A/N: Slightly shorter chapter, but it means I can update a little early :) As always, thanks for all your reviews and feedback!

Chapter 23

She watched them step out of the car, pausing for a minute too long to kiss against the door before stumbling forward arm in arm, wrapped up in each other, towards the front porch. Rory's dress fluttered around her as she walked barefoot with a wide smile on her face, while Jess looked less like a poster boy for trouble and more like the prom date she'd approved for her daughter. Lorelai couldn't help but think of how young they looked, like two little kids playing dress-up, carefree and clearly oblivious to the rest of the world around them.

She'd wanted nothing more than for her daughter to go to prom and have a great time. For her to come home safe, in smiles and laughter. She'd spent the day envisioning all kinds of terrible scenarios, starting with Rory getting drunk and arrested and ending with a totaled car on the highway. Now, after seeing them so happy, the sense of relief was almost jarring. Big brownie points for the hoodlum there. Maybe there'd been nothing to worry about after all.

But there'd been a tiny voice in her head, a voice whose existence she'd tried to deny, that had made her stomach clench after hearing the bubbly laughter in Rory's voice on the phone. She'd spent the better part of the last three hours trying not to analyze that voice, which of course, meant that she let it consume her mind.

They're just kids. This will never last.

But no, Emily Gilmore hadn't seen them together. This wasn't just a childish infatuation. Not like with Dean. Cute, but dismissible, insignificant, unimportant. No. Lorelai had seen the longing stares, the way they clung to each other, the softness in their smiles. She'd known from the moment Rory dragged him back here, demanding that he stay at their house. Maybe she'd known it even earlier, all the way back when her daughter had spontaneously dropped everything to see him in New York.

Lorelai stepped away from the window and crossed her arms. Judging from today, those feelings seem to have only gotten stronger, more potent. Eighteen was too young to fall this hard. Their passion, their intensity, their frailty... It all terrified Lorelai.

As difficult as it was to admit, maybe she'd been waiting, or even – she thought with a wince – hoping, that Jess would mess up today. In the back of her mind, she'd been waiting for a phone call from Rory. Mom, come pick me up. Mom, I don't think he's right for me.

If she was being honest with herself, a part of her had also expected they'd start bickering after being in each other's face all the time for weeks. But instead of their initial spark fading, these two were only getting more and more attached. All the sneaking around together, the flirting, the intimacy. All that intensity. They were getting too close. But how long would it be before it all came crashing down? Just how unbearable would the pain be then?

Wouldn't it be easier if they broke up now of their own accord over something or the other? It would hurt, of course. They would both be deeply hurt, but better now than in a few weeks when they were even more attached. What if instead of giving her daughter some healthy relationship experience, she was actually setting her up for utter devastation?

You've completely failed as a mother, Lorelai.

But what would the failure be? Letting Rory's heartbreak to pieces when this falls apart or forcing her into a decision she'll hate, a breakup she won't forgive her for causing?

Lorelai had been mentally preparing herself that Rory would leave the nest soon, that she'd go off into the real world, and that their relationship would change. If Lorelai interfered, if she broke them apart, she could lose Rory. Lorelai knew how easy it could be to cut parents out of one's life. Maybe this would be her karma for what she'd done to her own parents. Though Rory was usually rational and mature beyond her years, she was a hormonal teenager, currently being swept off her feet. The possibility of them becoming estranged over a boy wasn't completely impossible. It was important to tread with caution.

Lorelai waited patiently for them to step inside. More kissing on the porch, hushed words, laughter from Rory followed by another kiss.

She tried to shove the worry away. He made Rory happy. This is good. This day was good for her. It's good that they're happy, that she's happy. Emily Gilmore was wrong about all of this. The voice in her head was just an extension of her mother's voice, she decided. She should talk things through with her daughter like she always did, that would settle the noise in her head.

Well, as soon as Rory could extract her lips from that hoodlum's. And just where did he think his hands were going? All of a sudden, Lorelai cleared her throat loudly, startling the couple outside into a nervous mumble before they finally stepped inside.

