"I'll holler," Rory completed. "Taylor would love it, you know?" she added as an afterthought.

"He'd rearrange the entire town so the rooftops spell your name," Jess kidded.

"Do you remember the day Luke woke up to find a string of paper turkeys on his windows?" Rory recalled, laughing and slapping the dashboard.

In the back-seat, Annie smiled as she listened to Rory and Jess reminisce, their laughter a soft musical background for drifting back to sleep.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Keys tossed aside on a table beside the door, meant for keys to be tossed aside.

Coats on the couch.

"They suck every ounce of energy and convert it into exhaustion," Rory muttered, plopping down on the couch.

Jess switched on the computer. "They are really really good at that," he concurred with a yawn.

"You guys are just getting old," Annie pointed out. "Look at me. I'm fine."

"You," Rory pointed directly at Annie's forehead. "You slept all the way home."

"Snored, even," Jess chimed in.

"Old, old, old," Annie said in a sing-song voice.

Rory grunted, something she'd picked up from Jess in the past eight years. "Well, since you're young and the night is young, I'm guessing you have plans."

"Well..." Annie started.

"The twins and a pint of ice cream?" Rory asked.

"Mattie and Sookie's home-made blueberry pie," Annie confessed.

"Go," Jess said, trying his best to be cool.

Annie grinned. "I'll be back before SNL!" she said.

Jess raised an eyebrow, about to protest that it was Friday, but Rory's raised eyebrow dared him to try. "She's kidding," Rory added for effect.

"I know," Jess whispered.

Rory watched Annie breeze past her, kissing goodbyes. "Bring us back some pie!" Rory reminded.

"Yes, ma'am!"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Chilton?" Mattie asked, raising her eyebrows. She pushed aside her pie, worried. "Private School in Hartford Chilton?"

"Yup. I have an appointment Monday so I need you to take really good notes in English. No doodling," Annie ordered.

Mattie sighed. "You're really thinking about going to Chilton?"

Annie looked down at her dwindling slice of pie. "At first I thought exactly what you're thinking, you know? Stuck up private school..." She licked her fork. "But Rory got me some brochures and they have some really interesting classes, and the workload is heavier but that's ok, because sometimes it gets so boring..."

"I always knew you were a closet nerd," Mattie snorted.

"And if I do well at Chilton..."

"You have a better shot at whatever college you want," Mattie completed.

"Exactly," Annie said.

"Even though you're still not sure you want to go to college," Mattie tried to understand.

"Precisely."

Mattie was silent for a few minutes. "So basically it's just about not being bored for the next two years?"

Annie shrugged. "I don't know. If I actually find that I enjoy these classes, maybe it can help me figure out what to do later on, whether or not to go to college. So far, Stars Hollow High is a great spokes-school for dropping out of school."

"Spokes-school?"

"Like spokesman, but a building,"

Mattie laughed. "You are such a Gilmore."

"I know. It's contagious," Annie admitted, finishing off her pie. "Do you have any more left? I promised Rory I'd..."

"Mom already packed three slices for you guys, they're in the fridge, with heating instructions. Just remember to grab it before you go. And follow the heating instructions," Mattie warned, rolling her eyes. "You know how she gets about pie."

- - - - - - - - - - - -

"Are those... gargoyles?" Annie asked, looking up at the building through the windshield of Jess's car.

Jess tilted his head sideways and looked up. "Looks like it."

"Wow," Annie said, exhaling loudly.

"Yeah," Jess concurred.

"Wait. Haven't you been here before?" Annie asked.

Jess shook his head. "I skipped town before Rory's graduation. Never had a reason to come here after that."

"Oh," Annie said, disappointed. "Maybe we should've brought Rory."

"She had a meeting in New York."

"We could have rescheduled," Annie suggested.

"Kid, I can handle it," Jess reassured her.

"You're wearing Chuck Taylors," she countered.

"So?"

"So, you're wearing Chuck Taylors to a school with gargoyles on the roof and you're my guardian. The gargoyles will probably swoop down as soon as we step out of the car and... take the shoes."

