A/N: Hello, lovely people. Here's an extra-long chapter with some Jess-Lorelai drama! I considered splitting this into two parts, but I think it works better in one chapter, even if it's longer than usual. As always, huge thank you to everyone who reviewed. I really wouldn't have kept going without you all! I absolutely love reading your thoughts and feedback, so please keep reviewing!

Chapter 15

Some things at the Gilmore house were very easy to get used to. Like Rory's smile when he walked into her room, like the way she played with his hair while reading, like watching her study and stealing her pens. He loved how addictive it was to spend time with her. He craved seeing her messy and half-dressed in the mornings, tasting the coffee on her lips after breakfast, seeing her roll her eyes after a bad joke. Spending the night with her was even more intoxicating, especially the more nights they spent together. Everything about her had turned out to be better than he'd fantasized about, and he'd admittedly fantasized about it a lot.

'Jess… I have to –' Rory murmured against his lips.

'Five more minutes. You need longer study breaks.' He guided the back of her neck closer to him.

She shook her head, but kissed him anyway. She tried to give him a rushed kiss, but when she lifted her head to pull away, Jess followed her lips with his own. He bit her lower lip gently, listening to her soft pants, chasing away all her thoughts of pulling away. She parted her lips, letting him suck on them, tasting the sugary soda they'd just had. As the kiss went on, they both lost themselves in it, craving the dizziness that accompanied the breathlessness.

They were on her bed, as they so often were, and she was pressed on top of him, so he could feel all her curves against him. While her hands mussed through his hair, he was very aware of her breasts pressing against his chest through their thin shirts. He knew she could also feel him pressing into her through his jeans. His hands hugged her closer, chaotically circling her lower back. She moaned into his mouth again, just as her tongue came up to trace his lips.

Suddenly, a sharp rap came through the door, startling Rory away from him. The interruptions were a usual occurrence, of course, but always unwelcome and badly timed. It was as if Lorelai had a hidden sense that allowed her to choose the exact moments when he and Rory took their study breaks. She would knock to bring snacks, laundry, or look for some obscure make-up item. It frustrated him and amused Rory to no end.

'I got some dinner. Come out to the living room or I'm opening that door in about 5 seconds. 5, 4, 3…' Lorelai called.

They quickly shared an exasperated look and rushed to smooth down their shirts.

'You go on, I'll just stay here.' Jess said to Rory, grabbing her weathered copy of Dracula.

'Again? Jess, why are you avoiding my mother?' Rory said pointedly.

Jess shrugged as he defended himself. 'I'm not. I'm just not hungry.'

'We just took a break 'cause you said you were starving.' Rory raised an eyebrow. When Jess didn't reply, she grabbed him by the arm and hauled him out of bed. 'You will have dinner with us and you will be nice to my mom who's been nothing but supportive to you this entire time.'

Jess didn't mind being pushed or grabbed by Rory. She was fun when she pretended to be forceful and usually smiled easily when he pouted anyway. Still, he tried to put up a weak fight. 'Really? Or else what?'

'Or else… I'm studying out in the kitchen from now on.' Rory said smugly.

And so, of course, Jess had no choice. Plus, he really was starving.

There were things at the Gilmore house that took a little more time to get used to. Along with the insane amounts of coffee, the numerous furry items strewn around the house and the shoes he tripped over everywhere, it still baffled Jess to see just how much the Gilmores talked. At all times of the day, about everything and nothing. How swiftly they changed topics, how quickly and easily the conversation flowed. A simple question about who would get the dinner plates could quickly turn into a 10-minute recount of Sookie's latest clumsy accident at the inn. Words were tossed so spontaneously, without deliberation or thought, without worrying about what to share or what to hold back. It sometimes got exhausting, or rather Lorelai got exhausting. He tended to space out when it came to the dull town gossip and even occasionally pretended to go out on smoke breaks mid-conversation just to get some quiet time. The latter was something he suspected Rory was already catching up on, if her amused looks were any indication.

