A/N: Wow. So a woman shows up saying that Jess fathered her child and suddenly I've got 21 reviews on that chapter alone! lol That was some crazy shock I gave y'all, huh? Well, here's the fall-out, and believe me, Rory is as shocked as you are!

(For disclaimer, etc. - Chapter 1)

Chapter 25

Rory had a sense that this was what going mad felt like. She couldn't say for sure, but it definitely felt like she was crazy. It was impossible to decide whether to laugh or cry as she stood outside of Jess' apartment, looking down the hall where a woman had just walked away, taking with her a baby she seemed to think was Jess' daughter. Shock meant Rory showed no emotion yet, though her mind was running with thoughts and her heart pounded with a sickeningly fast thump-thump-thump.

Every ten seconds Rory's mind was changing. First she thought that the woman was just lying, then she told herself she couldn't be. Jess was a good guy and a bad guy six times inside of a minute. Right when she really needed to talk to him and he wasn't here. Rory seriously did not know what to do.

A car horn sounded loudly outside the building. It was unlikely to be the cab driver waiting on Rory. He would rather she take more time than less because the clock was running this entire time. Still, it served to remind Rory that there was someone waiting on her, and not just the guy driving the taxi.

"Jess," she said to herself, very unsure right now as to whether she wanted to go to him for answers or to tear him a new one.

Hurrying from the hallway, Rory dove back into the elevator and travelled down to the ground floor. She was out of the doors and into the cab again within a minute, startling the driver with her very sudden appearance and slamming of the rear door.

"You okay, lady?" he asked her, observing her strange expression in the rear-view.

"I'm fine," she replied absently. "Train terminal, please."

"Whatever you say," he agreed, putting the car in gear.

He pretended not to notice the tears that ran down the cheeks of his pretty passenger. Something bad had happened, as it often did to the denizens of New York that graced his cab. Eddie had learnt a long time ago it was sometimes better just to leave people to their own business. If they wanted to talk, he always listened, but somehow Eddie knew this particular young woman wanted to be by herself, so he let her be.

Jess checked his watch for the eighth time in as many minutes. He half considered heading to the train terminal to surprise Rory but soon changed his mind. He could easily lose her in a crush of people, and that would be pointless. He had given her good directions to Truncheon, she would find it by herself and probably without incident. She would call if she got lost, there was no reason to worry.

"Chris?" said Matt from across the room. "Is it possible to wear out a wrist watch from looking at it too many times?"

"If it is, I think Jess is doing his best to prove it," his friend replied, smiling at the joke they had made.

Jess gave them both the finger one after the other, eyes never leaving the page he was reading. The smirk on his lips proved there was no malice in the sign he gave them. He could joke too. Honestly, he didn't blame them for poking fun. That was what guys did to each other when they got mushy over women, and Jess had to admit that when it came to Rory, he was a little whipped. It was nothing he could explain, it never had been. For all the skills he had as a writer, Jess was sure he could never write down just exactly what he felt for Rory. Words hadn't been invented yet for this feeling, he was certain. Love didn't even begin to cover it.

The door to the book store opened with a jingling of bells. Jess fought the urge to dive from his seat and go see if it was Rory. Instead, he let Chris go, and only got up when he heard her familiar voice.

"Hey," he said as he stepped out into view.

"Hi," replied Rory stiffly, her smile not reaching her eyes.

Immediately, Jess knew something was wrong. Moving towards her, Jess tried to kiss Rory hello but she turned her face away. He might have asked why the cold shoulder if they didn't have an audience, if Rory didn't seem determined to put on show for the guys.

"So, this is Truncheon?" she said, moving away and letting her eyes wander around the store. "And this must be Matt and Chris," she said, looking from one to the other.

"That'd be us" Matt nodded, holding out a hand to shake. "Matt Wright, Chris Collins," he introduced himself and then his friend.

"Rory Gilmore," she replied. "But of course, you already know that," she said, rolling her eyes at her own dumb statement.

"It'd be hard not to," admitted Matt. "You're pretty famous around here. The woman to tame Mariano's heart, make him a one woman man."

"Huh!" The sound came suddenly and unbidden from Rory's throat, making everybody jump.

Jess couldn't see her expression properly whilst she was facing his friends, but still he knew something was very much not right here. Rory had been fine on the phone, excited to come see him and visit with the guys in Philly. Now she seemed different, out of sorts, just not herself somehow. Whatever was up, she clearly wasn't willing to explain for as long as Matt and Chris were there.