Jess took a deep breath and ruffled Annie's hair. "Hey. You're coming here to see if you like it. They'll be lucky to have you. And if they don't like us they can go fuck themselves."

"Fuck themselves," Annie repeated. "Right. Ok."

"Of course, it would probably be best if we didn't say fuck in front of the headmaster," Jess pointed out.

"Right, ok. No fucks."

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Annie watched the kids milling about in plaid skirts and saddle shoes, and she felt at a loss. They had been told to wait until the Headmaster could see them, and Annie tried not to look at Jess's feet because she knew that he'd be showing the same nervous tics that she had. He would be crossing and re-crossing his feet. He'd be chewing on his fingernails. He'd be pretending to read.

So she pretended to read as well.

She read the same line, over and over, for half an hour.

Finally the secretary returned, looking at Jess's shoes with disdain.

"Headmaster Medina will see you now," the elder woman said.

"That name sounds familiar," Annie whispered as they walked to the office.

"I think Lorelai dated him," Jess said, half-joking.

"This is going to be... not good," Annie attempted.

"You're gonna wow them with your language skills," Jess quipped.

Annie groaned, stepping into the office. "Kill me now."

- - - - - - - - - -

Jess felt like he was back in high-school, sitting in the principal's office, about to get chewed out over the mystery of the disappearing baseballs.

Annie looked like she was about to throw up.

A tall, skinny man with graying sideburns walked into the room through a side entrance and tilted his head sideways. "You look just like your mother," Headmaster Medina said.

Annie tried hard not to roll her eyes. She was used to people saying things like that to her, trying to be polite. "Rory's not biologically related to me, but thanks... I guess," Annie said, shaking Mr. Medina's hand. "Annie Jameson."

"Oh. Max Medina," he answered, shaking her hand. "Sorry about that."

"No harm, no foul. So I gather you were a teacher when Rory studied here?" Annie asked.

Max Medina nodded, still trying to rack his brains as to what to say.

Jess saw the man in trouble and offered a hand. "Jess Mariano. Rory and I are Annie's guardians."

"The Jess Mariano?" Max enthused. Jess nodded. "I read your first novel a few months ago, The Journalist. It was unexpectedly delightful."

Jess wasn't very good with praise, especially the kind that sounded like a blurb, so he just nodded and half-smiled. Max knew enough to move on to another subject.

"So, Rory called, said Annie was interested in getting to know the school, maybe transferring?" Headmaster Medina asked. "Why are you interested in Chilton?"

Jess let Annie do the talking. "These are my class transcripts. You'll see I have a 4.0 GPA. But it's Stars Hollow High GPA. The classes are not very challenging, and the coursework is getting boring."

"So you want to come to Chilton because you're bored? No Ivy League aspirations? No dreams of becoming a doctor, a world renowned scientist?" Max asked, arching his eyebrows.

Annie looked sideways to Jess, whose eyes urged her to press on. "I'm sixteen. I've been studying at a school that doesn't really care whether I graduate or not, much less what I would like to do with the rest of my life. Frankly speaking, I don't think I can know what I want to do with my life right now. I just know that I'm driven and I'm a hard worker."

Max shook his head. "You see, Ms. Jameson, honesty doesn't always work in your favor. Having someone in this school who isn't college-bound will throw our statistical information for a loop. We are a privately funded school, as such, the percentage of our students that end up in Ivy League institutions is what keeps us afloat."

Annie smiled. "Frankly, Headmaster Medina, I'm not even sure if coming to Chilton is something I want. I haven't seen the school, haven't seen anything that it can do for me. So far, you've just made it sound like a money trap."

Jess took a deep breath. She was related to him, no doubt.

"Miss Gilmore," Mr. Medina attempted.

"Jameson," both Annie and Jess corrected.

"Yes. Sorry again," Max apologized. "Yes, we are a money trap. But if you get into this school, if you do well at Chilton, you can basically do whatever you want with your life."

"My dad didn't graduate high-school and he's still an author, he did what he wanted."

