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"Are you sure you want to?" Jess asks for the millionth time

"Jess, we're already in the city." Rory points out.

"I know, but I don't want you to feel pressured into coming with me."

"Jess, I told you I was coming, we've been over this already." Rory answers him softly.

"Okay, we're almost there. I called my sister, before….she thinks it was really sweet of you to come. My mom- she's excited to meet you." Jess says nervously keeping his eyes on the road.

"You told her about me?" Rory asks smiling

"Of course I did, what did you think?" Jess asks glancing at her quickly "The hospital is down the block, but parking is horrible, so we'll just park here." Jess puts the car in park and shuts the engine.

"Are you all right?" Rory looks at him carefully.

"I was never ready for this, not the first time, not now."

"Jess, no one could ever be ready for this."

"I know, but I was so ungrateful, such a pain in the ass. I could- I could have been such a better son."

"It's not too late, you're mom. She's still here, you got a second chance." Rory tells him gently.

"She's going to think it's out of pity, that now that something is wrong I want to make things right. She'll see right through me."

"Maybe she will, but I'm sure she'd rather make amends then to never have her son back."

"It's too late."

"Is she here? In that room, breathing?" -Jess nods "Then it's not too late, these are the times when ties that were once broken get to be fixed. This is your chance."

"Carpe Diem." Jess mutters softly

"Yes, that's the spirit." Rory grabs his hand "Come on Romeo, show me where to go."

Jess smiles "If you do that again you're waiting in the car."

"Do what?" Rory asks innocently

"That little rhyming thing." Jess smirks

"I don't have any idea to what you're talking about." Rory replies as they go in through the hospital entrance.

"The elevators are this way." Jess turns around a corner he presses the button and they wait for a door to open.

The door opens and they step into the elevator shaft, Jess reaches over and presses the button for the fifth floor.

"There's no thirteenth." Rory says softly

"I know, I noticed that last time." Jess looks over the buttons

"I can't believe people really believe in things like that." Rory laughs softly

"Looks like it." Jess says as the doors open. They step out and start walking down a hallway.

Rory breathes in the smell of the hospital, they all smelled the same. They all looked the same, and they were all quiet, just like this one was.

"Here's her room." Jess pauses in front of room 523, the chart on the door was marked Mariano, Patty. "Wait out here for a second, I'll be right back." Jess says quietly and disappears into the room.

The door opens a moment later and Claudia slides out. "Hi, I'm Claudia." She extends her hand

Rory accepts it. "Rory, I'm Jess's girlfriend."

"I know." Claudia smiles "He's really happy you came along today, so is my mom she's so excited to finally meet you."

"Rory?" Jess opens the door "Come on." He reaches out and takes her hand. Rory walks slowly into the dimly lit room. A soft hum of machines and occasional beeps break the silence. It was a single room, and Jess's mother lay in her bed, propped up by pillows, she is a small, frail looking woman, but her smile is the biggest one Rory has ever seen.

"You must be Rory. I've heard so much about you." Ms. Mariano smiles even wider extending her hand. "What a beautiful thing you are, more than Jess described."

Rory blushes at the comment. "Thank you, it's nice to meet you too. I didn't know Jess told you so much about me."

"Well between me and you…." Ms. Mariano lowers her voice. "This past week he's filled me in on everything since he moved to Stars Hollow, but you came up the most."

"Yea almost every other sentence." Claudia smirks at Jess from her chair by the opposite wall. She smiles and looks back down at the book she is reading.

"Keep reading Claudia." Jess retorts

"Good one, you're getting better and better at the sarcasm, Uncle Luke is teaching you well."

"Speaking of Luke….is he coming by today?" Ms. Mariano asks Jess

"He was already gone when I went to the diner this morning. He should be here by now."

Rory stands up suddenly "I'll be right back, I need to get something. Excuse me." She quickly exits the room and starts down the hallway.

*****************

Luke flinches at the sound of a pair of shoes scraping against the floor. He looks at the shoes and realizes they didn't belong to an adult.

"Interesting pattern they have here on the floor, I especially like the blue and green tiling."

"Rory?" Luke asks without looking up.

"No, it's Lorelai." Rory replies "What are you doing?"

"I'm here to see my sister, what are you doing?"

"I'm here to see your sister too, but I saw her and it looks like you haven't even made it into the elevator." Rory observes

"I did." Luke defends himself looking up cautiously.

"And?"

"And some guy with a dislocated shoulder came in so I got out."

"The freaks always manage to find you huh?"

"Yea, I'm just a regular freak show." Luke mutters looking down as a bed is wheeled by.

"Luke, that was a pregnant lady, what's so scary about that?"

"Hospitals-they just don't agree with me. That's all." Luke keeps his eyes on the floor.

"So would you like me to blindfold you so you can make it up to your sister's room?" Rory suggests jokingly

Luke looks at her briefly.

"Calm down, I don't actually have a blindfold."

"You've seen here already?"

"Yes I have."

"And?" Luke looks at her playing with his hat.

"And what?"

"What does she look like?"

"Probably exactly how you remember her." Rory replies

"I mean does she look sick?"

"She is sick, a couple of machines, a few needles it's nothing you can't handle."

"I can't handle much." Luke looks solemn

"You still need to go and see your sister, I know you've been avoiding it the whole weekend."

"Jess told you?" Luke glances at her.

"You were at the diner the whole time."

"See? I can't even remember that! I can't do this, I'll just send her a card or something." Luke gets up.

"Fine, I'll tell Ms. Mariano you made it through the front doors and then you left. A card would be nice…flowers…a teddy bear….but I'll convey the message." Rory continues talking as she walks down the hall and gets into the elevator. She rides up to the fifth floor and gets out waiting in the elevators hallway.

Another set of doors open and Luke steps out. "How-"

"Her room is this way." Rory smiles knowingly.

"Thanks Rory." Luke half smiles, then pushes the door open and goes inside. Jess and Claudia come out a moment later.

"You got Luke here." Jess states

"He was already downstairs." Rory replies

"No you don't understand, Luke hates hospitals." Jess insists

"I know he does, believe me." Rory smiles

"Anyway, it doesn't matter Uncle Luke is here. Come on let's go out to lunch." Claudia suggests

"Want to?" Jess asks Rory

"Let's go." Rory smiles.

"What time do you have to be home?" Jess asks as they walk down the hallway.

"Don't worry about that, it's not important."

"What is important?"

"Family." Rory replies "That's what's important."

Jess smiles and kisses her on the head and takes her hand into his as they step inside the elevator and the door shut.



More to come, please R&R thank you!