Chapter 3

Rory walked home slowly with her arms guarding her stomach, feeling coldness wash through her body and she stopped in front of her house. It wasn't supposed to be like this. She wasn't supposed to see him for a very long time maybe the rest of her life even and here he was lying in her bed, beaten up by her boyfriend. Rory opened the door to her house and saw her mom watching a movie on the TV.

"Hey sweets," Lorelei greeted looking at Rory.

"Hey," Rory greeted gloomily.

"What's wrong?" Lorelei asked getting up from the couch.

"Nothing," Rory replied shaking her head and smiled a weak smile to show she was ok, "How is Jess?"

"Oh he's asleep," Lorelei said taking Rory to her room, "He was knocked out when I got there with a notepad on his stomach," Lorelei said.

"Where did he get the notepad?" Rory asked walking in her room and putting the notepad on the nightstand.

"I think he had it in his back pocket," Lorelei whispered while Rory put a blanket over jess.

"Nope he has got a book in his pocket," Rory said seeing pages sticking out from under Jess.

"Oh well, come on its been a long night," Lorelei shrugged, "You can sleep with mommy."

"What about Luke?" Rory asked following her mom out of the room.

"He can sleep on the couch," Lorelei laughed and climbed the stairs with Rory behind her.

Jess woke up that morning with a side splitting headache and his sides hurting. Along with his legs eye and back.

"Oh Jacka…." Jess was about to curse at Logan when Rory walked in with coffee.

"Morning," Rory greeted and handed Jess the cup and two pills.

"What are these?"

"Pain reliever, your gonna need it," Rory replied and walked out.

"Morning to you to," Jess greeted and took the tablets.

5 minutes later, jess was stumbling out of Rory's room trying to get his shoes on, which Lorelei had taken off when she got home, and was stuffing a notepad in his right back pocket.

"Hey where's the fire Smokey?" Lorelei asked who was sitting with Rory and Luke in the kitchen.

"I gotta get home," Jess grunted finally getting the jacket on him.

"What you can't leave your hurt," Rory protested.

"Nothing a little sleep can't cure," Jess replied sarcastically and limped toward the door.

"Look Jess you're limping, just stay a few hours," Luke suggested.

"No!" Jess snapped and everyone became silent, "Look thank you, but you got enough to deal with, with Blondie boy and everything," Jess said calmly.

"Jess it's okay he's going back to Yale," Rory said.

"No Rory it's not," Jess responded and continued to limp out of the house.

"Why does he do this?" Rory asked slumping in a chair.

"its jess hun," Lorelei said and put her hand on her daughters.

"Well I'm sick of it," Rory said and ran after Jess who was just getting off the gravel.

"JESS!" Rory yelled and spun him around making him cringe in pain.

"What?" Jess asked putting his hand on his leg.

"What do you think you're doing?! Your just gonna leave again?" Rory yelled.

"Look it's complicated now Rory," Jess said at normal level.

"Like what? It's not, okay?" Rory asked.

"Rory we will be cousins soon!" Jess yelled.

"By marriage," Rory countered.

"You have a boyfriend," Jess said.

"Not permanently," Rory replied.

"Rory come on!" Jess said starting to walk away.

"Those aren't the reasons," Rory said cutting him off, "What's the reason?" Rory asked.

"Rory, we are going to be related and your taken!!" Jess yelled.
"I KNOW!" Rory yelled.

"Then why does there have to be an explanation?" Jess asked and put his hands in his pockets.

"Because when I am with you, I don't know, I feel different, and when you leave I feel bad, I don't know if that's love or if it is just all these what ifs that could have happened between us, I do know that when you kissed me last night I never wanted it to end," Rory cried.

"Ror, you're the girl I want, but its just to complicated, Luke and Lorelei deserve to be together, we missed our chance," Jess shrugged.

"You better go, it's a long drive to Philadelphia," Rory whispered.

"Yeah, I better go," Jess nodded and limped away. Rory watched him until he disappeared then sobbed. She wanted to be with him. Her heart knew it, but her mind knew that it couldn't be, they were going to be cousins. She just had to let him go. Logan was a good guy. Jess was her cousin.

"Damn blood," Rory cursed and walked back to her house.

Jess got in his car and laid his head down on the steering wheel. He didn't want to leave Rory, he finally had her but she was out of his reach. Jess sighed and got out of the car slowly.

"Well hey there," An all to familiar voice laughed and Jess turned around to see Dean Forester walk up to him.
"Well Bagboy it has been a while," Jess replied sarcastically.
"Not long enough," Dean replied and Jess laughed.

"Well I see your wearing your wedding ring, does that mean your wife took you back?" Jess asked and Dean glared at him.

"You know nothing about it," Dean warned.

"Well I know that you cheated on your wife and let Rory lose her virginity to a sleez ball," Jess smirked.

"Honey come on, go say bye to your boyfriend," Lorelei yelled down to Rory's room.

Rory stuck her head out of her door with a glare before following her mother out of the house.
"Come on honey, it will be okay," Lorelei smiled and hugged her daughter as they turned on the street the diner was on, Jess and Dean coming into view.

"Dean is back?" Rory asked and watched as Dean's fist collided with Jess' face.

"DEAN!" Rory yelled and ran toward jess.

"You keep the hell out of my business," Dean warned.

"What, cant take the fact that your wife is spineless?" Jess asked wiping new blood from his eye and just barely dodged Dean throwing himself on him as Luke held him back.

"Come on Jess," Rory said and helped Jess get up.
"Touchy subject," Jess laughed and let Rory lead him into Luke's apartment where Logan was sitting up.

"Hey, blonde dick at Yale, how are you?" Jess asked and received a glared from Rory and Logan.

"Ooo a double glare I love it," Jess said and laid on his bed that Luke kept for him.

"How is it that you are here not even a day and you have gotten into 2 fights?" Rory asked while she got a rag for his eye.

"It is my natural charm," Jess laughed and Rory put the rag on him before turning her attention to Logan.

"Are you feeling better?" Rory asked and Logan nodded.

"Yeah, I'm bruised but its all fixable," Logan winced and put on his jacket.

"Well I will see you Monday," Rory said and kissed Logan goodbye.

"Bye ace," Logan said and walked out of the room slowly, in too much pain to go at a normal pace.

"I massacred him," Jess laughed but shut up when he saw Rory's face.

"Oh don't you just love Stars hallow?" Lorelei asked entering the diner with Luke after Luke made sure that dean was calm.

"Yeah especially when my nephew fights with the two boys Rory dated," Luke said sarcastically.

"But that is what makes it great, it's a love square," Lorelei replied and Luke handed her a cup of coffee to shut her up.

"I should rant more often," Lorelei smiled and drank her coffee happily.

GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG

"What?" Jess asked innocently.

"Why are you picking fights?" Rory demanded.

"I'm bored," Jess shrugged.
"That's not a reason," Rory replied.

"What do you want me to do, I hate this town, I have hated it since I came here, I only brought you here to just…. recapture some moments we had," Jess answered.

"You need to stay here then go back home when you recover," Rory sighed.

"I cant, I have work," jess shook his head.
"Jess do this for me," Rory pleaded.

Jess sighed then laid back in bed. "You know Logan is worse off then I am and he gets to leave," Jess pointed out.

"Logan doesn't belong in my town," Rory whispered and walked away.

"I do?" Jess asked.

"Maybe," Rory smiled and left the apartment