"Miss Jameson, that's hardly the point of -"

"Maybe we should get back to the matter at hand," Jess finally intervened. "Annie wants to see the school, see if it's a good fit. Then, maybe, she'll take the exams. If all this comes to a point where Annie might be accepted to Chilton, then we can talk about her plans, or lack thereof. Frankly, I'd be shocked if you guys didn't have the fanciest guidance counselor on the Eastern seaboard."

"Dr. Skoda is very well-regarded in his profession," Headmaster Medina pointed out, happy to get a word in edgewise. These two didn't sugarcoat, and that was something he wasn't used to anymore.

"Well, then, there you go. I'm sure a couple of those sessions will set Annie on the Ivy-covered path or whatever."

"Right," Max said, defeated. "How about I give you the tour of the school?" he asked Annie. "Then maybe you can sit in for a few classes."

"That sounds perfect," Annie said, smiling triumphantly.

"Good, follow me," Max added.

Jess waved at Annie. "I'll be out in the car," he mouthed silently. Then, taking his book and hers, he walked past the secretary, who kept staring at his shoes.

- - - - - - - -

The school corridors seemed fit for the Boy's Choir from Vienna to sing. Cavernous, high ceilings that made every step of Mr. Medina's wing-tips resound through the school.

"So Jess is..."

"My brother."

"That would make Rory..." Max attempted to understand.

"My brother's live-in girlfriend."

"And your parents?" he tried again.

"Are Jess and Rory," Annie said, purposely being difficult. "Are you legally allowed to ask these questions?"

"I'm not trying to antagonize you, Ms. Jameson," Mr. Medine explained. "But I do need an accurate picture of your family situation in order to decide if you fit in this school."

"You can write down stable. My family situation is stable. I've lived with Rory and Jess for the past eight years. That's not going to change anytime soon. We have a large, supportive, extended family and a small, insane, supportive town. If what you're asking about is my biological parents, my father died when I was younger and my mother is a recovering drug-addict who sells handmade jewelry in a Renaissance Fair in Woodbury. But you could just pretend I'm adopted. I bet there are a lot of more traditional families among the Chilton students, but are they better than my family because there's marriage and child-bearing involved?" Annie took a deep breath. She had gotten winded from talking so much.

"Honorary Gilmore, right?" Mr. Medina asked, finally a light moment. He chuckled.

Annie exhaled in relief. "Yes, sir."

- - - - - - - - - - -

Annie sat in the back of the classroom. The students around her seemed way too focused on their work to pay attention to her. Or maybe they were used to kids dropping by to get a feel for the school. Though she doubted the latter. The Headmaster hadn't seemed to familiar with the concept of someone trying out Chilton for a fit. It seemed like it was more often that Chilton made the decisions.

Annie settled comfortably in the wooden chair and paid attention to the lecture. At that moment, without the pressure of taking notes, she allowed herself to follow the teacher as the information flowed. Names and dates seemed to gain force. But what amazed her the most where the students.

People raised their hands, participated. Only one girl was trying to pass a note to her friend. Everyone else was concentrated, actively involved in the class. A girl argued a point with a teacher. Argued. Quoting a source, she actually refuted the teacher's point. A boy beside her smiled at the girl, supportively.

These kids actually cared about what they were reading.

She saw no pronoun worksheets in sight, no nail polish bottles, no slam books.

None of the kids were text-messaging from their cellphones.

In fact, there were no cell-phones in sight.

The last class she witnessed that day was English Literature.

They didn't have textbooks with short stories, they had books. Bona-fide works of literature were being studied, and the literature class was working on the same historical period as the history class, so everyone seemed aware of the political ramifications of this or that work of literature.

Annie walked out of the class as soon as the bell rang and was met by Headmaster Medina.

She grinned widely. "So, when can I take this test?" she asked.

- - - - - - - - - -

Jess was halfway through his third reading of Wuthering Heights when Annie walked out of the school. She knocked on the driver's side window, and Jess rolled it down. "So?" he asked, a pen between his teeth.

Annie nodded. "I like it," she said.

"You do?" Jess asked, letting the pen fall to his lap.

