A/N- Thanks to everyone who's been reviewing, keep it coming.

From the Beginning

Chapter Nine: Richard in Stars Hollow

'You shouldn't be here.' Rory whispered leaning out of her window and kissing Jess.

'I wanted to see you.' Jess said handing her a cup of coffee, 'Besides I made sure nobody saw me.'

'Good because I don't want to lose you so soon.' Rory smiled catching his eyes. 'So I've got school soon and my grandpa is in town for the day so I don't know if I'll be able to get away after school.' She said a little disappointment seeping into her tone.

'You could always bunk off.' Jess said in a joking tone.

'No I couldn't, besides I think my mom may know what's up if the school called her about me ditching class, she'd go straight to Luke to find out if you were at school.' Rory replied, hearing a knock at their front door. 'That'll be my grandpa.'

'Ok, will you be able to make it to the bridge tonight? Around 10 so everyone's tucked away in their homes?' Jess asked leaning in close and lowering his voice and he gently brushed a strand of hair from her face.

'I think I can manage that.' She nodded closing her eyes as he kissed her. 'I love you.'

'Right back at you.' He smirked before backing away and disappearing. Rory closed the window and caught her breath, her head was spinning and she couldn't stop smiling. She pulled herself together as her mom called from the other room, Rory fixed a blank look on her face and headed out into the hall where Lorelai and Richard were standing.

'Rory! How nice, I'll be seeing you properly after school, how are you?' Richard hugged his granddaughter.

'I'm fine grandpa.' Rory said avoiding looking at her mom.

'That's good.' Richard picked up on the tension between the two of them but didn't press the matter.

'I should get going.' Rory said heading to the door. 'Bye grandpa.'

'Rory don't you want something to eat?' Lorelai asked.

'No.' Rory said slamming the door behind her.

'Rory! Rory! Man you're hard to catch up to.' Lane panted as she stopped alongside Rory, who was walking from the bus stop after school on her way to meet her grandpa.

'Sorry I didn't hear…' Rory trailed off as she saw Jess standing at the counter in the diner, her heart rate picked up and she felt the familiar dizziness return as he caught her eye and gave her a small smile, Lane followed her gaze and rolled her eyes, taking her friends arm and pulling her away from the diner window.

'Man you've got it bad.' Lane sighed but her smile grew. 'You know you're not going to be very good at keeping this secret if you stop in your tracks and lose the ability to speak whenever you see him.'

'I know, sorry I just can't help it I've never felt this way about anyone before, he just makes me smile and I think about him all the time and when I see him I get butterflies you know, I've never had that before.'

'Before you start getting to googly eyed I have something for you.' Lane said pulling out a folded piece of paper from her school bag. 'From Jess.' She added watching the smile that his name brought to her face. Rory took the paper and unfolded it carefully.

So I actually went to school today because I needed to see Lane so I could get this to you, I think you're having a bad effect on my reputation.

Just wanted to let you know I won't be at the bridge till around 11 because Luke's demanding I help him close up and I won't be able to slip out of the diner. If you can't make it then try and leave a message at the bridge so I know, I hope you make it though.

I love you,

Jess.

'Is it mushy?' Lane asked.

'It might be.' Rory smiled turning on her heel and heading back to the diner.

'Whoa where are you going?' Lane asked.

'I just want to see him.' Rory said guiltily. 'I don't even have to go inside I'll just casually walk past ten or twenty times.'

'Oh sure because that won't look suspicious.' Lane laughed pulling her friend away from the diner and leading her towards the inn where she was meeting Richard.

'Do you mind all this? I mean helping us out and passing messages between us?' Rory asked as they neared the inn.

'Not at all, to be honest I find it all very interesting, almost like I'm a part in some great romance.' Lane replied.

'You know you just might be.' Rory smiled shyly.

'If this is how you're talking already then I hate to imagine what you'll be like after a few months.' Lane rolled her eyes. 'You'll be crazy happy.'

'I already am Lane, I'm just so completely in love with him.' Rory replied.

'More than you were with Dean?'

