Epilogue

The door bell rang. "He's here!" Ethan and Jacob chorused together. Running to their sister's room and bursting in.

"Knock you guys!" Lora yelled at them throwing a pot of lip gloss in their direction.

Rory turned around from the bed where half the contents of Lora's wardrobe was now strewn. "Boys. What have we said?" she said her hands on her hips.

"Sorry Mom!" they said jumping up and down.

"Up or down?" Lora turned to her mother her hands gesturing to her hair.

"Down." Rory said running a brush through her daughter's luscious, dark curls.

Her similarly curly, dark headed husband appeared in the doorway standing beside their identically curly haired sons. "Nope!" Jess said. "I'm sorry, this is not OK! Where the heck is my four year old daughter?"

Lora stood up and smoothed the skirt if her knee length, full skirted dress. "What do you think Dad?" she asked in all seriousness.

Jess grinned, "You look beautiful, angel."

Rory smiled. Jess showered endearments on their children. Lora was his angel, his sweetheart, his baby. The twins, Ethan and Jacob were 'troublemakers' and 'hooligans'. But he never called her anything but Rory. But from his lips it sounded like the sweetest of endearments.

Lora took the leather jacket her mother had picked out for her and bent to tie the laces of her shoes. Lora had developed her own unique style in her dress sense as in everything else. She had paired the formal red cocktail dress with her black Converse trainers and biker jacket.

The whole Mariano clan trooped downstairs and Jess insisted on being the one to open the door. A young teenager was shuffling on the front step. "Mr Mariano." He said sticking out his hand. Jess took it. And Rory nudged Lora grinning approvingly.

Lora hurried over to her date who stared at her. "Wow." He said simply.

Lora blushed, pleased. "Home by midnight." Jess said sternly.

Lora and her date nodded already half way out of the door. "Nice to meet you Mr and Mrs Mariano!" they boy called over his shoulder as the young couple headed towards his car.

"Our baby's first dance." Rory said. "I'm gonna cry!"

"Don't you start!" Jess warned still watching the tail lights drive down the road. "I am so not okay with this." He said shaking his head. "This is just so wrong. Lora's still a little girl!"

Rory came over and hugged him. Ethan and Jacob made identical ew faces in true eleven year old style and trooped upstairs. "Hate to break it to you, Jess, but she's sixteen! About the same age I was when I met you."

"I was a nightmare! It was a wonder your mom didn't just lock you in a tower somewhere!"

"At least he didn't show up on a motorbike." Rory offered as her hand moved to fiddle with one of her pearl earings, the set that Jess had bought for her when she had given birth to the twins.

"How are you handling this so well?" Jess demanded.

"Handling? I'm a nervous wreck!" Rory laughed.

Jess laughed and kissed her full on the mouth. Rory sighed and reached up with pliant arms to twist her fingers in his thick hair.

"EWWWW!" Ethan and Jacob chorused. "Get a room!"

Rory broke away twisting around. "Where did you learn that!" she cried out. "Oh I'm gonna kill Mom!"

A/N

Hey! First of all I would like to apologise for taking so long to finish this story! My other stories and that annoying thing called real life got in the way. But here it is. All done. So thanks for all of you who've read this story, those of you who's reviewed it and shared your thoughts with me and those of you who have added it to your alerts because it really means the world when you know people want the next instalment of something that you've crafted. And finally thanks to Amy Sherman for creating the fabulous characters to play with and especially the delicious Jess!

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