Annie ran excitedly to the passenger side of the car and got in. "The kids in there, they actually care about the class discussion. They participate. They... It's different. It's genuinely interesting to sit in a class."

"So you want to do this, then? Take the placement exams?" Jess looked her squarely in the eyes. "It's ok if you do."

He knew Annie always rose to the occasion of defending his life choices, but he wanted to let her know that it was alright to want more. The few times Annie slipped and called him her "Dad" always left him with mixed feelings. He felt, at times, like he'd usurped someone else's spot. But there was always pride in her voice, when there was no mocking, and it left him feeling happy to know that she saw him as some sort of role model, in a place where he'd only ever been a hoodlum.

Annie nodded slowly. "I can take the test in two weeks."

Jess started the engine and smiled. "It's uncanny," he muttered.

"What is?" Annie asked.

"How Rory always manages to be right," he added, with a laugh. "So, how do you want to celebrate?"

Annie raised her eyebrows. "I haven't even taken the test, what is there to celebrate?"

"Trust me, once Rory hears about this, there'll be celebrating. So, what'll it be?"

"Triple-chocolate milkshakes at the Soda Shoppe?" Annie suggested, biting her lower lip.

Jess sighed, pulling out of the Chilton parking lot. "How you and Rory manage to remain healthy is beyond me."

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Chilton, Annie thought.

If Jess wasn't sitting right beside her, she'd start a pro-con list.

The pros were academic and self-evident.

She was surprised at herself for actually allowing the experience of the Chilton class to take precedent over a certain stock-boy from Doose's market.

Not that the certain stock-boy played a part in her life.

He shouldn't.

He didn't.

And she wasn't avoiding Doose's market. Really, she wasn't.

It was just a coincidence that she instinctively ducked when Jess drove by the market in order to park in front of the diner.

"You're acting weird," Jess commented.

"You're imagining things," Annie countered.

"You just ducked when we drove past Doose's," Jess pointed out.

"I..." Annie said, scrambling in her seat to find something. "Had dropped this pen," she finished, showing Jess the pen.

"You do the evasion thing like a true Gilmore," Jess muttered, killing the engine. It died, loudly.

Annie smiled, opening the door. "I'll take that as a compliment."

- - - - - - - - - - -

"Stop it," Annie said, looking up from her triple-fudge Sunday at Rory.

Rory, who was beaming with pride. And gloating a little, at Jess's expense.

"What? What am I doing?" Rory asked innocently.

"You're beaming," Annie said. "I haven't even taken the test yet. I could fail."

"You won't," Jess said, stealing a spoonful of Rory's ice cream.

"They could not want me," Annie argued.

"Why wouldn't they want you?" Rory asked, utterly oblivious.

"Rory..." Annie warned.

"Fine, I won't beam. I'll just glow silently with pride," she accepted finally.

"Good, that way I can finish my ice cream while you glow silently. And stop staring at me."

- - - - - - - - - - -

Lorelai eyed the three through the glass partition that divided Luke's from the Soda Shoppe. When Luke was feeling particularly generous, he left the glass partition uncovered.

"Those three are celebrating something," Lorelai pointed out.

"It's not that date yet," Luke pointed out. He remembered exactly, down to the hour, the day he found his nephew in the diner, carrying a seven-year-old girl and asking for a place to stay.

"Nah, it's something else, I can smell it. Look," she pointed out. "Jess is even eating ice cream with a spoon."

Luke ventured a glance. "He's stealing from Rory's ice cream. That hardly constitutes grounds for suspicion."

Lorelai looked disappointed. "Oh, Luke. Have you learned nothing yet?" she asked. With a sigh she slid off the booth and headed behind the counter. "I'm gonna go check if Hannah's done with her nap. Keep an eye out."

"Yeah, whatever," Luke said, deciding then and there not to keep an eye out on them.

They were laughing, they were talking. Whatever it was, it was good.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Rory plopped down on the bed next to Jess. With Annie sleeping, she was free to gloat and beam and do as she damn well pleased.

Jess looked at Rory, who was grinning like a madwoman, staring at the ceiling. "You're so full of yourself," he said, laying aside his book.

