Chapter 8

Jess hung up the phone, shaking his head, feeling that something very significant was about to happen, for better of worse.

"Who was that?" Luke asked idly.

"That was my girlfriend."

"You usually look happier when you talk to her."

"Yeah, well, she's coming here."

Luke paused. "What, like, Stars Hollow here?" Jess nodded. "Isn't that a good thing? You wanted her to come and visit for the Christmas. This is going to be good, right?"

Jess shrugged in response. "I don't… I don't know. She has a cell phone, and called from the bus. She'll be here in about an hour. She said there's a lot of stuff we have to talk about."

"Ah," Luke said, though he still didn't understand.

"It's gonna be a kiss-off," Jess said, resigned to the fact.

"Now, you don't know that," Luke said, trying to be comforting.

Jess stood, scoffing. "Luke, you suck at consolation," he said. "She'd never break up with me on the phone, and I never got that trip there. Look, I'm gonna go meet Lorelai at the bus stop. At least then she can go home immediately and doesn't have to waste time here."

"Wait a minute. Her name is Lorelai?" Luke's words stopped him on the way out.

"Yeah," Jess said, almost making it a question.

"Huh."

"What?"

"I just never thought I'd meet two Lorelais, much less have two of them in the same town at the same time. Weird."

Jess stared at his uncle for a long moment, then said very slowly, "What other Lorelai do you know?"

Luke looked at him funny. "Gilmore? Crazy lady who bought the Inn, comes in every day and drinks the coffeepots dry?"

Jess looked completely startled for a long moment. "Her name is Lorelai?"

"Yes."

"Her first name?"

"Yes."

"How old is she?"

Luke shrugged. "I don't ask women their ages. It's rude. Early thirties I guess."

Jess let out a huge breath. "Do me a favor and do not mention another Lorelai to my girlfriend. Or the other way around," he added. When Luke nodded that he wouldn't, Jess muttered, "My life is bizarre." He turned and ran out. His thoughts were a whirlwind of confusion as he walked the short path to the bus stop.

That was why that woman looked so familiar. She was Lorelai's mother—she had to be. They even looked and acted a lot alike, now that he knew what to look for. Same color hair, same eyes, same addiction to coffee. And now Lorelai was coming here to break up with him. What was he going to do? He couldn't sit on this secret; but he didn't know for sure that she wanted to find her birth mother.

And what about Lorelai, or, rather, Lorelai the elder? Did she want to find the daughter she'd given up for adoption? Was she even interested in knowing what had happened to her? He had to talk to both of them, but knew it was going to be next to impossible.

Sighing, he pulled out his book and waited for his girlfriend to show up to break his heart. He told himself he'd been prepared for this. He'd known something like this was going to happen soon. Long-distance relationships didn't work out that often, did they? She'd sounded so weird for the last several months, so what else could it be?

And he was starting to get mad. She was the one who'd told him to come here in the first place. He'd known it was going to cause trouble, but she'd asked him to come, and he'd done it just because she had. Though he did admit he was getting a lot more writing done here. And there wasn't anything nearby worth skipping school for, so he might actually graduate with the rest of the people his age.

He couldn't decide if it was a fair trade-off. Giving up the girlfriend he loved in exchange for…what? A better life? Shaking his head, he resolved not to decide what he was feeling until everything was done with. He went back to his book.

When the bus pulled up, his heart began pounding hard in nervousness. He stood and took a deep breath. Then he saw her, and she looked as gorgeous as he remembered. More than anything, he wanted to grab her to him and hug her, kiss her, make her realize that she didn't want to break up with him.

He walked toward her as she bit her lip and looked around curiously, her full duffle bag lying at her feet. Stars Hollow looked idyllic at the worst of times, but blanketed in snow it looked absolutely pristine. As he neared, he noticed that she seemed pale and tired.

"Lorelai," he said, and she visibly jumped.

"Jess," she said, and looked very scared. "Um, hi," she finished lamely.

He nodded. "Hi." They stood around in silence for a few seconds.

She looked at him steadily. "I have to talk to you." He stuck his hands in his pockets and looked at her expectantly. "Can we sit down?"

"I'd have thought you'd want to stretch a little after sitting for so long," he said, gesturing at the now-departing bus. When she shook her head, he nodded in acceptance and led her to sit in the gazebo at the center of town.

