Chapter 3: Sunday
Rory slept all night and most of the morning. She got up once to go to the bathroom and have some food, and went back to bed. The house was eerily quiet and after a while, the silence started to make Lorelai jumpy. When someone knocked on the door, Lorelai actually let out a small scream. When her heart rate returned to normal, she went to answer the door. Dean stood there.
"Oh, hey Dean!"
"Hi, Lorelai. Is Rory in?"
"Yeah, but she's asleep. You can come in, though. She should probably be woken up to eat." As Dean entered, Lorelai kept talking. "Actually, you have great timing. I'm starting to get cabin fever, but I don't want to leave Rory alone. Could you...?"
"Oh, yeah, that's not a problem. But are you sure? Leaving me here alone with Rory?" Dean was being just a tiny bit sarcastic, and Lorelai picked up on that.
"No offense, Dean, but I don't think Rory's feeling up to any hanky-panky. She could barely keep her eyes open for more than an hour yesterday, and that was after sleeping for 21 hours." Dean's eyebrows shot up. "So, um, I think there's some bruschetta in the freezer." Lorelai went to get it. "Could you turn on the oven to 350? Thanks." Putting the frozen, cheese-topped bread on a cookie tray, Lorelai set the whole thing on the counter. "When the little red light turns off, stick this thing in for eight minutes." Lorelai grabbed her purse and prepared to leave. At the door she turned around. "Dean?"
He looked up. "Yeah?"
Lorelai smiled. "Thank you."
Dean smiled back. "You're welcome."
-----
Lorelai opened the door to Luke's Diner, took one step in, and inhaled deeply. "Aah."
The three people in the diner – Kirk, Miss Patty, and Luke – all looked up.
"Lorelai, honey, where have you been?" Inquired the dance instructor. "And where is your charming daughter?"
Lorelai answered as she made her way to the counter where Luke was pouring her a coffee. "Rory's at home. She has some sort of bug or virus; she sleeps all the time, and I didn't want to leave her. Dean just came over, so she's not alone, and I had a chance to get out of the house." She took a large gulp of coffee, closing her eyes in bliss. "Mmmm. Luke, your coffee is better than seeing Brad Pitt without a shirt on."
"Thanks, I think. So, you don't think this is a weird teenaged phase that Rory's going through?"
Lorelai shook her head. "She wouldn't have a phase like this. She hasn't done her homework, even. All she has the energy for is to roll over and adjust her pillow before she goes back to sleep. It's starting to scare me."
"Well, if you need any help, just give me a call."
"Me too, honey. If you need someone to watch Rory while you're at work, you know anyone in this town will help you out."
"Thanks, Patty. Hey, Luke could I have some chicken noodle soup? Perhaps with alphabet noodles in it?"
Luke looked mildly uncomfortable. "Hey, I bought those on a whim."
"Did you just say whim? Because, you don't hear that word too much anymore."
"Shut up, Kirk…"
Jess, who had come downstairs to see if Luke needed any help, now crept back up to the apartment. When he got there, he grabbed Rory's copy of The Iliad, which he had borrowed, and tromped back downstairs.
"Luke, I'm going out."
The older man nodded. "Just be back in time for the dinner rush."
"I'll try." With that, Jess exited.
Lorelai looked at Luke with eyebrows raised. "He'll try?"
"Better than nothing. He actually does show up sometimes." Luke shrugged. "It's working out ok so far."
"Good. I'm glad. You're doing a good job with him." Seeing that Luke was growing uncomfortable with the praise he was receiving, Lorelai changed the subject. "So, can I have my soup?"
-----
Dean had just put the bruschetta in the oven and woken Rory up when there was a knock on the door. Rory wanted to answer it, but Dean didn't want her to. They debated it until there was a second knock. Rory suggested a compromise. She felt like getting up anyway, so they would both go to the door. They entered the front hall, Dean in jeans and a t-shirt, Rory in plaid pyjama pants and an old gym shirt of Lorelai's. Rory opened the door to find Jess standing there.
