A/N: I know, I know, I shocked you all with the pregnancy twist. False negatives, people, they happen! I hope I don't lose any (many?) readers now I've got with this particular plot. One thing I will promise, they are going back to Stars Hollow soon. Not in this chapter, but they will! :) Thanks for all the wonderful reviewage - I really appreciate it!

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 9

Jess was so ridiculously attentive when it came to getting Rory back to the apartment. She was six weeks pregnant, that was practically nothing, and yet he pretty much offered to carry her home when they left the hospital. Rory was overwhelmed by how protective he was being. It wasn't as if she expected him not to care. It was clear to her that he loved her, as she loved him too, but this was kind of above and beyond.

The other surprise was his confidence in the way they were going to make this work. Jess seemed thrilled to know she was pregnant with his child, and that part at least Rory could understand. It would be a real nightmare to know she was carrying a baby that might be half Dean Forester. They knew for sure that this child was strictly Gilmore/Mariano, which was great, but at the same time, Rory couldn't imagine how they were ever going to cope.

"People get through stuff like this," he had told her on the bus on the way home. "They figure things out and they end up really happy."

Rory wanted to believe that. She wanted to be happy, she truly did, and a part of her kind of was. It was pretty incredible to think that the love between her and Jess had created a life, that they would always be tied together by another person who would exist in the world in less than nine months now. At the same time, Rory couldn't help the panic that raged inside her yet. There was so much to think about, like money, and living arrangements, and... and her Mom.

Lorelai had coped with being a parent even younger than Rory was now, and alone too. At least Rory and Jess had each other in this, and they were a little older. Twenty still didn't feel very grown up to Rory sometimes, but she didn't doubt they could make it work, it was just going to be tough for a while. As truly childish as it sounded, and she knew it, all Rory really wanted right now was her Mom. There was nobody better to understand what she was feeling, the weird mixture of panic and joy. At the same time, Rory knew she could never call Lorelai and give her this news, not now, not like this. She would never approve of what had happened, not even the getting back together with Jess, nevermind ending up with an unplanned pregnancy to deal with.

"You're thinking too hard again, I can tell," Jess whispered in her ear as they walked up the stairs to their apartment, his arm round her shoulder and her arm around his waist as she leant into him.

"I can't help it," she sighed heavily. "Jess, this is a big deal. Maybe the biggest deal there will ever be in our lives. It requires a lot of thought."

"Agreed," he nodded once, "but some of that thinking needs to be shared. We have to talk about this stuff Rory. I know, I spent too much time keeping things to myself before. That's part of what split us up the first time around," he said knowingly. "We can't let that happen again, not now."

She opened her mouth to reply but swiftly changed her mind. He was right, and it just reminded her of the fight they'd been having earlier, before she passed out again and the hospital was their next destination. There was so much to think about, but keeping it all bottled up inside was what drove them apart the first time.. and the second time... all the times, since she was being really honest with herself. Jess didn't like to share, and though she was better at it than him, she still got awkward and weird about things sometimes, thinking it was better to soldier on regardless without being true to herself never mind those around her. They couldn't afford to let themselves be that way now, they just couldn't.

"You have to be as scared as I am right now," she said seriously, sitting down on the end of the bed the moment they got inside. "I know it's not cool for guys to admit it, but you have to be."

"Rory, I told you years ago, I could care less about being cool," he rolled his eyes. "Of course this is scary, it's supposed to be. Honestly, I'd be more worried about us if we were calm," he admitted, moving to sit beside her and picking up her hand in his own. "Right now, I'm concentrating on what I know for sure. I know I love you, and this kid we're having. I know that I'm not going to turn out like Jimmy or Liz, I will not let that happen."

Rory wanted to cry but at least this time it was pure happiness bringing on the tears. She could never tire of hearing that Jess loved her. She felt equally as much for him and hoped he believed in that. He must do, she supposed, or he wouldn't have let her stay like this and still be by her side now. She loved his confidence in them and in their relationship, rocky as it had often been up to now. Sure, in the beginning, she couldn't always tell what he was thinking or know for sure how he would react to things, but there was never a time when she didn't trust him in some odd way that was inexplicable even to her.

