A/N- I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter. Back to our regularly scheduled program…

Disclaimer- Gilmore Girls and the characters associated with the show are not mine.

Chapter Twenty Five- Tuesday, 7:00 PM- Jess

I'm losing myself again. I see it, I know it's happening. But I don't care anymore. I tried real life. I tried to be good. To be normal. It didn't work. It didn't work, and I don't care anymore. It's me against the world, baby.

The car ride home was silent as Jess dwelled on Emily's words, and Rory and Garret thought about Emily's health. All three parties had forgotten there was a guest waiting, and were surprised by Detective Blake's presence in the living room. Staring at Blake, Jess ran a hand through his hair, shook his head and sighed. He was angry, but didn't want everyone to know it. It seemed like he was always angry when it came to his mother, and he'd been trying to get over the feeling for years.

"Rory, make us reservations for tomorrow. Get the info from Blake here, I'm going to try to get some work done," Jess said, moving into his office and slamming the door behind him. Leaning against it, he clutched at his hair, moved his hand down to pinch the bridge of his nose, and wondered how he could possibly get himself on a plane in the morning. He felt as if he was close to a breakthrough, close to figuring out the baby thing, and now it was being hijacked by Liz's funeral. Okay, so maybe close to a breakthrough was a bit of a stretch. If anything, he felt like he was close to realizing something which would help in his decisions. The decision he knew Rory was waiting for him to make, despite acting like she wasn't. Stumbling to his chair, he let himself collapse into it, leaning against the cool leather.

Was there really even a decision to be made?

Was he fooling himself thinking he had a choice?

He hated wasting time, and it seemed like maybe, he'd been putting off the inevitable. A knock interrupted his thoughts.

"Yes! Come in," he called out, trying to keep the anger out of his voice. He was so close, so close to clarifying his own thoughts. Jess watched the Detective lean against the door jam.

"I'll meet you at the airport tomorrow, we're on the same flight, to give you the notebooks. I'm going to find a motel for the night," Blake said, his voice soft and easy. He'd been pushing the writer, everyone had been pushing, and Jess looked wound a little too tight for comfort. Twitchy. Blake watched Jess take a deep breath and pull his emotions in, gathering control.

"Stay here, or if you're not comfortable on the couch, then go to the Dragonfly. We could pick you up in morning. Save on taxi fare," Jess said, beginning to relax. A thought surprised him, but he decided to go with it, and wanted it to continue. "Come in, sit down. What do you think about Garret? Will this trip be too hard on him? It's a lot of negative stuff, and it isn't his mom, so he shouldn't have to deal with it," Jess asked. Tilting his head at the change in subject, Blake eased his way into the office and sat down.

"First impression? I'd be surprised if he let you leave without him. He takes his role as your brother very seriously. He's young, yeah, but there's something about him. He can handle it, and he wants to be there. Just like you would want to be there for him if it was his mother," Blake replied. Jess nodded.

"He's a great kid. Amazing really, considering the life he's lived. It occurs to me I don't really know any normal mothers. Lorelai is as close as you could get, and she isn't normal in any sense of the word," Jess said, trailing off, lost in his thoughts again. Blake watched him for a bit, knowing there was something he was missing, but not sure what it could be. Without knowing, he was hesitant to speak, but his gut was telling him he should forge on.

"I'm not sure there is such a thing as a normal mother. What makes a normal mother? Mine was okay while she lasted, but if I ever have kids there will definitely be things I do differently. My old partner is married to this absolutely incredible woman. She's super sweet, loves kids, teaches first grade… and even at their house, she'll do something and I'll think 'If this was my kiddo, I'd be doing that differently.' I don't think there is such a thing as a normal or perfect mother. Is Rory pregnant? Sorry, I shouldn't have asked, and it's certainly none of my business," Blake said, backtracking at Jess's narrowed eyes and pinched white mouth.

"No, she's not. She would like to be," Jess said, running his fingers through his hair again, and Blake, flashing back to his conversation with Luke, began to see where the problem might lie.

"I know great mothers exist. I've seen them both in my line of work and amongst my friends. I think, like anything, the trick is to go into it with your eyes open. To read and learn. Research. You wouldn't buy a car without looking at some research. Same with picking Doctors, hospitals, schools, dance teachers. Rory seems to be pretty grounded, so I'm guessing you're less worried about her capabilities and more about your own. You have a bad past, but from what I can see, you've created a new future separate from it. There's nothing I see which makes me think you're likely to revert to someone you never were to start with," Blake said, trailing off as Rory came into the office.

"Detective Blake, I set you up with a room at the Dragonfly, and we'll meet you there for breakfast at seven. Garret will take you there now," Rory added, sitting herself down on Jess's lap and curling up in his arms. Jess nodded at Blake, indicating he had heard and understood what the Detective was saying, and then he tightened his arms around Rory. The couple was silent until the door closed behind Garret. Rory spoke.

"Jess, I want you to forget about the whole baby thing. I love you. I love our life, and I want us both to be happy. And we are happy, so why change anything."

Placing his hands on the sides of her face, he lowered her lips to his, slanting his across hers in a deep, all consuming kiss. Trying to convey the force of his emotions for her with only his lips. Pulling away, he whispered against her mouth.

"I love you, Rory. You give me more than I could have ever imagined. You mean everything to me. Our life means everything to me."