A/N: This chapter is a longer than the other two, but it might not always be this length. I just had fun writing this chapter. I hope you enjoy.
Disclaimer: Only own Cathrine and Sarah
"Jess!" she said, shocked to see him.
"Hi, Rory." He said calmly as he got off the stool and went over to her.
"What are you doing back here?" she asked, surprised to just see him in town.
"Because I'm moving back." He said, looking at her.
"Moving back?"
"Yeah, Sarah needs someone I trust to look after her when I'm not around." He told her.
"Sarah?" Jess looked at her a bit shocked that she didn't know who Sarah was. He then looked at Luke and Lorelai, apparently they hadn't told her.
"My daughter." He said, turning and pointing at the little girl who was sitting at the counter and watching Jess.
"You have a daughter? Where's her mom?" Rory questioned, there was a bit of accusation in her voice and eyes.
"Jess, why don't you and Rory go upstairs and talk? Sarah will be good down here." Luke suggested. He'd been watching the interaction between the two and knew Jess wasn't about ready to talk about his personal life in the middle of the diner, with everyone watching.
"Thanks, Luke. Stay here with Uncle Luke alright, I'm gonna be upstairs." He told Sarah. She nodded that she would.
"That's a good girl." He said, giving her a kiss.
"Ya comin'?" he questioned as he turned and looked at Rory.
"Yeah." They go upstairs. The office is slightly different; it doesn't look much like an apartment anymore, it still had the sink and a couch, it was different though.
"So, are you really back?" Rory asked as Jess sat on one end of the couch and she sat at the other end.
"For the weekend. I'm gonna let Sarah get used to the town a little bit and then we'll be back for good in about a month or so. She needs family when I'm not here, not a babysitter or someone that I barely know." He told her.
"What about her mom?" she asked, going back to her earlier question, only a bit softer this time.
"She's dead." He said simply.
6 years ago
"Mr. Mariano, you're wife is weak. Having Sarah was hard on her body and I'm not sure how long she's got, a year tops. I'm sorry." The doctor said. Jess and him were in the doctor's office. Sarah had been born not even 24 hours earlier.
"Only a year? Can't you do something?" Jess said looking at the doctor, anger in his tone and eyes.
"It's possible she could go beyond a year, but the likely hood of it isn't good. We really can't do anything, other than keep her comfortable and wait." The doctor said, his voice and face calm.
"So nothing. Just sit around and do nothing." Anger even more evident in his voice.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Mariano." Jess got up and walked out of the office, slamming the door as he left. He went to Cathrine's room.
"Hey." He said softly, taking her hand as he sat in the chair that was by the bed.
"Hey, how's Sarah?" she asked. Her voice was tired.
"Good, healthy and strong." He said, looking at her.
"What'd the doctor say?"
"A year, a freakin' year." He said, standing up in anger. He started to pace the room.
"Jess, it's a year I get with my daughter, with my husband. It's worth it. Some people don't even that." She said, looking at him.
"But in a year, I'll be alone. I don't want a year, Cath, I want the rest of our lives." He said angrily.
" I know, but, baby, it's not gonna happen. You know that, unless there's anything the doctors can do…"
"Yeah, they can't do anything." He said bitterly.
"Jess, just come sit down. Even better, take me to see our daughter." She told him. He went over to her and took her hand.
"Alright, let's go see her." He said a small smile on his face.
A year laterLuke and Lorelai were just sitting down for dinner when the phone rang.
"I'll get that." He said with a sigh as he went to get the phone.
"Hello?" nobody answered at first. It annoyed him a little.
"Hello?" again no answer, only breathing.
"Listen, whoever this is…" he was cut off.
"Luke." He knew the voice and the tone.
"When Jess?"
"Ten minutes ago, I think." His voice was choked.
"I'm sorry, Jess. I should've been there." Luke said
"She was too weak, she couldn't hold on." Jess said into the phone, Luke could hear the evident pain in his voice.
"I'm coming up there, Jess." He said, knowing he had to be with his nephew.
"Thanks, Luke."
"It's fine."
"I'll see you soon, alright, Jess." He said into the phone before they hung up.
"She's gone isn't she?" Lorelai said when Luke turned to face her.
"Yeah, 'bout ten minutes ago."
"You going to go up there?" she questioned
"Yeah, I should probably leave now. Sorry 'bout dinner." He told her.
"It's fine, go be with him. He needs you more than I do." She said with understanding.
"Alright." He said as he walked towards the upstairs to pack a few things. As he passed her he gave her a quick kiss on the lips.
In about two hours he was pulling up to his nephew's apartment building. When he went upstairs he pulled out his copy of the key, something Jess had made sure he'd had for some reason.
"Jess." He shouted into the air when he came in.
"In here." He heard Jess's voice shout from the bedroom. When he went in he saw Cathrine lying on the bed, lifeless and he saw Jess in the corner chair, just sitting and staring.
"Jess." He said, walking over to him.
"She'd wanted to see Sarah one last time, but I'd already sent Sarah to be with her grandparents a couple days ago." Jess said, looking at the bed.
"You have to call somebody, Jess." Luke said
"I know, I, I'm just not ready." He let out a strangled chuckle then.
"Ya know, I do all it takes to get Rory and then I lose her, but it's alright and then I found Cathrine, the one girl who truly kept me grounded. Two years, two years Luke, I only got two years and now…" he put his head in his hands and started crying. Luke felt slightly uncomfortable, since he wasn't used to seeing his nephew like this, even when he knew that he wasn't going to have Rory as his own, Jess had been alright. Luke pushed his pride away though and did something he never though he'd do, he wrapped his arms around Jess. Jess didn't push him away, but instead brought his own arms around Luke, and grabbed a hold of his jacket and held tight.
Now"I'm sorry, Jess." Rory told him with sincerity.
"Thanks. It's alright though, Sarah and I have done well." He said with a smile, looking at her.
"So, I hear you've been telling the secrets of the town." He said, changing the topic as he went to the topic of her job.
"Yeah." She said with a chuckle.
To Be Continued...