Over the course of the week, as he watched them argue over bad TV shows, borrow and lose each other's shoes, clothes and accessories, and finish each other's sentences, he admittedly found their ability to share everything pretty enviable. They'd go from yelling to laughing in the span of seconds. They'd make up games to kill time when they were bored. They'd guess exactly what the other wanted to order for dinner. It made him realize he'd never lived in a house with so much talk, so much life. In the span of five minutes, Rory and Lorelai would easily say more to each other than him and Luke would in a whole day, or him and Liz would in a week.

Nevertheless, because of how close the Gilmores were, he still felt like an outsider when it came to their inside jokes. Though he could keep up with the banter when he tried, he recognized that he was an observer most of the time, not quite a part of their bubbly conversations. Of course, it didn't help that he still felt the need to sidestep Lorelai around the house, minimizing conversation with her as much as possible. He decided that if he didn't talk to her, he wouldn't run the risk of almost getting kicked out again. Since their awkward conversation at the inn, when she'd agreed he take Rory to the prom, he'd managed to avoid her impending questions. He'd put a note under her door with some details about the upcoming prom, but avoided any actual conversation. It was easy enough to stay clear of her with her so preoccupied with legal documents and daily trips back and forth between the inn and the bank.

As the days passed, he hoped that if just stayed out of her way, she'd forget about him altogether. But every time he thought she did, she'd do something to remind him she still knew he was around. Like ask him to fix the porch rail, or put his clothes in drawers, or clean out the shower drains. One morning, he'd even woken up to find her old GED study notes laid out for him neatly on the coffee table with a note that said For Jess. Study, do NOT burn. Rory had tried to convince him Lorelai was warming up to him, but he couldn't shake the feeling that she was anticipating his next misstep, waiting for the chance to tell him he'd overstayed his welcome.

Maybe that's why sharing meals with Rory and Lorelai still made him feel somewhat uneasy. Or maybe it was just the fact that he was more used to eating alone. Either way, no matter how many times he told her he could just eat on his own later, Rory wouldn't have it. And when Rory used the full pleading power of her blue eyes to ask him to come sit next to her for dinner, it was very hard to say no. Which is why he was dragged into dinner with the Gilmores that Thursday evening.

'We had Chinese yesterday and all of last week. How come we never order Indian?' Rory complained to her mother as she pulled Jess down into the sofa next to her.

'Umm, duh. 'Cause I vetoed Indian, remember?' Lorelai replied easily, opening the boxes of food they'd ordered.

'You can't veto Indian. If you veto Sandeep's, then I should get to veto Al's entire Jamaican menu.'

'Rory, Sandeep's is a stink hazard to the whole house.' Lorelai said as she switched the TV on.

Jess surprised himself by agreeing with Lorelai. 'True. You'd never get rid of the smell.'

'Rory, should I get my ears checked or did your boyfriend just say more than one word?' Lorelai said wide-eyed, as she grabbed the TV remote and started flipping through the channels.

His monosyllabic replies were becoming a new joke around the house, at least to Lorelai. He rolled his eyes, but shared a small smile with Rory when he noticed her knees bump into his as she turned to smooth down a strand of his hair.

A moment later, Lorelai announced. 'Oh, pure gold. We're watching 'Two Fat Ladies'.'

Rory groaned at her mother. 'No, no. Not that again.'

'Too late. I decided while you two were making googly eyes at each other.' Lorelai quirked her eyebrows.

'Once again, why would we watch a cooking show?' Rory tried to grab at the remote, but Lorelai held it out of reach.

'Eating food you didn't cook while watching other people cook is the best joy there is.'

'We've seen all the episodes. We know all the lines.' Rory reached for the remote again, but Lorelai was faster.

'Jess hasn't. Now's his chance to learn an important life skill.'

'None of us even cook.'

'I bet Jess can cook. Jess, can you cook?' Lorelai inquired.

'Stop harassing my boyfriend.' Rory jumped in, while Jess shrugged in amusement. 'Nobody watches Two Fat Ladies to learn how to cook.'