"Jess." Rory looked quickly at her boyfriend, who suddenly seemed less jovial than he had just moments earlier. His jaw had tightened and he was staring coldly at Jess. She turned back to the boy on her doorstep. "Um, hi."
"Hi Rory. Hello Dean. So nice to see you again." He turned his attention back to Rory. "I heard you were convalescing, and I thought you might want your book back. Dunno if you'll have the time or energy to read it, but you have it if you want it. And I was wondering, do you have Tess of the D'Urbervilles? I haven't read any Hardy lately."
Rory glanced between Jess and Dean, the former who wore a slight smirk, and the latter whose jaw was clenched so tightly that a muscle was skipping. "Um, thanks," she said as she took The Iliad from Jess. "Dean, could you bring this to my room and get Tess for me? It's somewhere on the second shelf." Dean nodded and bent down to kiss Rory. She backed away, and when he looked up, confused, she explained. "I don't want you to get whatever I have." Understanding came over Dean's face and he nodded. Then, shooting a final glare at Jess, he went back to Rory's bedroom. Rory turned to face Jess.
"How did you know Dean was here?"
"I didn't."
"Bull. You weren't at all surprised to see him here. So, how'd you find out?"
"Your mom came to the Diner and I overheard her talking with Luke and Patty. I thought a couple as obviously in love as you and Dean are, should probably have a chaperone. So, I came."
Rory rolled her eyes. "Well, it's a nice thought, but could you go when you have Tess in your hands?" Rory swallowed and blinked a few times. Her head was spinning, and everything was getting a bit fuzzy. Her ears were filled with a roaring noise, which blocked out Jess's response. She tried to say his name, to warn him that something was wrong, but she blacked out before she could open her mouth.
Jess caught Rory as she fainted. For a moment he stood there, just holding her, but then he realized that he couldn't carry her into the house by himself, and that Dean was likely to come back at any moment and assume the worst. So Jess did the only thing that he could think of – he yelled for help.
"Dean!"
"What?" came floating out from Rory's room.
"Could you come out here?"
"Why?"
"Well, because I'm holding your girlfriend..." His sentence was cut short by Dean's arrival. "She fainted."
Dean looked as though he couldn't decide whether to be angry at Jess or concerned for Rory. Concern won out. "Well, what do I do?"
Jess rolled his eyes. "So much body, so few brains. Help me move her inside." Dean moved forward, grasped Rory behind the knees and around the waist, and lifted her with ease. He shot a smug look at Jess before turning towards the living room.
"Dean. Her head." The way that Dean was holding Rory, her head flopped back awkwardly. Dean shifted his arms, but that didn't help, and now his grip was loose. Grudgingly, he turned to Jess for help.
"Could you – kindof – support her head and shoulders?" Jess immediately did so, Dean readjusted his arms so that he held Rory comfortably, and together they managed to lay her on the couch. Then they both stood there looking at Rory. Jess broke the stillness by putting a blanket over Rory and then turning to Dean.
"Do you know where Rory's cell phone is?"
"She usually has it in her bag."
"Do you know the unlocking code?"
"Yeah." Dean didn't know where Jess was going with this line of questioning.
"Ok, so unlock it, call 911 and tell them where we are, what happened, and any other things that might be important. I'll call Luke and Lorelai."
"Got it."
For sworn enemies, Jess decided, they managed to work alright as a team when they had a common goal. As soon as the idea flashed in his head, he pushed it aside. Stooping down, he grabbed the antenna of the phone and pulled it out from under the couch. He could hear Dean talking in the kitchen as he dialed the phone number of the diner.
"Luke's Diner."
"Hey Luke."
"Jess."
"Is Lorelai still there?"
"Yeah." Luke's answer sounded almost like a question. 'Yeah, why do you suddenly care about her?'
"Well, could you tell her to come home? Cuz, Rory just fainted."
"What?!" The background noise that had been coming over the phone suddenly died at Luke's exclamation. "When?"
"Last Hanukkah. We only discovered two minutes ago, though."