"Hey, guys? Could me and Rory use upstairs for a while?" he asked them.

"Sure thing, man," said Chris with a wicked smirk. "We'll give you two lovebirds a little privacy, no problem."

He had completely the wrong idea but Jess couldn't care right now. Grabbing Rory's hand he was only grateful she let him do it, and then he led her to the stairs.

"It was a pleasure meeting you," said Rory as she was led away from Matt and Chris' company.

"You too," said Matt, with a nod. "We'll hang out later, or tomorrow, whatever," he told her with a smile.

Rory couldn't quite manage to return to expression. The feeling of Jess' fingers wrapped around her own was wonderful and dreadful all at the same time. She wanted to be here so badly, to be with the man she loved, but now her mind was clouded with images and words. The red-head on Jess' doorstep, angry, sad, and so tired looking. 'Maybe he would like to meet his daughter'.

The moment they were upstairs and behind a closed door, Rory let her worst fears come spilling out of her mouth.

"Did you get someone pregnant and run out on them?"

Jess looked genuinely shocked and hurt by the accusation. He stared at Rory with a mixture of pain and confusion in his eyes, wondering just for a split second if this was some kind of sick joke. No, Rory wasn't the type. She was deadly serious and that made Jess feel exactly the same.

"No," he said definitely. "I can't actually believe you would even ask me that question, especially after I told you what happened with my parents," he said coldly. "Where is this even coming from?"

Rory's tears came tumbling out over her lashes, hot enough to burn.

"I'm sorry," she swallowed hard. "I don't want to believe you would do that, but... but I met a woman today," she tried to explain, through the shake in her voice, the emotion thick in her throat. "You remember a red-head named Lena?"

Jess didn't have to answer with words, Rory saw the recognition in his eyes and felt a piece of her heart break away. Up until that moment she could fool herself that this was all a cruel trick, a nasty con. There was a chance Jess never even met Lena, that it was all a giant mistake or evil ploy of some kind. Now that chance was gone. Jess and Lena had been close, close enough to make a baby. Rory felt her stomach heave and forced herself to swallow hard.

"Oh my God!" she gasped, hand covering her mouth.

"Rory, just because I knew this woman does not mean I made a baby with her!" said Jess definitely, reaching for Rory when she turned away.

She snatched her hand from his grasp and hugged herself. Just trying to breathe evenly wasn't coming easy right now, but Rory made herself do it.

"You never slept with her?" she asked then, biting hard on her lip as she waited for his answer.

Jess looked pained, eyes going to the floor. "I did," he admitted eventually.

"Then that baby could be yours!" Rory cried. "I can't believe this! This is crazy! I was so happy with you, I just kept on expecting something to go wrong. It had to. Nothing could be this perfect!" she raved. "I just knew something, something had to go wrong, and here it is!"

"Rory, calm down!" Jess urged her, mindful not only of keeping her from losing it but also the fact they could probably be heard downstairs. "Come on, nothing has gone so horribly wrong," he tried to convince her, grabbing her shoulders and only glad that right in this moment she wasn't shrugging him off, though she wouldn't look at him yet. "Even if the kid was mine, it wouldn't mean I'd done anything wrong. I never cheated on you, I never would," he promised. "But if Lena has a baby, it's not mine," he insisted all the same.

Rory shook her head and cried still. It hurt. It all hurt so much, thinking of Jess with that woman, knowing he could be father to a baby he never met. Her mind raced with thoughts, imagining so many more abandoned women with babies they made with Jess. So he hadn't been unfaithful to her, at least Rory assumed not, but what sort of man did that? Just knocked up half of New York and went along with his life without a care. That wasn't Jess, her Jess, the man she gave herself to, heart, body, and soul these past two months. Rory couldn't stand it.

"Rory, please," he urged her, practically begging her to look at him.

She did so reluctantly to find that whilst she may have given into tears, Jess seemed to be fighting them himself.

"You know how it was with me. I told you from the start, I dated a lot of women," he reminded her. "But none of them compare to you. Nobody ever made an impact on my life like you did. I never lied to anybody, it was always casual with me and the women I saw. They knew it, I knew it. Me and Lena were never serious-"

"Serious enough to make a baby!" Rory interrupted sharply.