Rory gave him a passing glance. "She liked it. For all the right reasons."

"What would the wrong reasons be?" Jess asked, curious. He turned to lay on his side, his head propped up by his elbow.

Rory sighed, knowing she'd let something slip. "Promise you won't make a big deal out of this."

"You know I don't do blind promises, Ror," he warned, resting his hand on Rory's belly.

"Right. Fine. Annie came home upset the other day. She didn't want to talk but she just blurted out that she wanted to go to Chilton. She didn't really explain, but she did mention something about being disappointed by someone or something."

Jess groaned. "Oh, boy."

Rory looked at Jess intensely. "I can see the gears turning, tell me what you're thinking."

"She ducked when we passed by Doose's today."

"She ducked?"

"Ducked. Like you used to do. Not gracefully, certainly not subtly. Plain, out-and-out ducked."

"I was graceful and subtle," Rory complained.

"You used to knock over chairs when you stared at me subtly."

"Whatever. So your hypothesis is..."

"I think she likes that Forrester kid," Jess said, his insides gnawing. "Has she said anything?"

Rory sighed. "She doesn't say and I don't press. She'll come to me if she needs to talk, sooner or later. And you shouldn't make a fuss about anything unless you want to push her away. You know how she gets."

"Impossibly quiet and stubborn," Jess offered.

"Kind of like this man I live with," Rory pointed out. "She knows we're here if she needs us and she'll come to us when she does." Jess didn't seem fully convinced by this but Rory placed a hand on his waist and tugged at his t-shirt. "Just take deep breaths and don't kill a Forrester, ok?"

Jess nodded. His fingers circled her belly button and he did as she instructed. He took deep breaths. Rory looked down to his fingers, then back up to Jess's eyes. He was hypnotized and she could tell what he was thinking. "You think we're getting there?" she asked.

"We sure as hell are trying," Jess joked.

Rory punched him playfully. Then it struck her. "Oh, drat!"

"Drat?" Jess questioned, mocking her.

"We haven't told Annie!" she said, slapping Jess's arm.

"Ow, told Annie what?"

"That we're trying. You know, that we're trying to get pregnant."

"I don't think she wants to know about us having sex, Ror," Jess said.

Rory opened her mouth in disbelief but closed it again. "Are you purposefully being thick, Jess?"

"We haven't told anyone else. I haven't told Luke directly and you haven't told Lorelai, and you mentioned it to Lane in passing."

"Yes, but... Annie, you, me: we are a family. And an extra member is a big change in that family structure. I think she should know."

"Ok. We'll just... tell her tomorrow or something."

"No," Rory said, rising from bed and pulling on her bunny slippers. "She should know now."

"Now?" Jess asked, sitting up. One minute he was caressing Rory's belly, the next he was being bossed around. "As in, right now?"

"Yes," Rory answered, opening the bedroom door and marching across the living room to Annie's room. Jess groaned and followed her.

Rory composed herself and knocked softly on Annie's bedroom door.

"Come in," Annie's sleepy voice replied.

Rory pushed the door open and leaned against the frame. Jess caught up with her, just in time. "We have something we wanna tell you, kid," Rory started.

Annie sat up. Two parental figures in her room almost at midnight? Something was going on. "What's up?" she asked, tense.

Rory looked to Jess for answers but he raised his arms. "We want to... we want to have a baby," Rory finally said.

Annie's face screwed up in confusion. "That's it?"

Jess snaked his arm around Rory, who was feeling more than a little vulnerable. "Well, it's kind of a big deal," Rory attempted.

Annie shook her head, trying to get her ideas in order. "Well, yeah, of course it's a big deal, what I mean is... well, the two of you, at midnight, saying there was something you wanted to tell me? I had at least three bad made-for-tv-movie scenarios going. This is my relief face. Now gimme a minute to process this." Annie looked from Jess to Rory, then back to Jess. "You guys want this? For real?" she asked.

Rory looked up at Jess and bit her lower lip. Nodded.

Annie sat silently for a few minutes. Both Jess and Rory held their breaths, waiting. Would she feel hurt? Would she be happy?