"Jess…"
"Two minutes ago, Luke. Will you tell Lorelai?"
"Yeah." A shuffling noise followed, and Jess knew that his uncle had put the phone against his shoulder. In spite of the muffling qualities of flannel, Jess still heard Lorelai's squawk of surprise.
Just then, Dean shouted from the kitchen. "Jess, is she breathing?"
Shooting a look of disgust in the general direction of Dean's voice, Jess put his hand, palm up, about three inches above Rory's mouth. He could feel small puffs of warmth as Rory exhaled. "Yeah!" Next, he put two fingers on her outer throat. Pressing down slightly, he found her pulse. Jamming the phone between his ear and shoulder, he looked at his watch and timed her heartbeat. "Her pulse is strong, but fast."
"Ok."
And then Luke was back on the phone. "Jess?"
"Yep."
"I'm driving Lorelai over. We'll be there soon."
"Ok." Jess heard a click as Luke hung up. "Bye." He looked up as Dean entered. "You know, I didn't think it was possible, but you look even taller from down here."
"Shut up, Jess." Mild annoyance flashed in Dean's eyes, but his attention quickly turned back to Rory. He dropped to his knees beside Jess, who quickly stood and exited as Dean pulled Rory's hand from under the blanket and held it gently between his own large hands.
Out on the porch, Jess took a deep breath. What he wouldn't give for a cigarette. In New York he'd once seen a Wall Street suit drop on the sidewalk, having a heart attack. People had panicked then, but one man had remained calm and soon organized someone to call an ambulance, and started CPR. Jess, walking past, had admired the man's coolness. When the man had been shown on the news that night, he claimed that he had been scared out of his wits, but he knew what had to be done and how to do it, so he had done it. Jess now understood what the man had meant. When Rory collapsed, Jess's heart had skipped a beat. However, he knew that he had to sort things out as quickly as possible. Now in the aftermath, his hands were shaking. Jess sat down on the top step, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. Soon the crunch of gravel under tires signaled Luke and Lorelai's arrival. She jumped out of the Jeep before Luke had come to a complete stop and ran inside. After turning off the engine, Luke followed her steps. He stopped when he saw his nephew. Jess was sitting on the top step, pale, with an inscrutable look on his face.
"Jess…" Luke began. When his nephew looked up, Luke realized that he didn't know what to say. So, he mounted the steps, sat beside Jess, and patted him once, awkwardly, on the shoulder. Silence fell over them like a blanket, and they stayed that way until the ambulance arrived.
-----
On the way to the hospital, Lorelai rode in the ambulance with Rory, while Luke, Jess, and Dean followed in the Jeep. Tense silence reigned during the drive to the hospital in Hartford. When the three men arrived, they entered through the emergency room doors and found Lorelai pacing in the hallways. When she looked up and saw them, she walked over to them. "They took her away… I haven't heard anything yet, and I'm so worried, I had to fill out all this paperwork and…" Lorelai seemed to be on the verge of tears.
Luke stepped forward and grasped her upper arms. "She'll be ok, Lorelai."
Just then, a plump nurse in white scrubs approached them. "Excuse me, Mr. and Mrs. Gilmore, but you're going to have to move. There's a small waiting room you can sit in and wait for the complete diagnosis. Take this hallway down to the first intersection, turn left, and it's the third door on the right." Having finished her speech, the nurse scurried back into the room that she had come out of.
Dean and Jess both looked amused that the nurse had assumed that Luke and Lorelai were married, while the adults both appeared shocked.
"Well, Mom; Pop, we should probably do what the nice lady said."
In unison, Luke and Lorelai chorused "Shut up, Luke."
-----
40 minutes later, a doctor entered the sea-green room where everyone sat on hard orange chairs. Immediately, they all stood up, but the doctor waved them back into their seats. He had curly black hair and an olive complexion, and didn't look a day over 20.
