** 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!**

Rory looked at the road atlas, tracing the interstate with her index finger.

"We need to get off of I-95 and onto I-10." She said, closing it.

"Ok, well, that's still a few miles away." Said Jess as they pulled out of the gas station.

They were just north of Jacksonville, Florida, about to switch from the main road they'd be traveling south on, to one that would take them west, to New Orleans.

"What time do you think we'll get there?" She asked, looking out of the window.

"Probably this evening." He sighed. "That is, if you wanted to stop for lunch?" He asked.

"Oooh, lunch sounds good." She grinned.

"Burgers?" He smiled.

"And fries." She nodded, licking her lips.

"As you wish." He said, pulling back onto I-95 for the last time.

*****

Lorelai sat in the passenger seat of the Jeep with the door open.

"Sorry I-95." She sighed, wiping her mouth and looking at Luke. "Does this count as litter?" She frowned, point to where she'd been sick.

"I don't know. But they can fine me all they like, I ain't clearing it up." He said, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"I think I'm ok now." She smiled up at him.

"I don't. You haven't eaten anything since last night, you need to get some food inside you."

"But it won't stay inside." She pouted.

"We're going to find somewhere and get you something very bland to eat." He said, getting back in the drivers side of the Jeep.

"I don't like bland food." She muttered, pulling her legs inside the car and closing the door.

"I don't care. Don't even try and argue, this is one fight you won't win." He smiled slightly.

"Only because I'm ill. You wouldn't win on a normal day." She said, raising an eyebrow at him. He shook his head and smiled at her.

*****

"I'm sorry." Cringed Rory.

"It's ok." Said Jess as they pulled back onto the interstate. "We didn't get too lost."

"The sign was bad. I thought it said 10, not 12." She explained.

"It's really ok." He smiled at her. "We're only like… 30 minutes in the wrong direction."

It was already dark, and they were almost an hour north of New Orleans.

"Ugh… we're gonna' have to stop for gas." He said, noticing that they were almost on empty again.

"I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing, we probably would have had to stop again before we got there anyway." He insisted.

They took the next exit and turned into a small gas station.

"Are they open?" Laughed Rory softly. It was dimly lit and run down.

"They need to be." Said Jess, getting out of the car.

Rory got out and stretched for a minute. She was looking forward to not being in the truck all day the next day.

"Do you think they have a bathroom?" She asked.

Jess looked over at the building and then noticed some portable toilets next to it.

"I think it depends on either how desperate or brave you are." He smiled.

Rory scrunched her nose up and sighed, heading over to them reluctantly. Jess finished pumping gas and walked over to the main building to pay.

"Hey… I'm at…" Jess looked back outside. "The pump on the right." He said, trying not to laugh.

The man at the register was old. He looked like he was half asleep. Jess rolled his eyes. He was going to be there a while.

Rory stepped out of the toilet and shut the door firmly behind her, as if she was afraid of letting some kind of animal out. She shuddered and turned to walk away.

"Want a cigarette?"

She rolled her eyes and turned around, thinking it was Jess fooling around. She found herself only inches away from a scrawny blond guy, who looked only a few years older than her.

"Oh… Uh… no. Thank you." She said, trying to smile.

"Not from around here?" He asked when she turned to leave.

"No… uh… just passing through." She sighed, feeling uncomfortable but wanting to be polite.

The guy nodded and Rory turned again. He hurried in front of her.

"Leaving?" He asked, taking his cigarette out of his mouth and blowing some smoke in her direction.

"Yeah… my boyfriend is just paying..." She said, trying to step around him. He blocked her.

"Then we can talk until he's done." He smiled, flicking his cigarette away and taking a step towards her. She stepped back.

"I don't mean to be rude… but I'd really rather not." She said. Panic rose inside her as he continued to come closer, forcing her to back up more.

Jess sighed impatiently as the man at the cash register counted the money he'd handed him.

"Uh… I'm kind of in a hurry here…" Jess said, hoping it would make the man go faster, but he didn't even seem to hear him.

Rory found herself backed up against the gas station. The guy placed his hand on the wall next to her head, his face was only a few inches from hers.

"Looks like your boyfriend got hung up." He said, pretending to be sorry for her.

"He'll be out in a minute." She persisted, hoping the guy would believe her and back off.

"Well, until he bothers to come back for you, I'll make sure nothing happens to you." He smiled, leaning closer. Rory looked away.

The man in the gas station opened the cash register and started getting Jess his change slowly.

"I'll just be a minute, I have to get some more pennies." He said, turning and heading into a room behind him.

"You know what? That's ok. The service was great! Keep the change!" Shouted Jess, walking quickly towards the doors.

Rory's body was stiff, she didn't move at all, she was too scared too.

"Don't be so tense…" He said quietly, running his hand across her cheek and down her neck.

Rory closed her eyes and started to cry as his hand moved down across her chest and over her stomach.

"Please don't." She whimpered.

He didn't say anything. He continued to stare at her.

Just as his fingers started unbuttoning her pants, She heard Jess's voice.

"Get the hell away from her!"

Jess hit him with a force that knocked him to the ground, and then he hit him again and again. Rory slumped down against the wall crying.

The other guy crawled away from Jess and after a few failed attempts he finally got back on his feet and ran off.

Jess stood, breathing hard, watching him go. He'd never felt so much rage in his life. It scared him. He felt like he could have killed the guy with his bare hands.

He turned and saw Rory crying, and he hurried over to her.

