PAIRING: R/J

SUMMARY: The story starts with the episode 'Help wanted'. The fight between Rory and Lorelai doesn't end well, Rory realises that she loves Jess etc. This mostly concentrates on the relationships between Jess and Rory & Rory and Lorelai.

SPOILERS: None that I know of

DISCLAIMERS: I don't own anything

RATING: R (PG for the first chapters, but as soon as I get to the interaction between Rory and Jess it's gonna be R)

A/N: Thank you, thank you, thank you for the reviews! They really make me happy!:) Someone commented on the language, I know I have a long way to go before it's really fluent and I know it seems a bit simple, but I hope it doesn't bother you guys too much. I'm doing my best, and hopefully it is getting better. And about the whole replacing dialogue with paragraphs that sum things up, I know it's not ideal, but I'm just lazy.. I'll try to get rid of those things.

And this story is really rated R for a reason. This particular chapter really lacks R/J interaction, but don't worry, the next chapters will have plenty of Jess and Rory together and the rating will be R. And if someone would like to tell me what's the real difference between R and NC-17, I'm not really familiar with this rating-stuff.

And after all this babbling, here's chapter four. Enjoy!

The Day After Tomorrow

Chapter Four

Rory got home around six that evening and the joy she had been feeling about Jess was turning into nervousness about talking with her mum. Lorelai didn't seem to be downstairs and after changing out of her uniform, Rory climbed up the stairs and knocked on the door of her mother's bedroom.

Lorelai was apparently cleaning her closet and she turned to see Rory.

"You're home"

Rory nodded and stepped inside. She sat on the bed and looked at her mother who was going through her wardrobe. Again there was silence which was finally broken by Lorelai.

"I heard Jess is back"

"Yea, did you talk to Luke?"

"No, Babette told me about it"

"Oh. I guess you and Luke haven't made up yet"

Lorelai was quiet for a minute, then she said that Luke was probably happy that Jess was back.

"I think he missed Jess. Anyway, I just came home to do my homework, I'm gonna see Jess later"

Lorelai nodded and went back to work on her closet. Rory got up and went to the door.

"I don't think I've ever been this happy, mum"

Lorelai didn't turn to see her and Rory went back downstairs to do her homework. Lorelai sat down and stared after her, she really didn't know what to do.

*The Bridge, 8pm*

It was dark, but when approaching the bridge Rory saw his figure sitting on the edge. She walked to him slowly and sat down beside him. Jess was holding a book, although it was too dark to read, and he put it down when he looked at her.

"Do you feel weird about being back?"

Jess looked at her silently for a while, then he shook his head.

"Do you feel weird about me being back?"

Rory shook her head and smiled. Jess leaned a bit closer to her and placed a kiss on her lips. Then he pulled away and asked Rory if it had felt weird.

"It felt pretty good"

Jess smiled and then kissed her again, this time more passionately, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her against him tightly. Finally he broke the kiss

"Did that feel weird?"

"Well…" Rory said and blushed a bit. "That was perfect"

"I thought so, too" Jess said and still held his hands tightly around her so that she could lean her head on his chest. "I'm sorry to break the romance here, but I was just wondering about you and you mum"

"Yea?" Rory said and stroked his thigh gently.

"Do you think you two can make up?"

"I don't know. The things I said to her weren't very nice and the things she said to me…"

"But they were about me" Jess interrupted and his words made Rory sit up properly.

"So?"

"Don't ruin your relationship with her because of me. She's your mum and you two have a good, although a very weird, relationship."

"Jess. I am crazy about you, and if someone starts telling me how much they hate you…"

Rory didn't say anymore when he saw Jess's face. No one liked to hear and know that there were people who actually despised them.

"You have people here who care about you. You have Luke and you have me. Don't think about anyone else" she said and smiled at him

Jess smiled too and Rory pulled him closer for a kiss. For the next few hours they just sat there, holding each other, occasionally saying something, but mostly just enjoying the feeling of their bodies so close together.

*Luke's Diner, 8pm*

Lorelai stood next to the counter. She had had to push herself in, put she was finally there. The diner was practically deserted, just a few people were sitting by the window. Lorelai coughed a bit and soon Luke appeared from the kitchen. He saw Lorelai and stopped. They hadn't seen each other after the fight and the accident. They had exchanged some harsh words, and neither knew what to do now that they were in the same room.

"Lorelai" Luke finally managed to mumble and walked a bit closer to her

"I was hoping we could talk" she replied and looked around

"Let's go upstairs"

Luke told Ceasar where he'd be and followed Lorelai upstairs. She was standing in the living room, looking into Jess's room.

"I hadn't had the time to send his stuff back to New York" he said and Lorelai turned to see him

"Look, I'm sorry. I was upset, I shouldn't have screamed at you, I was just going crazy because Rory was in the hospital"

Luke said nothing, he just looked at her. Lorelai sighed and asked him what he wanted.