'Uh-huh, with Dean it was puppy love you know, it wasn't really anything deep, with Jess it's so much deeper and all consuming, it's intoxicating but in a really amazingly good way.' Rory said.

'What's intoxicating?' Lorelai asked having only heard one part of the conversation.

'Nothing.' Rory replied coldly.

'Is this really how it's going to be now? I'll talk to you and receive a one word answer if anything.' Lorelai folded her arms over her chest and stared at Rory.

'Well what else do you expect? You've forbidden me to see the guy I'm in love with, I'm hardly feeling like throwing you a party right now.' Rory said sarcastically.

'What's all this about then? I thought you liked Dean.' Richard said coming over to join them as Lane made a hasty exit.

'I do, unfortunately that's not who Rory's in love with this week.' Lorelai said harshly.

'What's that suppose to mean? It's not like I fall in love with someone new every week.' Rory snapped.

'It just seems you move pretty quickly, you break up with Dean and the very same day you're telling me that you're in love with Jess.' Lorelai said shaking her head.

'I broke up with Dean because I was in love with Jess and you know that, I've had feelings for Jess since he got to town and they grew until I loved him, I'm not being fickle and I'm not just suddenly going to stop loving him because you tell me not to.' Rory yelled. 'You're such a hypocrite lecturing me about being fickle in my relationships, it took you what? Thirty seconds to decide you weren't going to marry Max!'

'Rory! You do not speak to your mother that way.' Richard shook his head, feeling truly disappointed in his granddaughters behaviour. 'Quite frankly if this is the influence this new boy is having on you then I'd have to take Lorelai's side.'

'You don't even know him! This is so ridiculous, you all just stand back and judge him without giving him a chance.' Rory turned around to leave, Lane following her quickly.

'Where are you going?' Lorelai called after her.

'Anywhere that isn't here!'

'Rory! You may not like me right now but I am still your mother, which means if I ask you where you're going then you're going to tell me.' Lorelai shouted after her.

'I'm going to meet up with Paris, she's coming into town today to do some crazy research, now may I go?' Rory said not waiting for a response before she headed back out of the inn.

'Well that was interesting.' Richard commented.

'Yeah, lets just hope this is a passing phase of teen rebellion.' Lorelai said going back to work.

'Shall we all just hope it doesn't end the way yours did, or shall we do something about it now?' Richard said thinking carefully.

'What do you mean?'

'I mean, you don't want Rory to end up making the same mistakes that you did.'

'Of course I don't! But I know that she won't.'

'But as her mother you'd want to do everything in your power to protect her, and do you feel this boy is someone she needs protecting from?'

'Yes, I mean he's not evil or anything. I don't think. But I don't like him and I don't trust him, and it scares me how deeply Rory has attached herself to him, she's so young to be talking about this all consuming love, I think she needs to stay away from him.' Lorelai paced up and down.

'Then we should talk…'

_ \ _

'Rory you're not even listening to me, I've been asking you questions and all you've been doing is mumbling incoherent responses.' Paris said angrily, when she still didn't get a response from Rory she turned to Lane, who was sitting the other side of Rory on the gazebo bench. 'What's up with her?'

'Can you keep a secret?' Lane asked.

'Please, who would I tell a secret to?'

'Madeline, Louise.' Rory chipped in now that she was paying attention to them again, because Jess was out of sight.

'I've hardly got the reputation of a gossip girl.' Paris scoffed.

'Point taken you can keep a secret.' Lane laughed.

'What secret am I meant to be keeping?'

'I'm dating Jess.' Rory replied.

'As in leather jacket wearing, trouble maker Jess.' Paris queried. 'What about farmer John?'

'Dean and I broke up, now I'm with Jess.' Rory explained.

'Ok, so why the big secret?'

'Her mom's forbidden her from seeing Jess, and the entire town is on watch.' Lane filled her in.

'I see, and so she keeps zoning out because?'

'Jess keeps coming into view.' Lane replied with a laugh. 'She's like a lovesick puppy.'

'That's nauseating.' Paris replied.

'Hey! Just because I'm in love with someone doesn't mean it's nauseating.' Rory defended.

'No, but that whole staring at him with a dopey look on your face, which by the way is going to get really obvious really quickly.' Paris pointed out.