"You do not have to be serious for that to happen," Jess told her, just a little condescending in his tone. After all, Rory was no fool. True love didn't make babies. All it took was sex, and yes, Jess had plenty of that in his time. Still, he was damn sure he had not left a trail of mini Marianos in his wake. "It didn't happen, Rory," he insisted, looking deep into her blue eyes. "If Lena has a kid, it is not mine," he repeated firmly.

Rory wanted to believe him. She wanted so badly for it to be true, and yet she knew they had no proof.

"So I heard," she sniffled, "but how do you know? It could be!"

"I am smarter than that, Rory," Jess told her definitely, fingers digging into her upper arms without either of them really noticing. "I don't have any surprise kids. I'm sure on that, more than sure," he promised. "I was always more than careful. You know how I am with you, and the women before were never people I was going to stick with. After the way my life started, I wouldn't let there be a chance of me getting some girl into trouble."

Rory understood his point, she really did, but accidents did happen. It was awful to think about. At worst, the man she loved had a child he never met with a woman who seemed less than pleasant. At best, it was a terrible reminder of just how many women had come before, how easily Jess had tossed them all aside after nights spent together in casual passion. Rory hated all of it, and the way the beautiful bubble of her romance with Jess had been burst in a heartbeat.

Looking up into his dark eyes right now, it would almost be easy to forget, to pretend none of this ever happened. She had come here to be with him, to be with Jess and spend a happy weekend meeting his friends and seeing the publishing house. He was here with a book he wrote where the lead character was based on Rory herself. They had been so in love these last two months, so happy and content. It was like living in a fairy tale, and Rory didn't want it to end. Unfortunately, right here in this moment, she couldn't see a way for it to continue.

"Rory, please," Jess urged her to listen to him, to believe in him still, though the look in her eyes as she stared in him was already so altered, he feared he would never get her back. He had to try. "This is the real thing for me, Rory," he told her what she had to already know. "I love you, for crying out loud!"

"And I love you," she replied easily, knowing it was still very much true. "But maybe this is all just too fast. Maybe we dove in without really thinking about what we were getting into. Jess, it's been two months and we're in this deep already. The book, the key to your apartment, me jumping on a train out of the blue, just for another twenty four hours with you," she cried, shaking her head. "It's crazy!"

"But it's right," Jess insisted, not willing to let her go even when she tried to. "You know it is. I knew it from the first moment I saw you. We're meant to be together, Rory, and I don't know why or how, but that's just the way it is!"

He wasn't scaring her. Maybe he should have been, but Rory felt no pain from his grip or panic from the intense way he was looking at her and talking to her. He held her firmly but not violently. He spoke with passion and love that she could never blame him for. She understood because she felt exactly the same. It was just that right in this moment, she really wished she didn't.

"I know," she said softly. "Jess, I know you're right, but... but it's just a little scary to realise," she admitted. "I love you so much, I... I feel like I can't breathe sometimes."

He watched something break in her eyes when she spoke, and the crack was mirrored in his heart. Jess couldn't stand to see Rory in pain, not even if it was the intensity of the love they shared causing it.

"Isn't that how it's supposed to be?" he asked her.

Rory didn't have an answer. She didn't know what it should be or even what she wanted it to be. When Jess moved in closer to kiss her, she let him at first. It felt good, familiar, beautiful and painful in equal measure. She hoped he could kiss it all better, make her forget his past that had built up in her mind over a car ride and a ninety minute train journey. He couldn't.

Pulling out of his arms at last, Rory saw the surprise of her getting away register on Jess' face and knew this was her only chance. She couldn't allow him to try to convince her to stay, to explain any further. She had to get out of there.

"This was a mistake," she said quickly. "I'm sorry."

Before Jess had a chance to process, Rory ran past him and was gone out of the door in a flash. He called her name but didn't give chase, already knowing that it would do no good, and wouldn't be fair. Rory had a shock today and maybe he had too, but Jess was pretty certain in what he said to her. He wasn't a father. No child Lena had borne would share his DNA. At least he was fairly certain anyway. There was no way to be one hundred percent sure, because they had spent nights together. It was more than a year ago now. Jess winced and ran a hand over his face. The greater issue wasn't Lena and her baby, it was Rory. Even if he could prove definitively that he had made no child with her, Rory was always going to wonder about the other women, about Jess' past in general. It wasn't as if she hadn't know he got around before, but the reality of it seemed to hurt her more than either of them expected. Something had broken here today, and as much as Jess would like to believe it could be fixed, he wasn't so certain right now.

To Be Continued...