As they sat, she took in a huge breath and then let it out. "Okay." She opened her mouth, then snapped it closed. She did this several times before she managed to say, "Okay," again. "I understand that this is weird," she continued. "But I have a lot to say."

"Are you cold?" he asked. When she looked at him questioningly, he took her hands in his and said, "Your hands are shaking." He was stalling and he knew it. He also didn't care.

"I'm just nervous," she admitted. "I don't know quite how to tell you what I need to say."

He set his jaw and released her hands. "Just say it straight out."

"Okay," she said. "I'm…well, first I need to tell you that I took the classes and got my G.E.D. Then I need you to know that I'm an emancipated minor. Janet and Larry agreed to do that for me as my legal guardians." Jess frowned, feeling very confused. "I'm moving here," she said.

"Really?" he asked, and nearly smiled. "Then why are you so nervous?"

"Because I'm pregnant," she blurted out. When she saw the blank shock on his face, she hung her head. "I'm almost five months along," she whispered.

"That means that…but we used a condom," Jess said, trying to digest this information. When Lorelai merely nodded, he said, "When did you first find this out?"

"A few days after my birthday," she admitted quietly.

His voice held a little more emotion as he demanded, "You've been keeping this from me since October?"

She began to cry as she nodded, and began speaking very quickly. "I didn't want to tell you until I knew for sure. And then when I did know, you were doing so well here. I mean, you weren't doing as badly as you were in New York, and I knew that if I told you you'd insist on coming back. I loved the sound of Stars Hollow, and I loved the pictures. I wanted to be here, with you. Start over. Something like that. So…I dropped out of school and took the first GED course I could find. I finished just last week."

"How could you keep this from me?" he demanded. "Are you healthy? The baby's doing okay, right? I mean, there's no danger or anything, is there?" She shook her head.

"Jess," she said, reaching up with a gloved hand to wipe at her tears. "I kept this from you because I know you. I knew you'd come back to New York." She looked at him, eyes still wet. "I don't want to raise a baby in New York."

"But you still should have told me," he ground out around his clenched jaw. "You could have told me to stay and I would have." I think. "I don't understand this. We talked every day. I talked to you every day, and you never said anything."

"I'm so sorry," she said. "I shouldn't have kept it from you. But I wanted to be set. I wanted to be able to come here and tell you that I'm staying, and I'm not going back."

Jess stood suddenly and held out his hand. "Come on," he said.

She looked up at him, wide-eyed. "Where?"

"I'm taking you home," he said. When she began to panic, he clarified, "My home. I'm not sending you back to New York." He sighed and looked up at the roof of the gazebo. "Come on, I'll introduce you to my uncle. Just don't tell him until the diner's closed and the explosion is at least slightly contained, okay?" he added.

She nodded, sniffed and took his hand, feeling encouraged that he didn't drop it. They walked hand-in-hand through Stars Hollow. He led her into a semi-busy restaurant, which she assumed was the diner. "Hey Luke," Jess said, waving and leading Lorelai up past him hurriedly. He stopped in the stair well. "This is Lorelai," he added trying to shield her from the most curious observers.

"Hi," Lorelai said, trying to smile at Luke, curling her fingers in a nervous wave.

"Hey," Luke said, then turned a questioning look on Jess. He cocked his head to the side, then called, "Hey, take over for a minute, would ya, Caesar?" The other man nodded and went to refill drinks. "Come on, Lorelai," Luke said, pushing past both of them. "I'll show you the apartment."

Jess winced after his uncle had turned his back. But he dutifully waved Lorelai up the stairs ahead of him. When she entered the apartment for the first time, raised eyebrows were the only indication of what she thought. He had prepared her for the small size of the apartment. "Well," Luke said. "Uh, this is it. So," he added. "What's up?"

"She's staying for a while," Jess said vaguely.

"I see," Luke said, though he didn't. "Well, you're welcome to take Jess' bed. He'll sleep on the couch." He sent a pointed look his nephew's way, and was moderately surprised when he nodded a little spastically.

"Oh, no, that's okay," Lorelai said. "I'll just go get a room at the hotel."

"It's an Inn, actually. But that's not necessary," Jess said quickly. "You're absolutely welcome here as long as you like."

"But, Jess," she began then bit her lip. Both men looked at her curiously. "Um, thank you, uh, Luke. I really appreciate that."