'Exactly. You watch it because there's no higher form of entertainment.'

'How come we can't just put on a movie like normal people?' Rory argued.

'Because if we watch a movie on Thursday night, what would that leave us for the weekends? We'll have nothing left for our movie nights. We'll turn into crazy old hags. We'll be walking around with our hands stretched out and our tongues jutting from our mouths like zombies. Just like The Cranberries predicted –' She cut herself off and declared. 'Oh, speaking of zombies, we should watch Shaun of the Dead again this weekend.'

Rory shook her head disapprovingly. 'From now on, I'm sorting movies into weekday-movies and weekend-movies.'

Lorelai's eyes widened in mock-horror. 'When will we ever watch day-time TV then?'

Jess gave up on the conversation momentarily to scoop up some noodles. The hot food was making his stomach rumble, but when he took his first bite, he found the two pairs of blue eyes staring at him expectantly, apparently having asked him something, to which he just stammered, 'Uh, sure, whatever.'

Rory groaned as Lorelai claimed victory. 'Great. 'Two Fat Ladies' it is.'

Jess didn't really have to pay attention to the show; watching Rory and Lorelai do the voice-overs and mock the show turned out to be much more entertaining. They had a comeback for practically every line, it was almost as if they rehearsed this weekly. Knowing how often these two watched bad TV, they probably did. The Scottish impressions in particular were hard not to smile at. He didn't really join in though, until at some point, Lorelai turned to him saying, 'I think you need a motorcycle like that, Jess. It would complete the James Dean persona.'

He replied, pointing at the screen. 'Looks like walking would be faster than that thing.'

'Well, not for the fat ladies, it isn't.' Rory said, laughing. And so the banter continued.

When Rory and Lorelai randomly started singing along, with thick British accents and deep voices, 'Bring me my bow of burning gold, bring me my arrows of desire…' That's when Jess really cracked up, shaking his head and meeting Rory's beaming smile.

'Best batter-mixing song ever. If we ever mix cake batter, this is how to do it.' Lorelai quipped, when the credits finally rolled.

'Too bad we never find any new episodes.' Rory said.

'Not since one of the fat ladies passed on.' Lorelai agreed wistfully, taking a large bite out of her egg roll.

It was Jess who asked, through a mouthful of chicken. 'Which one?'

Rory and Lorelai shared an amused look and Lorelai barely stifled a smile. 'The fat one.'

'Oh, come on!' Jess rolled his eyes again and the two of them just laughed.

By the time the dishes were all put away, Rory got a phone call and disappeared into her bedroom with furrowed eyebrows, leaving Jess with a very chatty Lorelai. With Rory around, it'd been easier to put aside his discomfort towards the older Gilmore, but with her gone, he felt the awkwardness come back in cold waves. He could see Lorelai's mind scheming and searching for ways to question him. He wondered whether she'd start by attacking him or by playing guidance counselor, as he contemplated leaving the house, just to eliminate that risk of a verbal fight altogether. But with the prom so close, he didn't want to risk getting Lorelai into a dramatic mood. While he didn't exactly need her approval for prom, he knew Rory would be uneasy about the prom idea, or might not even agree to go, unless they had it. However, given his history of disastrous conversations with Lorelai, maybe he'd be better off not conversing at all. He was just about to make up an excuse to head out when Lorelai started talking.

'So, what did you and Luke usually have for dinner?' Lorelai said, switching off the TV.

Guidance counselor it was. Jess exhaled uneasily. 'Broccoli. Carrots and peas. All that good stuff.'

'Oh, those are combinations that don't set foot in this house.'

'Yeah, I've noticed.' Jess said, nodding.

Lorelai kept going. 'Luke used to bring around lots of casseroles when Rory was a kid, especially when she was sick. There was that one time he brought over this grilled chicken broccoli thing in white sauce –'

'He's very fond of his greens.' Jess agreed. To be fair, Luke's cooking wasn't bad at all. Once he picked the broccoli out, that baked chicken pasta had actually been quite good, if not one of his favorites.