"Are you ok?" He asked quietly, brushing some hair from her face.

She looked up at him. Her eyes were wide, like she was caught in the headlights of a car. She gasped a few times, trying to calm down, but couldn't. Jess reached out and hugged her. It was gentle at first, but as what had happened sunk in for both of them, it became stronger and more desperate.

After a few minutes, he started to pull back slowly.

"Come on, we need to get you out of here." He said, helping her to her feet.

Her legs didn't seem to want to hold her up, so he did, practically carrying her back to the truck and sitting her in the passenger seat.

"How far is it." She finally asked.

"How far is what?" He asked, not letting go of her hand.

"The place… in New Orleans."

"Forget that. We're not going there tonight." He said, starting the truck.

"Why?" She frowned, hugging herself.

"Because… You need to be somewhere clean and … warm and safe." He said, looking over at her. "And I'm pretty sure the guy we were going to stay with doesn't live somewhere like that."

She didn't say anything.

"Besides, you don't need to be around any strangers tonight." He added.

She didn't argue, she knew he was right, and she was grateful that he knew and understood her so well.

*****

Rory came out of the bathroom. Her hair was still wet. She looked comfortable in the big fluffy bathrobe that Jess had asked the front desk to send up.

"Feel better?" He asked, turning off the TV and watching her.

"A little." She nodded, sitting on the bed next to him. "Thanks for getting the bathrobe." She said quietly.

"No problem. You expect these things from a Marriott." He smiled softly.

She pushed herself back on the bed, resting against the pillows. She played with the cuff of the bathrobe, it was too big on her, but she liked how surrounded and safe that made her feel.

Jess didn't say anything. He didn't want to force her to talk about what happened if she didn't want to. And he didn't want to ask her if she was ok, because it was obvious just by looking at her that she wasn't.

"Thank you."

"For what." He frowned, moving closer to her.

"For… coming out of the gas station when you did. For stopping him." She said, looking him in the eyes.

"You don't have to thank me Rory. I'm just… sorry I left you alone or… didn't come out of there sooner." He sighed.

"It's ok. It's not you fault."

"I …" He hesitated. "I don't know what I would have done if something happened to you." He said, looking down at the sheets.

"I was so scared." She said, starting to cry all over again.

He put his arms around her gently.

"I thought… I thought he was going to…" She stopped. She couldn't say it.

"I know." He said softly, closing his eyes tightly. He didn't want to think about what could have happened.

"I kept thinking 'why is this happening to me', you know?" She wept, resting her head against his shoulder. He nodded.

She pulled back and looked at him.

"And then… I kept thinking how… you're supposed to be my first." She said, wiping her eyes on the sleeve of the bathrobe and then looking down at her hands.

He reached out and ran his hand through her hair slowly.

"Well… if…" He paused and she looked up at him. "When you're ready, if you still want me to be, I will." He said softly.

She hugged him tightly and they lay back on the bed.

She closed her eyes, focusing all her attention on feeling his arms around her, holding her close. Protecting her.
He closed his eyes, thankful that he could still hold her. That she was safe. That he could protect her.

*****

"Lorelai, you look pale." Sighed Luke.

"I'm fine." She insisted, pulling on her jacket. "Look, it's already 9:30am. Can we get going now?"

"Lore, please…" He said, walking over to her.

"Luke, no. Please just let it go. I told you all day yesterday I was fine." She said impatiently.

"Yeah, and each time it was punctuated with vomiting." He pointed out.

"That's an exaggeration." She said, not wanting to raise her voice.

"Please, just… rest. You're ill and you're stressed out…"

"Because Rory is out there somewhere and I don't know if she's ok!" Shouted Lorelai.

"We're not going to find her if you don't rest and get better!" He insisted.

She didn't reply. She rubbed her forehead and took a deep breath.

"Please, let's just… let's go.." She sighed.

"Lorelai?" Luke frowned as she swayed very slightly. "Lore… are you ok?" He asked again.

Lorelai groaned slightly and collapsed.

"Lorelai!" Luke rushed to her side, and lifted her head gently. She'd fainted.

He got up and hurried over to the phone to call an ambulance.

*****

Lorelai lay in the hospital bed while the nurse took some blood to be tested. Luke sat beside her, holding her other hand.

"You can go." She looked at him. "This must be hell for you, I know how much you hate these places." She smiled slightly.

"I'll deal with it." He smiled back, squeezing her hand. "I'm not leaving you."

"Ok, all done." Said the nurse, putting the last of the blood samples on the tray and taking her gloves off.

"How long will the tests take?" Asked Lorelai.

"Only a little while." She smiled reassuringly. "Maybe an hour, two at most."

"Can I stay with her until then?" Asked Luke.

"Yes, of course." She nodded and then walked away.

"You want a coffee?" He asked Lorelai. "Of course you do. I'll go find you one." He said, getting up and leaving before she could say anything.

He ran after the nurse and stopped her.

"Can I help you?" She smiled.

"Yeah… uh… what do you think is wrong with her?" He asked.

"Well, from what you've both told us… it might just be stress related." She nodded.

"I didn't know that stress caused nausea though." He frowned.

"Not typically, but… it can happen. It could just be that she ate something that didn't agree with her or had a stomach bug."

"Could it be a lack of caffeine?" He asked, half seriously. "I mean, she's a big coffee drinker, but the last few days we've been on the road a lot and she hasn't had any really."

"Stranger things have happened." Said the nurse. "We'll know more after the tests come back." She smiled and walked away