** Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of Gilmore Girls. If I were that all powerful then Jess would be staying put! So, in summation... Please don't sue me!**
"Hello wonderful." Jenny beamed at Rory.
Rory smiled and looked up at the familiar voice. Jenny stood in front of her in the waiting room. Her hair was a different shade of brown this week. Darker. It made her skin seem darker too, more tanned. Which made her
bright green eyes all the more striking.
"Hey."
Rory got up and Jenny placed her arm around her, guiding her down the hall towards her 'office'.
"How've you been?" She asked, sounding almost eager to hear, as if Rory knew some juicy gossip.
"Not too bad." Rory nodded as they stepped into the welcoming room.
Jenny took her seat and Rory followed her example.
"Your mom called me." Jenny admitted.
"I thought she might." Rory said with a sad smile, looking down at her hands.
"She said you were having some problems. That you'd been hurting yourself?" Jenny asked gently and Rory nodded.
"I … I didn't mean to."
"Was there any reason? Anything specific?"
"No." Rory shook her head. "I was… having a bad day. Nothing unusual about that. I broke a picture frame by accident. And when I was clearing it up… It just happened." She sighed.
Jenny just nodded.
"I feel bad for doing it. But sometimes… things just get too much. And I just want to… let it out. You know? Like… when you shake a bottle of coke and the bubbles build up inside the bottle, and you have to unscrew the lid to let out the pressure."
"And it overflows, and settles down like nothing ever happened." Jenny said, understanding.
"Exactly." Rory nodded. "Only… Something did happen, and it wasn't as insignificant as some spilt soft drink." She laughed inwardly for a moment.
They sat in silence for a while, comfortably.
"So… How's Jess?" Jenny smiled softly, sensing that Rory had said all she could and would on the more serious topics for a while.
A smile played on Rory's lips at the sound of his name.
"He's fine." She said, happy to talk about him. "He 'discovered' a new band last week, he was practically giddy. Which is rare for him. It was like he'd
discovered a whole other country and planted his little flag in it or something." She giggled and Jenny laughed.
"Well, it's the little things that count." Smiled Jenny, noting how much Rory enjoyed talking about Jess.
Ever since she first mentioned him it was obvious. She got a sparkle in her eyes. He was her favorite subject.
Rory had refused antidepressants on several occasions. But Jenny didn't think there
was any antidepressant that could match the effect Jess had on Rory.
"Lane, it's invasion of privacy!" Sighed Rory.
"No it's not. If I can get it so can anyone else who wants to. It's not private." She said as she waited for the website to load.
"I don't know why I let you talk me into this in the first place." Said Rory, sitting next to Lane at the computer.
"Because I'm your best friend, and I know best." Lane looked at the lap top. "Dial up sucks. You need to get DSL." She said.
The website loaded and Lane clicked on the 'People Search'.
"Did I spell the last name right?" She asked.
"Yeah." Sighed Rory.
Lane hit the search button and waited.
"J. Mariano." She smiled successfully as the address for the only 'J. Mariano' in New York sat in front of them.
"It might not be him." Said Rory nervously.
Lane rolled her eyes and hit the 'More Info' button next to his name.
Rory swallowed hard when his full address, phone number, e-mail address and a map of the area he lived in came up.
"Manhattan? Nice." Smiled Lane, as she looked at the map.
"I can't do this. I think I'm going to be sick." Sighed Rory, her face was pale.
"You can do this. You have to do this!" Said Lane.
"It's stalking."
"It's not stalking. It's a surprise visit. And it wouldn't be a surprise if you asked him for his address, would it?" Said Lane shaking her head. "No."
"My mom will kill me." Said Rory, sitting on her bed.
Lane sighed and sat beside her.
"Seriously, Rory. If you don't do this… I don't think your mom will get a chance." She said, looking at Rory's arms.
"Lane, I told you… it's nothing. I wasn't trying to…" Rory looked down. She hadn't even told Jess. She didn't know how.
"Maybe not the first time, or the second…" Said Lane gently. "But what if next time…"
"I said I wouldn't do it again."
"I know."
There was silence.
"My mom is going to kill me." She said again.
"So you'll do it?" Asked Lane.
"I guess…"
"Oh my god! This is huge!" Said Lane, getting up and going back to the computer.
"Now what are you doing?" Smiled Rory.
"Booking you a bus ticket." Giggled Lane.
Rory flopped back on her bed and closed her eyes.
She couldn't believe she was actually going to go and see him. She didn't even know what he looked like. He didn't know what she looked like. She shook her head.