'—Rory and I had a blast throwing the green stuff out the window. It was her favorite game for a month. We started buying broccoli just to play that game.'

'I can imagine. Might still be her favorite game.' The idea of a little Rory making faces at broccoli made Jess smile faintly.

Lorelai watched his face curiously and continued, 'What about with your mom? What did you guys usually eat?'

'All sorts of stuff.' Jess replied, shrugging nonchalantly.

'Like?'

'Whatever was in the kitchen.' Jess said uncomfortably, hoping she would change the subject of Liz. Technically, the whatever wasn't a lie. Liz was out most evenings, on dates or bartending or doing what she called 'crafting', an activity that usually involved beads and heavy drinking. So, if he didn't want to sleep hungry, he usually had to get creative with whatever he could find. Mostly instant noodles and microwave pizza, although, in middle school, Liz's third husband had given him a pretty decent recipe for mac and cheese. There'd been, of course, that brief low point when he'd had potatoes for a month after Liz had lost her job, so he'd learned how to cook potatoes in nearly every way imaginable.

'So she wasn't big on cooking, huh?'

Jess snorted in response. 'No, definitely not the cooking type.'

Jess looked away as he tried not to think about his mother. On the rare occasions when Liz had been home before midnight, she'd had a specific routine. She'd complain about whatever shit was broken that day; the leaky faucet, damaged oven, or faulty microwave door. If she was sober, she'd promise to call the repair guy the very next day, or rather, whenever they could spare the money. If she wasn't, she'd yell her head off at Jess for breaking her stuff. There was usually no dinner that night.

'Well, Luke said your mom called this afternoon. He said he tried to call you to tell you himself, but you hung up. So, you should call her back. Your mom. Let her know you're here.'

'I don't think so, no.' Jess said definitively.

Lorelai sighed. 'Does she know you had a fight with Luke?'

'I'm sure she read it in the Times. I heard it made the second page.' Jess scowled and hoped this conversation would come to an end soon. He was starting to itch for a smoke. And what was Rory doing on the phone this whole time?

'She might be worried you're living in a cardboard box somewhere. So just call and give her a heads-up.' Lorelai insisted.

'I said no.'

She gave him a long look. She wasn't staring at him in pity, nor did she look angry. He didn't know what she was thinking. 'What happened between you two? You and your mom? Why'd she send you off to Luke's?'

Jess felt a tightness in his chest and tried to push down the familiar anger. 'Going Dr. Phil on me, really?'

'You're living here now. Maybe I should know what happened,' she said patiently, then dropped her voice before continuing. 'Especially if you're taking Rory to prom.'

'I don't remember this heart-to-heart being part of the deal.' He said, eying Rory's door.

'Why won't you tell me?' She rolled her eyes, trying to meet his eyes.

'You could just ask Luke. He'll tell you.'

'Why would I ask Luke when you could just tell me?' She said in exasperation.

'Assuming I'll tell you the truth.' Jess pointed out.

'I have a pretty decent bullshit detector.' Lorelai retorted, her eyes hard. They stared at each other for a few seconds before Lorelai asked. 'You're making me assume the worst with all this secrecy. What was it? You stole something? Drugs? Fighting?'

'All three actually. I would've made Charles Manson proud.'

Lorelai snapped. 'Don't bullshit me.'

'Right back at you.' He snapped back, standing up.

Lorelai exhaled loudly and stood up to face him. They both glanced at Rory's door, which remained somehow closed this whole time. To her credit, Lorelai didn't lose her patience easily. She seemed to be fighting herself to keep a leveled tone. 'Okay, fine. You have issues with your mom, I get that, Jess. I'm not the person who's gonna be all up on your case to go make up with her. I'm just making conversation with the guy who's supposed to be taking my daughter to her prom, so I know she won't end up getting drunk or hurt or arrested –'

Jess walked to the back of the sofa and scoffed, cutting her off. 'Would Dean have to listen to this same speech if he were the one taking her?'