"What do you mean?"

"I apologised, I told you I'm sorry. You have to understand that I wasn't thinking straight, I was worried sick"

"You came here, screamed at me, told me my nephew was scum, you acted like he was something completely worthless. He's not just someone you can hate, Lorelai. He's a real person, he's my nephew and I care about him, okay? There's nothing I can do about it, you love Rory because she's your daughter, well, Jess is my nephew and I love him, even I though I sometimes don't understand him. You don't know him, Lorelai, and I don't know him too well, either. But I think Rory does"

Lorelai looked away from him, and this time it was her turn to be silent. Luke walked to the other side of the room and tried to figure out what to say.

"Jess is a good kid. He cares about Rory and Rory cares about him. I don't want to see Rory getting hurt, I love her like she was my own daughter. But I don't think Jess is going to hurt her, I don't think he's ever cared about anyone as much as he cares about her"

"So, I should just tell them how happy I am for them?"

"I don't know, Lorelai. But it sure didn't help when you screamed at Rory and told her how much you despise him"

"I don't know what to do, Luke" Lorelai said and sat down on the couch. "I feel I'm doing everything wrong"

She buried her face in her hands and Luke didn't know how to comfort her. He sat down next to her and asked if she had talked with Rory.

"She told me about Jess and that they were together. She told me she was happy"

"What did you say?"

Lorelai didn't look at him when she replied. She hadn't said anything to Rory. She hadn't known what to say, she didn't know what she wanted to say.

"Talk with her tonight when she gets home"

"What am I gonna say?" Lorelai said and looked at Luke.

He didn't know. It was hard for him to try and understand Lorelai when she so clearly hated the boy he really cared about. Luke told her what he thought, and Lorelai listened to him without saying a word. Then she nodded, feeling confused and not at all sure about how she felt about anything.

"Do you mind if I come for breakfast tomorrow?" she then asked after getting up.

"No, I don't mind" Luke said and couldn't help smiling a bit. "Make sure Rory comes with you"

"I'll do my best" Lorelai said and she left for home feeling hopeful and restless at the same time.

*Gilmore House, 9pm*

Jess walked Rory back home, but decided to keep a safe distance from the house so he wouldn't have to confront Lorelai. They said goodnight and kissed before Jess started to walk back to Luke's. Rory went inside and found her mother in the kitchen, making coffee.

"Hi" Lorelai said and looked at Rory attentively.

Lorelai really couldn't deny the fact that Rory was glowing. She looked happy, her cheeks a bit flushed and her eyes bright. Rory sat down beside the table and Lorelai did the same after pouring them both a cup of coffee.

"I went to see Luke"

"You did?" Rory said and it was pretty obvious that she was pleased

"We managed to talk properly and clear the air between us"

"That's good" Rory said while sipping the hot drink

"Yea, it's great. And I finally realised that I have to talk with you, too. I haven't been able to do that before because I really didn't know what to say to you. I didn't really know what I was thinking, everything changed so quickly that it took me some time to realise what happened"

"I know what you mean" Rory said and she smiled kindly at her mother

Lorelai took a deep breath and started to talk. She hadn't had a plan about what she'd say, she just said the things she knew to be true in her heart. She said she was sorry about the way she'd spoken of Jess, she said that she had been worried and angry, and thinking about her own situation years ago with Chris.

"It's not easy for me to accept that you're not my little girl anymore. And it's not easy for me to accept that you really want to be with Jess. I know you're right when you say I don't know him, Luke said the exact same thing, but I can't tell you that I trust him and I can't tell you that I'm glad you're with him"

Rory nodded and was relieved to be having this conversation with her mother.

"I don't expect you to love him right now, but I want you to give him a chance. He's not going to change, I wouldn't want him to. He's not going to turn into Dean, or the perfect gentleman. He's Jess and that's who he's going to be. He really cares about me mum, and I can't really believe it, either" Rory said and smiled. "He treats me like I'm his equal, he doesn't try to own me. And he's worried about my relationship with you, he doesn't want to come between us"

Lorelai listened to her daughter and thought to herself that it was pretty incredible that she had a daughter who was this mature. Rory's words made sense, she couldn't deny that.

"So, now that we had this calm and rational conversation, does that mean that tomorrow morning you and I can go to Luke's for breakfast?"

"I guess it does" Rory said and grinned.

"Well, now I'm gonna go to bed, I'm exhausted" Lorelai said and stood up

"Okay" Rory said and stayed sitting down. "I'm really glad we talked, mum"

"I'm glad, too" Lorelai replied smiling

"Good night, mum"

"Good night, Rory" Lorelai said and went to the stairs, but in just a few second she was back.

Rory turned to look at her mother who had a serious and worried look on her face.

"You really like him?"

"I think I love him" Rory replied quietly

A/N: Please review! You'll make my day..:)