A/N: I'm not entirely sure how long this fic will go, it definitely won't be as long as my other ones but I'm so glad people like this and that I get to continue this idea a little further.

I've had this document unfinished for weeks. I really wanted to get it done and published but something always stopped me. I'm sorry for taking so long, usually I write faster than this and it's been killing me to have an unfinished document saved especially one that I really want to show my readers.

There was a clear plan set in Rory's mind. First, she was returning Lane's now cleaned backpack. At some point during the party, it became unusable but Rory knew her best friend would want her stuff back and she'd want it clean. Mrs. Kim reluctantly let her set it inside but still insisted Lane couldn't have visitors.

Rory left soon after and she had this horrible guilt for Lane. She couldn't believe all the disasters that party had caused. Even Lane, usually so together and well planned out Lane, got drunk and called her mom, spilling everything. Was there hope for anyone if Lane just spilled her biggest secret to whom it'd do the most damage?

The next part of the plan was Jess. She'd told her mom she would talk to him again tomorrow. Now tomorrow was today and out of Kim's antiques, she headed for the diner.

It was a breezy day and Rory wrapped her arms and jacket around herself. To her surprise, she was not the only one on this particular sidewalk and she was soon face to face with her ex boyfriend, Dean.

"Hi," he said calmly, as if nothing had changed over the past two days.

Rory glared at him. "I have somewhere to be."

"Rory, wait," Dean said as he reached out for her arm when she tried to brush past him.

"What, Dean?" She almost shouted and shook his hand off her.

"Are you mad at me?" He asked.

She scoffed. "That's an understatement."

"Is this about the party?" He asked which gained another scoff reply. "I'm sorry if that helps. I didn't mean for you to see that and -"

"Didn't mean for me to see it?" She questioned. "You hit him right in front of me, Dean! Repeatably, throughout the house."

"I did it for you," he simply said. "The jerk made you upset enough to cry and then his comment -"

Rory nodded, a serious look on her face. "So you decided I needed protection? That the only answer was to punch my boyfriend while his back was turned?"

"Rory," Dean shook his head. He couldn't deny that was what happened.

"No, Dean," she said. "You can't talk your way out of this. I know you don't like Jess, you probably even hate him - but he is my boyfriend. I care about him and that was none of your business."

"He made you cry," he pointed out.

"I'm well aware," she agreed. "Dean, how could you? Don't you know how that could make me feel? Especially - especially to watch that? Dean."

"I'm sorry," was all he could say.

"I'm not the one you need to apologise to," she said softly.

Dean looked at Rory and then to where her eyes roamed - to the diner. "No."

"Do know what crossed my mind during the fight?" She asked and he shook his head. "Of course I worried about you, you could have gotten hurt too. But I couldn't stop thinking what if Jess gave up? What if he let you keep hitting him?"

"I wouldn't -"

She cut him off. "You could. He walked away and he hit him."

"You were crying!" Dean defended. "You walked out a bedroom at a party, crying and he was behind you. What was I supposed to do?"

"Nothing," she answered easily.

"What?" He was stunned.

"You were supposed to do nothing," Rory explained. "Whatever did or didn't happen in that room was me and Jess' business, not yours. Starting that fight could have made things ten times worse. You can't apologize your way out of this, Dean."

"Come on," he said. "You can't mean that."

"I can and I do," she told him. Her face relaxed and softened at the same time. "I consider you someone important to me, Dean. But if you are still having a hard time accepting that Jess is my boyfriend or in my life, then maybe we shouldn't be friends anymore."

"You don't mean that," he replied.

"And I didn't think Jess could be right when I accused him of getting into a fight with you and he said what if you sucker punched him?" She shot back. "Things change."

She began to walk away and went past Dean. He shook his head and turned, his eyes followed her. "Rory."

She didn't reply but instead she kept on her walk. Dean watched until she was too far away before he shoved his hands in his pockets and walked away himself.

….

Most of the day had passed before Jess returned to the diner. He saw Rory talking to Dean earlier and by the looks of it, she looked angry. That whole party had been a disaster for him and Dean had added to it. To know Rory was still on his side was a good feeling.

Luke came into the apartment soon after and asked him to run an errand. He seemed off and weird but Jess agreed because he wanted to prove to Luke that he was right about him. The errand was a few towns over and apparently consisted of getting deliveries that hadn't come on time.

Jess was confused by it but he just went along with it. Luke explained to him that it was stuff he needed for the diner and he needed it soon. After a few hours away, Luke called and asked him to stop by an appliance store because he needed a new blender. It got even more confusing in Jess' mind and by the time he exited the appliance store, he had a feeling his uncle was trying to keep him out of Stars Hollow.

The first thought that went across his mind was Rory. Maybe he wanted to keep Jess away from his girlfriend despite that they had talked through most of what they needed to. They were supposed to meet up today too and before Jess had left, he told Luke so. Luke promised to tell Rory and sent his nephew on his way.

He just couldn't figure out why he'd try to keep him and Rory apart. Luke had always been their biggest supporter. The idea puzzled him all the way home, supplies in the back as his uncle wished. Jess walked into the diner almost excited and headed upstairs. He planned on going to see Rory as soon as he could but was stopped by the sight before him.