Finally Annie looked up. Slowly, a wide grin spread across her face.

She jumped up and down excitedly, bouncing around the room. She then proceeded to hug Rory and get her jumping up and down too. "I always wanted a brother/nephew or sister/niece!"

Jess rolled his eyes. "Sure, why not complicate the whole family-relations-thing some more," he said.

"Oh, shut up and squeal for glee!" Annie said. Rory laughed through happy tears.

"Stop it with the jumping up and down. We're not pregnant yet," Jess said.

"We might be," Rory pointed out.

"Then stop before you make the baby dizzy," Jess reasoned.

Rory wrapped her arms around Jess. Together they watched Annie jump up and down, chanting, "I'm gonna be a sister, I'm gonna be an aunt, I'm gonna be a sister, I'm gonna be an aunt."

"Let's just say sister, kiddo, can we?" Rory asked, smiling.

Annie rolled her eyes. "Fine. Spoil my Big Love reruns-fun moment."

"Don't you feel all Bill Paxton-y, Jess?" Rory asked, mocking him.

Annie laughed and moved in to hug both Rory and Jess, squeezing them tight.

"Wait," Jess asked. "Is that one of those TV references I don't get?"

Annie and Rory laughed into the hug.

- - - - - - - - -

Back in their room, Rory couldn't keep a smile off her face. "She looked happy, didn't she?" she asked.

Jess nodded, keeping his eyes on his book. His glasses always travelled a ways down his nose before he could be bothered to push them back up.

Rory elbowed him. "You knew, didn't you? That she was going to be ok with this?"

Jess set his book aside. Shrugged. "We talked about it once. More like, she asked me. When she was about ten or eleven, I guess. She asked what would happen to her once we had kids of our own. I think it was around the time Lorelai got pregnant."

"Oh," Rory said. "What did you say to her?"

"I told her she'd get a little brother or sister, and that she'd have to take care of him or her, like I'd taken care of her, like Brian and Lee took care of each other. Human Brian and Lee. The fish ones were already dead by then," Jess explained.

Rory grinned. She leaned in and pulled Jess closer by tugging at his shirt. "You are a great brother/dad," she whispered. She pushed his glasses back up his nose and kissed his mouth softly. "And you are going to be a great just-dad."

Jess looked worried. "Sometimes, I don't know."

"Why is that?" Rory asked, scooting over so she would be sitting closer to him, so she could rest her head on his shoulder. "I mean, with Annie..."

"With Annie there was no choice. She was in a place I had to get her out of. There were no ifs, no maybes. I was never faced with a choice. I was all she had."

"And you think that with the baby..." Rory started, slowly.

"I'm not going to run, Ror. I'm not. But I don't have a great track record of smart decision making."

Rory shook her head, almost laughing. "Maybe... maybe it's true, that taking on Annie wasn't a choice, that it was a necessity... But everything that happened after you took her out of your mother's apartment, every decision after that, it was all you. You chose to bring her here, to Stars Hollow, despite your hatred of the place, because you knew it would be good for her. You accepted my help, the town's help, against every bone in your body that told you to go it alone. You stayed, in spite of your very strong desire to flee," she pointed out. "We are a family because of every decision you made."

"Rory..." Jess started, but Rory placed her index finger against her lips to shush him.

"Do you want this?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. Jess nodded. "Are you scared?" she asked. He nodded again.

"You?" he asked.

She nodded too.

Jess exhaled loudly. "Do you really think I'll -?"

Rory nodded immediately. "You'll be perfect."

TBC...

Author's note: Ok, this was quite a bit fluffier than I expected, next one should have more conflict in it. And if I was filming this, the first shot of Jess and Annie looking at Chilton through the windshield would be an exact copy of the Lorelai and Rory shot. It's fun to dream, no? Thanks for the wonderful reviews you guys have given me, and please, let me know how you like it. Also, for those of you who haven't, I hope you check out We are the subsect. Although I love Annie and Co., that really is my favorite story to be working on, and I always love to hear from all of you. Thanks again for stopping by!