'Things were different with Dean.'

'Sure. 'Cause the guy was always coming on to you, right? You want people to flirt with you, huh, is that what it is?'

'Well, you got me. Cougar's my middle name.' She snapped sarcastically and then continued, taking a loud breath.

'What's the point of this conversation exactly?'

'It's true, Dean wasn't the little miss Sunshine you are. But Rory wasn't crazy about Dean the way she is about you, which is why we're having this very pleasant conversation.' She said, hanging her head.

Jess blinked. It was the last thing he expected her to say and for a moment he had nothing to say, he thought he must've misheard. His eyebrows knitted together. Maybe a smug part of his mind believed the words, but the confounding part was Lorelai saying them. What was happening here?

Lorelai's eyes softened at his confused, calculating look. 'Don't think I haven't seen the way you look at her too.'

All of a sudden, he didn't understand where the conversation was going or what Lorelai wanted from him. Jess suddenly felt an overwhelming discomfort and the urge to leave became unbearable. Her scrutinizing stare was making him feel like he was under a microscope. While snapping something vile and abrasive usually worked in uncomfortable situations, he just couldn't come up with anything right now, nothing that wouldn't lead to more of this emotional talk anyway. He was suddenly exasperated that she was trapping him in this confrontation and turned to leave as fast as he could. 'I have to go.'

Lorelai followed him as he headed for the door. That sadistic woman seemed to be enjoying his discomfort. 'Come on, Jess. Are we just gonna keep skirting around each other in this house forever? I don't bite, you know. Except for that one time in junior high, but she really deserved it.'

'I just have stuff to do.' He lied.

'Don't give me that crap.'

'I'm leaving. Bye.' He said, opening the door to leave.

Lorelai caught it before it shut and as Jess rushed to leave, he heard her sing-song. 'Rory, Jess and I are going out.'

A moment later, she was following him down the steps of the porch. Jess scrambled for his car keys, but realized they weren't in his pocket. Instead, he just walked away from the house as fast as he could, with Lorelai still at his heel.

Rory thought dinner was going pretty well, with Jess actually engaging in conversation. She'd just been about to suggest some ice cream when a phone call had interrupted her plans.

'Ror, hi. It's your dad.' Christopher had said charmingly over the phone.

She should've known right there and then that nothing good would come out of the call. It'd been a short call. The ones that hurt usually were.

After she'd hung up, she could heard Jess and her mother arguing, but hadn't really had the energy to listen. Right then, she'd been angry. At her dad, at the stupid fighting, at the phone. It was a rare thing, and so when Rory was angry, she didn't quite know what to do with herself. Facing her mother and Jess, being the calm one, mediating whatever fight they'd gotten into not five seconds after she'd left them… It'd all seemed like too much. Instead, Rory put on her shoes and slipped out quietly through the back door.

It hadn't even been a good excuse. He hadn't even bothered come up with a believable excuse. Gigi had to go to the dentist? Christopher's daughter, her half-sister, was a baby. She didn't have teeth. Her father was telling her he'd be missing her high-school graduation because his one-year-old infant had to go to the dentist? She should've just hung up when she heard his voice. She wished he'd never called, not RSVPing would have been better than his ridiculous lie.

She walked through the empty town streets, barely holding back angry tears. Why was she even crying? Crying is such a dumb response to anger. She wiped her face with restless hands and hoped she wouldn't run into anyone tonight. It'd been almost a year since Christopher and her mother's short-lived attempt at being a couple. They'd seemed so happy at Sookie's wedding. It'd been brief, but it'd seemed real, until Christopher picked his new family. His pregnant girlfriend and his fresh start at being a dad.

And now he was running away. Again. It was so familiar; his excuses, his flakiness, his need for her to be understanding. How many times had she promised herself not to get her hopes up? She knew his patterns, she should've expected he wouldn't want to see her or her mother for a long time. His hurt pride meant that he was still holding a grudge against them both. She knew she'd been replaced, easily and swiftly, by her new half-sister. But if she knew that, then why was she angry? Why wouldn't the tears stop coming?