Luke stood beside a man who vaguely resembled Jess. He blinked twice and walked forward. "Luke?"

The mysterious man stepped forward. "Hi, Jess."

"Hi, man I've never met before," he stated. "Who is this?"

Like didn't answer but instead the man did. "I'm your father."

Now Jess turned to look at him. "My father is a deadbeat bum who left my mom the day I was born."

"Then I guess, what I mean to say is 'Hi, I'm the deadbeat bum who left the day you were born'," he said. "But most people call me Jimmy."

"I was against this," Luke finally spoke. "He came last night and I told him to leave. But today he came back and I hoped he'd get the picture that he wasn't welcome but I guess not."

The man who claimed to be Jess' father smirked. He recognized it as his own. "I told him I wanted to see my son and that he wasn't going to stop me."

"And then what?" Jess asked. "After you see me, then what?"

"I guess that was up to you," he replied. "What would you want?"

"I don't know," he answered honestly.

"You don't have to decide now," Jimmy explained. "I'm gonna be in town for a few days. You have time."

He handed Jess something, a piece of paper with where he was staying on it then left. Jess didn't even look at the paper before he stuffed it into his pocket. Thoughts crossed through his mind, none coherent enough to focus on.

Luke watched him, conflicted. "I told him to leave at first. I didn't think you'd want to see him. But then he came back and I thought maybe you should decide for yourself."

"I don't even know what I'd decide, to be honest," Jess shook his head.

Luke nodded understandably. "That's fine. Take your time."

"Thanks," Jess sighed and walked over to his bed. He turned back, a question on his mind. "You told Rory where I was today? She wanted to talk and I don't want her thinking I bailed just to get out of it."

"I told her," Luke answered.

Jess just nodded this time. Luke told him he had to get back to work downstairs and that if Jess needed it, he didn't need to work tonight. It was up to him. Without thinking, he grabbed the phone and dialed his mother's number. Of course, Liz didn't answer but they didn't stop him from leaving a message.

"Hi, mom," he put an emphasis on the second word. "How are you? I'm great, just dandy. You know who showed up today in this Mary Poppins town? My father. You remember him? He left when I was a baby, left me to be raised by you and pot and whatever boyfriend of the week you had."

He took a deep breath then continued. "The thing I can't figure out is how did he find me? When he left, you were in New York. You'd think he went to New York right? But why come here? I think he found you and you told him. Did you tell him? It's the part that's killing me the most."

"I keep thinking you wouldn't do that but I thought you wouldn't do a lot of things," he went on. "I thought you wouldn't marry that douchebag with the violent temper, steal pot with another, leave me alone for days in the apartment when I was ten years old. So I'm asking and I really hope you call back with an answer."

He hung up abruptly and slammed the phone down as hard as he could without breaking it. His mind clouded with too many thoughts and he needed all night to process them.

…..

Rory leaned back on her pillows with a sigh. She hated to think she was miserable because her boyfriend didn't call - again, especially - but she was. It wasn't just the not talking, though. It was something else.

It had been three days since their talk on the bridge. She had so much more she wanted to talk to him about, especially what had happened at the party. Rory wanted him to know that him not graduating didn't change how she felt about him but it seemed like he was never around. If he was, he was working which wasn't an ideal time to talk either.

Luke had explained to her that something new happened, that she should wait for Jess to talk about it. That plagued her more than anything else. What else had happened? Why hadn't he talked to her about it? Rory knew if she pushed, more damage might happen than good but she needed to know. What if this new thing was the thing to break them for good?

Instead of wondering and waiting, she headed out. Her mom was at work and Lane had her own problems going on but at least she wasn't banned from the outside world anymore. She even briefly told her that Mrs Kim might let her go to prom with Dave.

It was still early in the day, Chilton being let out early. It was times like this that she wished she went to Stars Hollow High though. It'd be a lot more helpful if she had been around. Her feet took her to the diner where through the window, she saw Jess.

A small smile appeared on her face as she watched her boyfriend. She'll take whatever time she can get with him right now.

The door chimed above her when she made her way inside. The diner wasn't too crowded and Luke gave her a small smile of his own. Rory waved at him as she found her way to an empty table. Behind the counter, Luke motioned for Jess to take her order. He must have known Jess hadn't talked to Rory in days.

Finally, he made his way to her, coffee pot and mug in hand. Jess poured her a cup and after a glance around, he sat down. "I'm sorry I haven't been around."

Rory shook it off. "Luke said you were dealing with some stuff."

"That's definitely true," he agreed. "I wanted to tell you. I think I needed to process it for myself first."

"What is it?" She asked curiously. "If that's okay?"

"It's okay," he said but didn't expand. "I have a break coming up soon. I wanna tell you, just not here."

"Okay," she replied.

Jess gave her a small smile - he looked just like Luke had seconds earlier. "Okay."

Jess got up from the table and grabbed back the pit of coffee. He saw Rory pout and almost laughed. It was adorable. She watched as he walked away and hoped this break was immediately so she wouldn't have to wait much longer.