The trio walked quietly back to Jess' apartment. About half way back, Beth let out a yawn. Without thinking twice, Jess picked her up and soon she was asleep on his shoulder.
"I'll lay her on the bed," Jess whispered when they got upstairs.
Rory nods.
Jess come out of his room and closes the door. Walking over to where Rory was on the couch, he says, "We need to talk."
"I know," Rory replies. "I'm ready to tell her."
"What?"
"Beth, I'm ready to tell Beth that we are dating."
"Rory, I can't do this," Jess starts.
"What?" Rory says cutting him off. "What do you mean you can't do this? What happens to 'I'm staying'?"
"Let me finish." Jess says staying calm. "I can't do this without him knowing. He needs to know."
"He needs to know? About what? Us? Why?"
"He is her father."
"Yeah, he is. But why does that matter now? I mean she's four and he's never bothered to meet her."
"He needs to know what he's missing out on."
"Why are you bringing this up now?"
He doesn't answer.
"Jess?"
"When we were at dinner, I watched you two across the table. And I realized that no matter how much she is like you, she has a little of him in her too. As much as I hated the guy when we meet, I only want what's best for Beth. I think for her benefit, he needs to know what's going on and be given a second chance to decide what part he wants to play."
"It won't be good for her if he comes into her life and then leaves as quickly as he comes."
"So tell him. Lay it all out. Let him decide."
"I'll send him an email, but that's it."
Later that night, Rory is in bed. She's written only two words in the last hour.
Dear Logan,
Obviously not getting anywhere tonight, she shuts her computer off and turns over.
After tossing and turning for several hours, Rory gets up and begins typing.