"Hello, I'm Dr. Kasan, a resident here, and I've been taking care of Rory. Let me start by saying she's going to be fine. She fainted due to dehydration, so we have her on an IV drip. She'll have to stay overnight for observation, but we'll probably release her in the morning." Collectively, the four let out breaths that they had held since the doctor's entrance. "Now, we did some tests and we've found out why Rory's been so lethargic lately. Rory has mononucleosis."
As the realization of what the doctor had just said sank in, Lorelai, Luke, and Jess all turned to stare accusingly at Dean.
"What?"
At Dean's question, Dr. Kasan turned to him as well. "Are you Rory's boyfriend?"
"Yeah."
"Ok, we should probably do some tests on you, too. Mono is sometimes called 'the kissing disease', and you may have contracted it."
Now Dean understood the stares of the other three. "Oh. Well, I guess… maybe I should be tested. If you think there's a risk."
Dr. Kasan nodded. "We just want to be sure. Judging from the fact that you don't look like you're suffering any symptoms, I'd say you're fine, but it doesn't hurt to check. So, unless there are any questions, we can get started right away." No one spoke. "Alright, young man, let's go." Dr. Kasan, Dean, and Lorelai rose. She reached out, and the doctor shook her hand.
"Thank you so much, Doctor. Oh - May we go see Rory?" she added.
"Yes. She'll probably be asleep, but if you want to talk to her, feel free. Just, go in one at a time." Luke, Jess, and Lorelai nodded, and Dean and the doctor left the room. The door had barely shut when Lorelai began to giggle. Luke and Jess looked at each other and shrugged. As Lorelai sat back down, her giggle subsided, and she sighed.
"Ok, so it's only mono. We can deal with that." She smiled, and her tone was full of laughter. "Rory will laugh when she hears that her doctor is Doogie Howser." She began laughing again, until she was gasping for breath and tears were running down her face. Once again Luke and Jess looked at each other, mystified. "And – the funniest thing – is – he called Dean – young man!" And with that, Lorelai began laughing uproariously again. After a moment, Jess cracked a smile, Luke snorted, and soon they were all laughing at the hilarity of it.
-----
When they had all settled down again, Lorelai went to visit Rory. When she returned, Dean was still gone, so Luke went in next. Dean reentered the waiting room five minutes later with a Band-Aid on his inner elbow. He looked pale.
"I hate needles. Especially the ones that take things out of you. Like, blood."
Lorelai shot him a look of sympathy. Jess stood up and stretched. "Well, that's a good idea. I think I'll go give blood. Why is it that I can't vote yet, but I can surrender my life essence one pint at a time? I'll be back in an hour or so. Don't wait around for me." Jess glanced behind him as he exited and saw Dean sink into a chair with a look of horror on his face. Grinning, Jess shut the door behind him, turned around, and ran into a wall of flannel. Quickly he erased the look of glee from his face, but Luke had already seen it.
"Jess…" Luke's tone had a warning in it. "Where are you going?"
"To give blood."
Luke nodded, suspicion gone. "Good idea. I'll come too."
"Goody, then we can hold hands if the needle hurts." Before Luke could comment, Jess jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "You should tell Lorelai so that Dean knows he can go check in with Rory." Jess moved out of the way so Luke could open the door.
"Hey, Lorelai, I'm going with Jess to give blood. You can go visit Rory, Dean… hey, you don't look so good." As Luke shut the door, he shrugged to Jess. The teen managed to contain his smile until his uncle had turned around and was walking towards the blood clinic.
-----
Just as he had promised, Jess returned an hour later with a Band-Aid identical to Dean's on his inner elbow. He was sucking on a box of apple juice, and carried a coffee in his other hand. When he entered the waiting room, Lorelai was alone, staring up at ceiling.
"Hey." Lorelai startled as Jess spoke. "Luke sent this for you. Don't know how good it'll be, but he figured you could probably use a dose of caffeine." He handed her the steaming cup.
"Thanks." Lorelai took a sip, made a grotesque face, and then took a large gulp. Shuddering, she lowered the cup. "What are the odds that I can get Doogie Kasan to set up an IV and run this directly into my bloodstream?"