'Wait, what?!' Rory's eyes nearly bulged out of her face.

'I'm so sorry, Rory.'

'But, how? How did this happen?' She paced around the bedroom, trying to contain her panic.

'It might be a mistake. It probably is. I'll call the Yale financial office on Monday. We'll fix this, it'll turn out to be some mix-up. We'll be turning this into an anecdote and laughing our heads off at the diner in no time.'

The younger Gilmore nodded uneasily. 'Yeah, I hope so.' She paused, twirling at her hair. 'But why was that so urgent? You said to come back right away,'

Lorelai had trouble understanding why she suddenly decided not to tell Rory about Emily's visit. She'd planned to. She'd carved out a path into the living room floor, pacing for about three hours to figure out how to break the news to her. Lorelai had planned on getting Rory alone. She'd planned how she'd phrase Emily's hurtful words, what parts to skip over. She's planned on discussing the consequences, like how Emily's discovery would undoubtedly sour Rory's relationship with her grandparents.

Then, she'd planned on discussing whether it might be wiser to let Jess stay at Luke's from now on, or whether Jess might be able to get a separate apartment somewhere close. Just to reduce the friction of the situation. This would've been the trickier part of the conversation. Maybe Rory would've agreed. Or maybe she would've seen it as Lorelai's attempt to push her away from Jess. It was difficult to anticipate Rory's reaction, especially when she seemed to throw common sense out the window when it came to Jess.

But when they walked in, one look at Rory and Jess together was enough to convince Lorelai that telling Rory wasn't a good idea. They'd looked almost deliriously happy. Up in the clouds. Rory had been looking at Jess in pure adoration. She wouldn't be able to handle any discussions about her relationship right now.

Still, Lorelai had to tell her something. The Yale-related news was the easier choice. After instructing Jess to stay downstairs, Lorelai had dragged Rory upstairs to her bedroom in a rush and handed her the letter from Yale.

'I'm sorry I called for you to come back sooner. I just panicked when I saw the letter. Then, when I thought about it, I realized that I'd probably freaked out over nothing.' Lorelai gave her daughter a sheepish smile.

'I hope it's nothing.' Rory continued her pacing.

'It will be. I'll call their office first thing on Monday. We'll iron this out, I promise.' Lorelai reassured.

'Thanks, mom.' Rory smiled gratefully, giving her mom a warm hug.

Lorelai returned the hug, then asked in excitement. 'So… Tell me about tonight. What happened with you and Jess? How was he?'

Rory couldn't help but smile shyly, covering her face with her hands. 'He was so… wonderful.'

With her pretty dress, her flushed face, her soft eyes, the way she said wonderful, Lorelai could see the happiness radiating in waves from her daughter. Rory was completely smitten. And once again, Lorelai was terrified.

She quirked an eyebrow. 'Wonderful, huh? Is that why your dress zipper's halfway down?'

'What?' Rory blushed deeply, raising her hands self-consciously to fiddle with the zipper.

Lorelai shook her head in amusement. 'I so made you look. Someone got a little feisty with the boyfriend today, huh?'

'Mom!'

Lorelai's grin widened, as she sing-sang loudly. 'Rory and Jess sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I—'

'Oh jeez!' Rory turned away. her face now a deep scarlet.

'So… dirty!' Lorelai's eyebrows wiggled.

Rory was even more mortified. 'New topic, please?'

Lorelai nodded, wrinkling her nose and shuddering in disdain. 'Yeah… I don't want that visual either.' She then patted the bed and waited for Rory to plop down next to her. 'But it seems Jess must've done something right to get you this happy. Big step up for the hoodlum from his cop-raided party days, huh?'

Rory nodded with a small smile as she dropped back on the bed, lying on her back and staring at the ceiling thoughtfully. A few minutes passed before she whispered quietly, so even Lorelai had to lean in. 'I think… I think I'm in love with him.'