'That's what I told her.' Lane said, Rory finally took notice and turned her head away from Jess.

'Ok you're right, I'm being obvious.' Rory sunk down into her seat. 'So which one of you want to deliver a message to him?'

'Jeez I wish you'd never told me.' Paris sighed. 'Give me the message.'

'Thank you!' Rory quickly grabbed a pen and wrote on a piece of paper.

Wouldn't miss seeing you for anything, be there at 11, I'll love you even more if you bring me coffee and that Kerouac book you just finished. Can't wait to see you, xx

'Oh my goodness you're sickening.' Paris said but she smiled as she took the note and walked over to the diner.

'What can I get you?' Jess asked as Paris sat at the counter. He eyed her suspiciously, knowing she was a friend of Rory's and wondering if she knew about them.

'Black coffee to go.' She replied handing him the money, hiding the note under the cash. He felt it immediately and looked at her, but her face remained neutral. He quickly unfolded the note and smiled, before tucking it in his shirt pocket. Grabbing a napkin he scribbled a response.

I'll swap the Kerouac for that Tolstoy biography you got. I love you, see you tonight. -J

'One black coffee.' He handed Paris the cup and dropped the napkin onto the counter, which she immediately took and wrapped around the cup, acting as though she needed to protect her hands from the heat. Rory eagerly jumped up to greet Paris, but her friend wasn't willing to give her the message until they were out of sight of the diner. They walked towards Rory's house and only once they were in her room, did Paris hand her the napkin, Rory grabbed it eagerly and smiled as she read the message. Quickly locating the book she took it down and wrote a simple message inside.

I Love You.

_!_

The house was dark when Rory returned from walking Paris back to her car, it was almost 10 o'clock, only an hour until she could see Jess again, her heart leapt at the thought, as she pushed the door open, she noticed her mother sat on the couch, holding a cup of coffee in her hands. There were no lights on in the room, but the moonlight reflecting through the windows made it possible to see Lorelai.

'Did Paris get off ok?' Lorelai asked, though you could easily tell that Paris wasn't what she wanted to talk about.

'Yeah.'

'Rory…?' Lorelai looked up at her daughter who stood in the entrance to the lounge. 'Come and sit down.'

Rory reluctantly walked forward and took a seat next to her mother, pulling a cushion onto her lap.

'We've always been able to talk, me and you, I don't want to loose that now but you have to understand where I'm coming from, I'm your mother and I'm worried about you, about the effect he has on you.'

'But can't you just trust me, trust my judgement?' Rory asked quietly. 'He's a good person.'

'I'm trying to keep you safe, I don't want you making any mistakes.' Lorelai reasoned.

'Jess isn't a mistake.'

'Look at how you've been acting since you fell in love with him, you've been all over the place, you've been fighting with me and isolating yourself from nearly everyone in town.'

'Because you're all against him! You won't give him a chance.'

'You're smart Rory, so smart. I don't want to see you fall into some trap because of a guy. I don't want you to see him.'

'Oh right! You think I'm so smart but of course Jess is controlling my thinking, it can't be my own ideas, or reactions to what's happening, Jess is forcing me to act this way.' Rory threw her arms in the air. 'He hasn't once told me to fight with anyone.'

'He doesn't need to, look at you he's only been in town for a short time and already he's managed to get you to fall in love with him, break up with your boyfriend, fight with me! I'm worried about how much he's changed already, I can see it in you, you're so attached to him that it's worrying, you're only seventeen!'

'What does my age have to do with any of this? How come I was perfectly old enough to be in love with Dean but when it's Jess, suddenly I'm a baby.'

'Because I'm scared of how deeply you feel for him. Listen Rory, I've watched you since he came to town, I saw it happen but I didn't realise until now how deep it ran, I saw it start with you being intrigued by him, then you developed a crush on him and I should have stopped it there, but I think it was too late, I saw you battle your emotions until the point we've reached…'

'What point?'

'The point where you seem to think you can't breath without him.'

'Do you think I'm lying about how I feel? I really do love him, even if that's impossible for you to believe.'