She wasn't really watching where she was heading, her feet were carrying her almost automatically. She knew was that she needed to calm herself down and not make a big deal out of this very expected betrayal. She didn't want to talk to her mom, who'd probably comfort her and go into a rant about Christopher-related disappointments and how to just forget them. Talking to Jess about this wouldn't be right either, he'd never even met her dad. She didn't want to wallow. That would mean giving Christopher the time and effort required to wallow and he didn't deserve that. She didn't know what she wanted, or how to make this horrible burning in her chest go away.

She sniffed and hung her head, just as she realized where she'd ended up. In front of Luke's.

Jess turned to look back once he was out onto the main street, only to meet Lorelai's glare as she was still walking at his heel, in furry purple slippers, no less. He fished for the cigarettes in his pocket, but remembered he didn't have a lighter on him. Damn those stupid quitting tactics. Instead, he returned her glare. 'Stop following me!'

'I'm going out for a walk, Jess.' She said, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. 'Oh, what now? You only take Rory out for walks and not me? Or does it have to be 4 am for you to do that?'

Great. Of course, she saw that. 'Oh, please.'

'Because you seemed to be just fine taking her out yesterday at four in the morning to God-knows-where, all doe-eyed in your pajamas.'

Jess responded with sarcasm. 'Hey, I can't help it if your daughter decides to kidnap me in the middle of the night.'

She ignored his words. 'Look, I've let a lot of things slide this past week, but I can't put up with her not being safe. Leaving the house at 4 am? Midnight pranks all over town? That's not going to slide.'

'It's Stars Hollow. What are you afraid would happen? An evil garden gnome's gonna attack us at the gazebo?'

'Well, we won't find out 'cause there won't be a next time.' Lorelai snapped.

Jess scoffed and hung his head. 'Why don't you tell that to Rory then? Till you do, just leave me the hell alone!'

'Oh, come on now. Do you use all that unbelievable charm with Rory when she tries to talk to you?' She said mockingly.

He continued to walk, shaking his head. They'd walked away from the town center, in the opposite direction. Jess had been walking in some side streets, surrounded by unfamiliar houses. He didn't recognize the neighborhood, but apparently, Lorelai thought this place was as good as any to give him another speech.

She exhaled loudly. 'This can't happen again, Jess. I thought that since you care about her, you'd look out for her. That maybe you learned something since that car accident. And that maybe you'd follow some basic rules like staying in the freaking house at night. How am I supposed to trust you with any kind of rules for this prom thing?'

Jess stopped walking and turned around, throwing up his arms in frustration. 'So, what then? You wanna follow me around all night, make sure I'm not in a cult? Or you wanna psycho-analyze my messed-up childhood over a nice family dinner?'

She sighed, trying to regain her composure. 'No, no, I'm not the person to analyze anyone's childhood, believe me. Just stop making it a mission impossible to get two words out of you. Right now, you're saying you wanna take my only daughter to prom next weekend without giving me one good reason to agree.'

'I told you the plan. You know the address. And you already agreed. The rest, all these questions, have nothing to do with it. You don't need anything more, so stop prying!'

'Is that what that cryptic note under my door was?'

'You don't get to ask about Liz or about stuff that happened two years ago. That's got nothing to do with taking Rory to prom.'

'Oh, don't play dumb here. What happened two years ago can happen again. And no, I'm not getting any kick out of hassling you for every one-word reply, but apparently, that's the way it's gonna have to be. I need to be able to trust you with her and that includes the cringy process of asking you whether or not you have a criminal record and whether or not you were a drug dealer back in New York and the fascinating details of what happened with you and your mom. And I expect more than an eye-roll for an answer. Now, let's try this again. Why'd you get kicked out of your mom's place?'