'In love? Really?' Lorelai whispered back, her heart doing a painful squeeze. She tried her best to put on an encouraging smile.

The younger girl nodded slowly, pursing her lips.

'Did you tell him?' Lorelai asked gently.

'No, I didn't wanna make it a big deal.' Rory whispered again, as she closed her eyes in embarrassment.

'Did he tell you?'

Rory frowned. 'No.' Then, her eyes grew wide in worry. 'Is that bad? Do you think he doesn't…?'

'No, no, honey. I'm no expert, but I think Holden Caulfield is definitely head over heels too.'

'Do you think?'

'He doesn't hide it very well.' She smiled.

'Well, there was no Holden Caulfield today. Jess was just… Jess.' She paused, thinking about her words. 'But happier.'

Lorelai stroked Rory's head softly, letting her process her thoughts and sort through her memories. A few minutes passed before she said. 'Just... be careful, Rory.'

'I am careful. I told you, we were totally safe. We always use protection.' Rory defended.

'No, kid, I don't mean that. It's good to know, but it's not what I mean.'

Rory looked away. She nodded minutely without much emotion, but didn't seem like she wanted to respond.

'Come on, don't get all Victoria Beckham on me. Walk me through the rest of the day. What did you guys do? Where did you go?'

'Can I tell you tomorrow? I'm really exhausted.' Rory yawned.

Lorelai pouted. 'But you'll forget the details.'

Rory pouted back. 'But I won't be able to get into them in my weakened state.'

Lorelai had to roll her eyes. 'Aha, so you wanna go back and see Jess now?'

'I only wanna take off this itchy dress. After hitting the six-hour mark, my ribs are starting to feel like they're stuck in a medieval torture instrument.' Rory said, rubbing her ribs.

'Well, what is beauty if not pain and lots of medieval torture instruments?'

'Man, and those heels? I'm never, ever wearing heels again. What's wrong with flats anyway? Why can't we embrace our natural height? Why do we feel the need to follow society's standards for pretty footwear?'

'So... What? You miss him already?'

Rory smiled, her eyes widening innocently.

Her mother gave her an exasperated look. 'I'm so getting my water gun and spraying the two of you next time I see you do anything disgustingly sweet.'

'Hey, you are not spraying my boyfriend with a water gun!'

'My house, my rules, kid.'

'I thought you gave the water gun to Davey anyway. What happened to decluttering? What happened to recycling plastic?'

'It'll all be worth it just to see the look on his face when his hair gets all messed up.'

'He doesn't even use that much hair gel anymore!'

Lorelai scoffed. 'Honey, even if John Travolta stopped using hair gel forever, you still wouldn't see him as anyone other than Danny Zuko from Grease.'

'Ugh, ok, now you got me thinking about sideburns. I hate sideburns.'

'I think we'll still be able to see remnants from all that hair gel even if he never used any until he's on social security.'

Rory got off the bed with an irritated eye roll. 'Now I feel like I need to shower to get that sideburn-image out of my brain.'

Lorelai caught her daughter's wrist before she could walk away. 'Rory, how about you… maybe sleep here tonight?'

'Here?'

'Yeah, tonight's special. It was your prom.' Lorelai smiled ruefully. 'You're just growing up so fast, kid.'

Rory shook her head with a smile. 'Still feels slow.'

Lorelai was suddenly worried her daughter would say no. Could their estrangement already be starting?

But then, Rory kissed her mother's cheek and said. 'Okay, let me just go… brush my teeth. I'll be right back.'

Lorelai rolled her eyes. 'Oh, fine, fine. Go kiss him goodnight or whatever. I'll wait here.'

As Rory skipped downstairs, Lorelai's shoulders slumped as she tried to push away her worried thoughts again.

A/N: Ok, so the next chapter might get a bit delayed because my muse isn't cooperating so far... But in the meantime, please remember that I love your reviews and feedback, so keep them coming! :D