"Slim to none. Probably doesn't have the right saline content."
"Have you tasted it?"
"Nah. I'm not big on coffee, especially if it's made in a public institution."
"Hm. Good idea." The pair lapsed into silence. A TV droned a soap opera in the corner, and occasionally Jess slurped on his straw. After a few minutes, Lorelai took a deep breath. "So, Jess, could I ask you something?"
"Yeah. Whether I answer it or not…" He shrugged.
"Ok, well, I was wondering what you were doing at our house."
"I heard that Rory was sick, but I didn't catch how. There's this wonky duct thing; sometimes I catch pieces of conversations from the diner in my room. Hey, did you know that Miss Patty has a crush on the troubadour guy?
"Miss Patty has a crush on just about everything that zips at the crotch. Don't try to change the subject. Did you happen to "catch" anything about Dean being there?"
"I may have heard something to that effect."
"So, you went to antagonize him?"
"No, I went to return Rory's book and ask for a new one. You're lucky I was there, otherwise she'd likely have a concussion from falling on the floor when she fainted."
"Actually, she likely wouldn't have fainted at all! You knew she was sick, but you made her referee your little head games with Dean. How much do you really care about her? Because, I don't know, but that seems like a really stupid thing for a friend to do."
Jess's retort went unheard, because Luke and Dean walked in.
"Luke, can we leave now?"
Luke looked confused. "Don't you want to talk to Rory?"
Jess looked meaningfully at Lorelai. "I think Rory's seen enough of me today." Luke looked back and forth between his nephew and Lorelai. Obviously they had disagreed about something – again – but it must have been big to make Jess give up a chance to see Rory. "Yeah, we can go now. Lorelai, just call me when you need to be picked up."
"It's ok, Luke, I'm going to stay the night. I'll call in the morning.
"Alright." Luke, Jess, and Dean exited, leaving Lorelai alone again. She sighed in frustration, then lifted the coffee cup to her lips and downed the remaining liquid.
-----
On the drive home, Luke kept looking over at his nephew, who was staring out the window. Something was wrong. Jess was never one for talking unnecessarily, but this silence was different than the usual attitude that Jess exuded. By the time that they reached the Gilmore residence to drop off the Jeep, Luke was considering ignoring their unspoken 'I live my life, you live yours, we don't ask questions and everything will work out fine' rule. He wanted to know what had happened to make Jess so sullen. The three men stepped out of the vehicle and went their separate ways - Dean to his home, Luke and Jess to theirs. On the way, Luke decided to broach the subject. He wasn't sure of what to say, but he knew he had to try.
"So, Jess." The teen looked over at him, mute. "I, uh, guess that something happened. With Lorelai."
"Good guess."
After a long pause, Luke continued. "Well, if you need to talk about it…" he let his offer dangle in the air. Jess ignored it. "Well, you know where I live." Luke's attempt at humour fell flat. He and Jess kept walking. Finally, Jess exploded.
"How can you stand that woman? She is so paranoid! She accused me of making Rory faint. I mean, sure, I went to their house because I knew it'd get under Dean's skin, but it's not like I meant for anything to happen. And really, at least now they know what Rory has, and they can deal with it. If she'd had to go to a doctor, they wouldn't know for at least a week." Jess fell silent again.
Luke nodded. "Hm. Well, for what it's worth, I'm sure you didn't mean for Rory to faint." Jess looked over at his uncle, and for a brief moment, Luke read the relief and thanks in Jess's eyes. Then it was gone. Jess turned forward again, and the men walked on in silence.
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Gah. I keep forgetting to write Authors notes. And disclaimers. And now I can't remember what I was going to say. Oh yeah: Um, it is an AU story, so all the seriously bad stuff between Jess and Lorelai hasn't happened, because the accident didn't happen. I guess this is set in the past season time frame… Anyways, thanks to all of you who reviewed, and if you haven't yet, what are you waiting for? The blue button is right down under this AN… Thanks! *muah*