'That's just it, it's not at all impossible to believe and every time you see him it just gets deeper, you're too young to focus so wholly on him, it may seem romantic and exciting, and maybe it's because you both read too much, but I'm telling you nothing good is going to come from this relationship, he's going to hurt you and I won't let that happen.'

'He won't hurt me…'

'Which is why I need to get you away from Jess for a while, I've spoken to Luke and your grandparents.'

'What are you talking about?' Rory stood up and backed away from the couch.

'I need you to get over him and I think distance will do that.'

'No!'

'So you're going to live with your grandparents for a while, we were going to send Jess back to New York but his mothers gone missing…so this is our only option.' Lorelai spoke matter-of-factly keeping her tone level even though it was tearing her apart.

'No! Stop it, this isn't something you do! This isn't how you deal with things, this is how grandma would handle something.'

'Well I'm at the end of my tether! I know if you stay here that he's going to break your heart, he's going to hurt you.'

'He's not the one hurting me! You are!' Rory screamed running to her room and slamming the door shut, pulling a bookcase in front of it she sank to the floor and cried. It reached 10.55 and she picked up the book she was giving to Jess and climbed through the window. He was already there when she arrived, pacing back and forth. He rushed towards her and took the crying girl in his arms.

'I wasn't sure you'd be able to get away.' Jess held her tightly, trying to soothe her as tears wracked her tiny frame.

'Did Luke tell you? They're sending me away.' Rory held onto him tightly.

'I'm so sorry…I've messed everything up…I never should have…I'm so sorry…'

'Stop it, none of this is your fault.' She pulled back from him and looked into his eyes. 'I love you, that's what matters.

\+/

'Where's Jess?' Lorelai demanded banging on Luke's door.

'He was in bed.' Luke looked over to the bed which was now empty. 'He must have snuck out.'

'Rory climbed out of her window.' Lorelai shook her head. 'Are we doing the right thing here?'

'I think we're doing the only thing we can.' Luke replied tiredly.

'Shall we go find them?' Lorelai asked.

'Yeah.'

It didn't take them long to find the young couple clinging to one another down at the bridge, Rory was in tears and Jess looked shockingly close to breaking down himself. It broke Lorelai's heart to inflict this pain on her daughter, her best friend, but she knew that it was the only option.

'Rory it's time to go…I've packed your things, we were going to leave tomorrow but now…it's better we go now.' Lorelai tried to keep her voice calm.

'No please don't do this, don't make me go.' Rory sobbed harder looking up at Jess, he bent his head and kissed her softly.

'It's going to be ok.' He reassured her as Luke started pulling him away from her.

'Jess let her go.' Luke said quietly but firmly as Lorelai started to gently pull Rory.

'No please!' Rory clung to him crying harder.

'Rory now!' Lorelai shouted, she hated playing this harsh mother, but she was only trying to protect her daughter and sometimes that meant having to do things like this.

'I love you.' Jess repeated over and over, kissing her again as they were finally pulled apart, her hand dropped from his and she started pulling against her mothers strong grip.

'I love you!' Rory called through her tears as Jess was pulled out of sight, and she was taken back home, being stared at by all the towns people who'd come out after hearing the commotion. Lane ran up to her side.

'What's going on?' Lane asked seeing the tears streaming down her best friends face.

'Not now Lane, I have to take Rory to Hartford.' Lorelai said getting a sobbing Rory inside the car.

'Now? It's midnight!' Lane exclaimed.

'She's going to live there for a while.' Lorelai said tiredly, she could see Lane back away from her. She could understand that, Rory was her best friend and she would always stick up for her.

'I never thought I'd see the day when you, you of all people did that, after what your parents put you through!'

'I'm doing this to protect her.'

'You keep telling yourself that.' Lane shook her head. 'Rory I'll call you tomorrow, we can talk.'

Rory didn't answer, she felt numb. Jess was being torn away from her and it felt like her heart was breaking, the only thing that kept it beating was knowing he loved her.

A/N- ok so I know this is dramatic, and a lot of characters are OOC but for this fanfic I plan on doing a lot of OOC stuff, just to keep it interesting. Let me know what you think, I love to get your responses.