The diner was closed, but Luke let Rory sit at the counter and pushed a cup of coffee, decaf, towards her. He was staring at her with concern as she drank, looking a bit overwhelmed and helpless. 'How about some strawberries? You like strawberries, right?'

'No, it's okay.' She sniffed, running her hands down her face.

'Or chili fries? I'll put in extra cheese.'

She shook her head and tried to smile, but tears were still streaming down her face.

Luke's eye suddenly flashed in anger. 'Was it Jess? He do something? 'Cause I swear, I'll break that kid's face if he ever –'

'No, no… He didn't. It's fine.' Rory stared down at the counter.

'Is Jess okay then? He won't take my calls and he never comes in here with you two. Did something happen to him?'

'Jess is okay. He probably got too busy. Don't worry... I'll tell him to call.' Rory reassured, though her tear-streaked face did little to really calm Luke down.

'You sure you don't want me to call your mom?' He said awkwardly, his eyes darting around. 'I'm not so good with the…' He gestured at the air with his hands. 'The talking and the comforting…'

Rory looked up at Luke, her expression serious. 'Luke. Can you come to my graduation?'

'Rory… What does that have to do with…?' He looked confused and still overwhelmed by her tears.

'I just... want,' Rory sniffed, rubbing at her eyes. 'I want all the important people to show up for that. I know it isn't your thing, but I just... need you to be there.'

'Hey, Rory… Come on. You'll have your mom there and your grandparents. Your family's real proud of you. What's going on?' He offered her a warm smile.

'It's important to me. It's so important that you come. So I want you there, please. Just, please, please don't say you're busy.' She pleaded, looking desperate and miserable.

Rory could see he was getting emotional as well, his voice was lower when he replied. 'I'd never be too busy for your graduation. I mean, as long as you got enough tickets and seats… then sure, I'll be there.' He searched her eyes. 'Are you in a fight with your mom?'

Rory closed her eyes, feeling the knot in her chest ease up. She looked down at the counter, then shook her head. 'No, no. It's nothing. I... just really wanted to know that you'll come. Thank you. Really.'

Luke nodded his head quietly, not fully sure how he helped and completely unaware how much his awkward words had meant to Rory.

Rory said nervously. 'Could you not tell my mom about this? I mean, I'll tell her you're coming, of course, but just don't tell her that I was here... like this. Please?'

Luke didn't look pleased. 'Rory, jeez, Lorelai doesn't know you're out? Where does she think you are?' He shook his head, but didn't wait for her to reply. 'Don't get your mother worked up like that. Just let me get you some donuts and I'll come walk you home.'

'I feel much better now, you don't have to get...' Rory smiled as he went into the back kitchen despite her protests. Feeling much calmer, she rose up quietly and slipped out before he could reappear. She barely even thought about Christopher the whole way back.

Jess pursed his lips, looking into Lorelai's unyielding face. He bit at the inside of his cheek, then said quietly. 'Fine. Yeah, it was a fight. I got into a fight. Liz got mad, so she sent me to Luke's. You happy?'

'You got into the fight or you started it?' Lorelai asked, in full interrogation mode.

Jess sighed. 'I started it.'

'What happened to the guy?'

'He ended up in the hospital, but he's fine now.'

'Who was he?'

Jess looked away and shrugged. 'Just some guy. What does it matter?'

Lorelai's eyes were hard. 'I need to know the who and the why. It matters. Now talk.'

He rubbed his jaw. 'Just some douchebag Liz was dating.'

Lorelai didn't react for a moment. Her eyes narrowed and she asked. 'Did he press charges?'

'No.'

'Were you drunk?'

'No.'

'Any gangs?'

He had to laugh. 'He wasn't in the Mafia, no.'

'Drugs?'

'No.'

'No during that big fight or no in general?'

'No for both.'

'Jess. Bullshit detector here.'

He hesitated, then said, shoving his hands in his pockets, squirming. 'I smoked some stuff here and there just to try, didn't like it. That's it.'

Lorelai cocked her head. 'So how bad was this guy?'