"You're not like your parents, Jess, I know that," she promised him tearfully, her free hand going to his cheek. "Honestly? Right now I hope I am like mine, well, like my Mom anyway," she said, trying to be brave, but it wasn't easy.

Her life was never supposed to be this way, and as happy as Rory was to be with Jess, to be in love and all, it was as scary as she said to think about how much everything had changed lately. All those plans she had as a child, her education, Harvard, a good career in journalism, the next Christianne Amapour. A happy family life of her own, that was supposed to be later, someday, maybe. Everything had gone awry. She switched her focus to Yale, lost her boyfriend, screwed up her life, ran from the town and the mother she loved into the arms of the only man she could imagine loving like this. It wasn't perfect, but it was a strange kind of right and good, even if Rory wasn't sure how they went forward from this moment.

"We can do this, Rory," Jess promised her, pulling her into his arms and holding her close.

He wished he felt as truly confident as he sounded. They could do it, he was sure of that, but how well was a whole other story. Jess was so very determined not to become either of his parents, but it was there in him, coded into his DNA, the ability to be the world's crappiest father. He would fight against any instinct he had to bail or flip out, because that was what he had to do. He promised he would be here for Rory, and honestly, this was the only place he ever wanted to be, but it wouldn't come easy. Jess already knew it was only going to get tougher from here, but they'd cope, they didn't really have a choice.

"Hey, Mom. It's me, it's Rory. I, er, I just wanted to check in, kind of. Um, I don't want you to worry about me, because... well, because you don't need to. I'm safe, I'm... I'm good, I just, I can't come home right now. I'm sorry. I love you."

Lorelai bit her lip as she hit the button on the answering machine and let the message play over again.

"Hey, Mom. It's me, it's Rory. I, er, I just wanted to check in, kind of. Um, I don't..."

A hand came down and hit the button, silencing her daughter's rambling. Lorelai glanced up into the face of her boyfriend. She didn't even know he was there, she hadn't heard him come in. Sure, he knew where the spare key was, and that the back door was almost always unlocked, especially when she was home, but she ought to have actually noticed he was there.

"This is not healthy, Lorelai," said Luke, taking the machine from her lap.

She didn't really try to stop him. She knew it was stupid. Playing that message over and over again. Lorelai couldn't help it. Somehow being sat here, lotus style on her lumpy couch, listening to her baby girl's voice, it was oddly comforting, in equal measure to how excruciatingly painful it was. Between the trip to the Europe and the running away, it had been more than two months now. In truth, eight weeks, three days, fourteen hours, and twelve minutes.

"How many times have you listened to that message over the last couple of days?" asked Luke as he put the machine back on the side table. "Fifty maybe?"

"You're so bad at counting," she said still staring blankly ahead for a moment before she bothered to focus her eyes on Luke. "Twenty two... and a half," she admitted, making a vague gesture towards the machine he had taken away from her mid-listen.

Luke sighed and came to sit beside her. He felt so useless in this whole situation.

"Lorelai, please..." he tried to pull her closer but she shied away.

"Please what?" she asked snippily. "Please stop playing the message? Please stop caring that my daughter is gone?"

"I never said you should stop caring. I never would say that!" he insisted, a little put-out by her apparent outrage. "Come on, you know that on the list of people who care about Rory most in the world there is you, and then, a very close second, there's me," he told her firmly.

Lorelai knew that was true and nodded her agreement. It didn't really help, it should, but it didn't. Luke had been so great this Summer, being there for her like nobody else would. She didn't deserve him. They decided to officially start dating, and mostly all she'd done was cry on his shoulder and stare into space whenever they spent any time together. It was the not knowing that was killing Lorelai, not knowing where exactly Rory was or what she was doing.

"At least we have proof Rory's okay," Luke considered, his arm around Lorelai's back encouraging her head onto his shoulder. "I would lay good money on her being back before school starts up again," he continued, as Lorelai shifted position and curled up next to him. "She made a mistake, she feels dumb, and she knows you're not happy with her right now. I mean, that's just kids, right?"

"Other kids," Lorelai mumbled. "Not Rory. Not our Rory."

"I know," Luke smiled in spite of himself at the use of the word 'our', kissing the top of Lorelai's head. "I know, but you raised her to have a good head on her shoulders, Lorelai. She made one mistake and things got blown out of proportion, but she will be okay. Rory can take care of herself," he promised, holding her tight.