Luke nodded and turned to his nephew. "Why don't you take the night off? Show…Lorelai around town?"

Jess raised his eyebrow at his uncle, then nodded. "Yeah, I think I'll do that. Thanks."

Luke left them alone in the apartment. "Are you going to be warm enough?" Jess asked, gesturing to her clothes.

Lorelai nodded in response. "Jess," she said in a low voice. He was halfway to the door, so he stopped and turned around. "Can you…can I just get a hug?" she asked.

"I wasn't sure you'd want to be hugged," he said as he stepped towards her, and folded her in his arms. She sighed happily and just stood in his embrace, reveling in the feel of him after so long apart. Her cheek pressed into his shoulder, her nose nuzzling his neck, and she inhaled his scent for the first time in months.

He hesitated slightly before shuffling his feet closer to her, until he felt her stomach, even through the layers of clothes. "Can I…?" he almost asked. She smiled as she pulled back. She took off her coat and sweater, and lifted the simple T-shirt she had under it until he could see her expanding stomach. He kneeled in front of her, his fingers trailing lightly down the curve. "God," he breathed, seeing the evidence for the first time. "Is there really a baby in there?" He looked up at her.

She nodded. "I've got sonogram pictures, if you want to see," she said. "They're in my bag."

"We'll look at them later," Jess said, his eyes watching his hand as it trailed all around her belly. "I just…can't believe it. My baby is in there." He felt a clutching sensation in his throat and chest, and realized that he wanted to cry. Blinking rapidly, he looked up at her. She looked so nervous, he thought idly. To show his feelings, he leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on her stomach. "Our baby," he added.

Lorelai broke down and began sobbing. Jess stood and quickly pulled her to the couch, where she curled into his arms, letting go of the nerves she felt, the sickening fear that he wouldn't believe her, would hate her, or stop trusting her. He soothed her with nonsense syllables, rocking back and forth. His fingers combed through her hair.

"I was so scared," she finally sniffed, her tears abating somewhat. "I'm so sorry I kept it from you, but…you have to understand that I could never give it up. Never. Not after what I've been through."

"I know," he said. "Really, I do. I never even considered it. And I know how you feel about abortions."

She nodded. "Once I found out the baby and I were healthy, it wasn't even a consideration." She wiped her eyes, and tried to pull herself together. "Let's get that tour taken," she said. "There's not much light left."

"You don't have to worry about being out after dark here," he told her. "Ever hear that Meredith Brooks song, 'My Little Town?'" Lorelai nodded. "Well, that's Stars Hollow," he told her. "The town's dead after dark, not dangerous."

She slipped back into her sweater and jacket and they left the apartment.

He showed her the town square, Doose's Market, the bookstore, Al's Pancake World. They walked slowly, hand-in-hand, and earned a few syrupy glances from the likes of Miss Patty and Babette. "Jess, darling," Miss Patty said, approaching, wearing one of her usual loud costumes. "Please introduce us to this stunning young creature."

"Miss Patty," Jess said obediently. "This is Lori, my girlfriend. She's moving here from New York. Lori, this is Miss Patty." Lorelai looked at him questioningly for a brief moment, but smiled and shook hands with the older woman.

"Let me tell you," Miss Patty said, tugging Lorelai closer conspiratorially. "If I were just thirty years younger I would have snapped your boyfriend out from under you like that." Lorelai smiled over her shoulder at Jess, realizing he hadn't been exaggerating during their phone calls.

"I trust him," she told the other woman calmly. Jess stepped forward and slipped his arm around her waist while Miss Patty laughed heartily.

"Well, nice chatting with you, Miss Patty," Jess said, and began leading Lorelai around her. "But we've got a tour of Stars Hollow to finish."

"Don't stay out too late, dears." Miss Patty had to have the last word. "Remember it's a school night!"

"Maybe I should look into the GED courses, too," Jess said.

Lorelai shook her head. "No, you shouldn't. You're going to graduate the old-fashioned way. Otherwise," she added, lowering both her voice and her hand, "how are we going to keep this one in school?"

Jess' stomach flopped at the reminder. "Fine. I'll stay in as long as I can. But we've got to talk about finances, and a place to live, and—"

"Jess," Lorelai interrupted. "Can we…God, I hate to quote Scarlet, but let's think about it tomorrow, okay? I just want to enjoy being with you again."