Bit by excruciating bit, Jess gave her the details. He'd never liked any of the guys his mother dated. But that boyfriend had been a new teacher at Jess's school and Liz had claimed, as usual, that he would be the one. Jess had been weary, but tolerated the guy for several months. That is until the guy had turned out to be married, with a teenage son, a tall brute of a guy. The son had come, trashed their place, and punched Liz in the face, landing her in the hospital. And so, Jess had gone and punched the cheating jerk in the face. Of course, his mistake was doing the punching at school, where people only sided with teachers, even cheating ones. When he'd gotten kicked out of school, Liz blamed him for ruining yet another promising relationship, for sticking his head where it doesn't belong, for being part of her life in the first place. Bottom line was, she'd had enough and he should either go live with his uncle or find himself a boarding school.

Lorelai was quiet for a moment, her rapid-fire questions apparently coming to an end.

Jess was uncomfortable with the silence. He shifted on his feet and said. 'It's just prom. We're not going to a hippie fest. And I will look out for her, nothing's gonna happen.'

Lorelai sighed. She closed her eyes for a moment, assessing his words and judging their genuineness. When she opened them, her eyes looked a bit softer. 'Nothing illegal? No drinking? No stupid pranks?'

'Nothing like that.' He sounded sincere.

'And Lane's gonna be there?'

'Yes.'

'So, you won't get into any dumb fights? Or tear the place down like last time?'

'No.'

'Jess.'

'Well, I'm not planning to.' He shrugged, shaking his head and risking a small smile.

'The answer every mother dreams of hearing.' Lorelai deadpanned. She paused and then, a moment later, said. 'And you'll take photos?'

'Huh?' Jess was confused.

'You can't take her unless you take photos. Good ones. In good lighting. For my photo album.' She said, glaring at him with raised eyebrows.

He stared at her for half a beat and nodded. He recognized that they'd made some sort of peace just now. Even Lorelai's glare had softened, with the hint of a smile playing along her lips.

'Gosh, this must be the first conversation we had that didn't ended in yelling or death-threats.' Lorelai noted.

Jess nodded slowly. 'Huh.'

Lorelai's tone was soft when she said. 'You sure you don't wanna tell her? I mean, if she's going to prom, maybe she'd like to know a couple of days before–'

Jess shook his head resolutely. 'It has to be a surprise.'

'As you like, but that means I'll have to buy a dress for her myself.' Lorelai pointed out. 'Or I could make her one, but it's harder for her not to notice that, especially that it's next weekend.'

'It's this weekend, actually.' Jess corrected.

'This weekend?' Lorelai was shocked, her voice going a bit high-pitched. 'As in two days away? Jess, but that's… She's gonna want a new dress and shoes and I need to rehearse the makeup and the hair and you… You need a tux and a camera and – Jess, you have to tell her.'

Jess was adamant. 'Nope. I don't want her to overthink it.'

'But… but the dress…' Lorelai objected.

'Well, I kind of... have a suggestion for that.' Jess said hesitantly, rubbing at his neck.

Suddenly, Lorelai looked very amused. 'Oh wow, so you really did make a plan. Rory is so rubbing off on you.'

Jess sighed. 'Do you wanna hear it or...?'

'This plan of yours... does it involve a magic slipper and a pumpkin wagon?'

'Oh, jeez.' Jess turned to walk away from Lorelai, who was doubled over in laughter.

By the time Rory returned home, she was feeling much better and all signs of her tearful sobbing were gone. She'd found Jess and her mother out by the house, apparently having gone out to find her. Fortunately, they didn't pester her with questions as much as she thought they would when she said she'd gone to get some ice cream. She was happy to see that they didn't look particularly tense either. In fact, when they greeted her, it seemed to Rory that there was some sort of new truce between them. Only time would tell if this truce would really last, but for now, Rory settled into the couch, smiled between the two of them and asked if anyone wanted ice cream.

A/N: Soo this was a hard chapter to write! Please let me know your thoughts and what you're expecting for the prom chapter :D