"I miss her, Luke," said Lorelai then, swallowing hard. "I miss my baby and my best friend."

When she started to cry again, he just held her close with both arms and tried to be of some comfort. He hated seeing her like this. She was the woman he loved most in the world, and Rory came an astoundingly close second, albeit it in a very different way. He could be mad at the girl for running out and upsetting her mother like this, but he understood that she wasn't happy with herself. Sleeping with Dean had been dumb, on that they could all agree, but it was Rory's mistake, a big one that she obviously regretted. Still, Luke meant what he said before. A Summer away would get it all out of Rory's system and she would be back before Yale was back in session. He couldn't imagine for a moment she would miss that. Not a chance.

"Not a chance!"

"C'mon, Jerry! I'm the hardest working guy here, and you know it!" Jess insisted, following his boss around the warehouse as the guy checked off stock levels on his clipboard. "All I'm asking is for a couple of extra shifts."

The older man turned to look at Jess, and on seeing how determined he looked started to change his mind. He really shouldn't give in, he knew that, but the kid was right, he really was the best worker he ever had. Jerry scratched his head just below the band of his safety helmet.

"Jess, buddy. You know if I could help you out, I would, in a heartbeat," he said definitely. "But I know you're already working two jobs, and... well, when the hell are you gonna eat and sleep?"

Jess faltered a moment, knowing that what he let Jerry believe was a lie. He was actually working three jobs right now, and looking for more whenever and wherever he could get it. Sure, it was going to be tough and there really wouldn't be much time for anything else, but he had to do this, for Rory and the baby.

"I got it covered," he said vaguely, pushing his hand back through his hair that was getting longer and starting to bug him. "C'mon, man, I really need the money right now."

That didn't seem to improve Jerry's mood at all. His eyes narrowed, looking right into Jess' own for a moment.

"You got yourself into some kinda trouble, Mariano?" he checked, but his employee shook his head.

"Not how you think," he assured him, knowing he was thinking of drugs or gangs by now. "Between you and me, okay?" he said, stepping in closer, ensuring nobody could hear. "Rory and me, we're having a baby."

Jerry's face broke out into a grin.

"Hey, you're gonna be a father? Congrats, kid, that's amazing!" he said definitely, slapping him on the back so hard, Jess had to make a conscious effort not to wince - his boss was a big guy!

"Yeah, it's cool, or it would be if I had enough money," he said pointedly into Jerry's still grinning face. "Call me crazy, but I could use not having to raise my kid in a dumpster just 'cause I couldn't make enough cash for rent and food."

Jerry knew he was going to have to give in on this one. Jess Mariano was a good kid, he worked hard, took all the crappy shifts, and really didn't complain. He hadn't taken one sick day or even a day of leave since he started here, plus he was working elsewhere between his shifts, Jerry knew. One thing was for sure, the kid smiled a lot more since his girlfriend came to town. The famous Rory had made all the difference to Jess' temper, and now they were having a baby. That wasn't going to be easy, but Jerry had faith that some young people had what it took to make these situations work out for the best. If anyone could do it, he believed Jess could, or die trying.

"Okay, okay," he conceded at last. "You wore me down, I'll put your name on a couple more shifts," he promised, glad to see the grin that lit up Jess' face then. "But if your output suffers..."

"It won't," he insisted before the warning had even really been given.

Shaking his boss by the hand, Jess turned and walked away with a spring in his step. Work meant money and money meant paying the rent, buying food, getting things in order for the baby coming. Of course, the happy expression on his face did waver as he considered how little time there really would be between work to actually spend with Rory, and as Jerry said, he still had to eat and sleep too. Things were going to get very tough for a while, especially since Rory herself would only be able to work so long in her condition, but Jess was determined to cope, determined to be the man of the family that his father, or the myriad of step-fathers he had known, never managed to be. He could do this, him and Rory, they could make it, at least he hoped so. Jess couldn't help thinking things might be a whole lot easier if he could ask Luke for a little help, but that wasn't an option right now. Time to stand on his own two feet like he always said he was able. Jess figured it was time to find out if that was really true.

To Be Continued...