"I do, too. But it may not work to wait until tomorrow," he warned her. "Luke is going to get on our case about this as soon as he finds out. God, he's gonna freak," Jess added, and ran his hand through his hair.

"I'm sorry," Lorelai said.

"No, don't say that," Jess said. "I can't believe this is me saying this, but I'm kinda looking forward to everything. I mean, I get to go to the doctor with you now, see the sonogram, hear the heartbeat…. This is totally getting sappy."

He heard Lorelai sniffling next to him, and turned in slight alarm. She waved him away, then burst into tears for the third time in just a few hours. "I'm okay," she told him through her sobs. "I'm so lucky, though," she added, and grabbed his hand hard. "I'm so lucky to have found you." Jess felt his eyes burning, and blinked rapidly. Crying would not be cool, even at so emotional a time. "Enough," Lorelai said, and sounded disgusted with both of them. "I'm sick of crying. No more crying for the entire night."

Jess smiled and they began walking again. "Come on, we've got to keep moving or we'll freeze." He walked back towards the diner, but when he spotted Lorelai…the elder…in the window, he abruptly changed directions. "I forgot this one place," he told her, and led her towards the school. Now was not the right time for the two Lorelais to find out about each other, at least not without him laying some ground work.

He showed his Lorelai to the bridge over a small pond near the school grounds. He would sit out here and eat his diner food for lunch, reading and occasionally writing. Something about the bridge called to him. It kind of epitomized the small-country-town feel to him. Plus, there was a near-tragic drowning scene in his latest Civil story he thought was really good.

"Oh," she said, and sat where he indicated. There was a delicate lacing of ice on the surface of the water, the light reflecting off the slight movements below. "This is so…idyllic, I think is the word. And peaceful." She leaned back on her hands to look above her at the sky. "The stars…. You can actually see the stars out here. That's so cool."

"Sit back up," Jess requested. She frowned at him slightly, but complied. He slid behind her, his legs splayed to her sides, then pulled her back until she was lying in his arms. Her eyes drifted shut and she relaxed against him, content for the first time in months.

"I love you," she murmured to him, before tilting her head to the side.

"I love you," he countered, and kissed her. Their first intimate contact in five months felt every bit as good as she'd thought it would. Her hand crept to the back of his head to gently comb through his hair, and his hands began to caress her stomach through the thick winter coat. "I missed you," Jess murmured against her mouth.

"I missed you, too," she said, and pulled gently away. "So much. You have no idea." Just then, her stomach began to rumble. She laughed, slightly embarrassed, and explained, "I was too nervous to eat since this morning. It's so horrible, Jess! I can only have decaf!"

He chuckled, and got to his feet, holding out his hand to help her, also. "I was wondering about that whole caffeine-and-pregnancy thing," he said idly. He turned serious. "It's good, though. But it's not healthy for you not to eat. Or to be too stressed. I need to get some books," he muttered, almost to himself.

"Janet and Larry are shipping most of my stuff when I call them to," Lorelai said. "There's tons of pregnancy books in there."

"I'm still going to the library." He saw Lorelai bite her lip in the vague light from a street lamp. "What's that for?"

"Do you want the whole town to know I'm pregnant?"

Jess would have snorted if she hadn't sounded so scared. "I don't think we're going to be able to avoid it about four months from now," he said. "This town…it's very accepting, if you treat it right. I think they're going to love you," he added as an afterthought. "Especially if you're honest with them."

"So, I shouldn't try and hide it?"

"No more than you normally would have," he said. "I'm not saying that you should wear T-shirts emblazoned with 'Baby on Board' or midriff shirts, but…just be honest. If we don't, the rumors are going to be a lot worse than the truth."

They were silent for a few steps. "What does Tali say about this?"

"She says she's happy for me, and if I—we—don't keep in touch, she's going to come down here and start causing trouble." Lorelai sounded thoroughly amused at this.

Jess snorted. "I'd like to see that," he said, half-kidding.

"She threw a baby shower for me before I left," she confided. "Janet helped her organize it. It was nice, and I got a ton of baby clothes, and this really great changing table that they'll send."

She smiled, and the two continued to talk as they headed back to the diner.


~*~

Author's Note: Whew! *wipes forehead* That was the big one, everybody. But don't worry. There's ten more chapters, and a lot more story coming up!