A/N: I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO SORRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I know I promised updates soon, and I had every intention of giving you all a bunch. But the powers that be had other plans I guess. My computer died. And then I had to go to France for 16 days, and when I came back, the computer was alive again, but the internet had died, so I couldn't even get onto ff.net to leave a note to tell you all what happened!!!!! Anyways, the ordeal is over now, and I will be posting regularly again, because I really missed this story, and I missed you guys too!!!!!! (at least those of you that I know from reviews and emails and stuff...) And thanks again to all of you who left nice reviews and emails, etc. I love you guys!!!!! And now, on with the show!!!

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Chapter Seven

Let Bill Gates Pay for the Pizza

*****************************************

I see you have made yourself a brand new life

Such a cool blue star with a bright new shine

I see you wear your checkered past just like a shining suit of gold....

I am told you have found yourself a brand new time

Watch the world stand still as the years go by.....

I see you smile and I get angry

As I watch you go colossal

Like a California king

All these Californians, coming up here

and changing everything;

They're just a bunch of carpetbaggers

and I wish they'd all just go...

What makes you think you are the only one immune to falling down

Why can't you see

I see you fall and I get happy

I will watch you burn like fire

I will watch you burn like a California king....

*********************************************

Jess entered his father's hotel room slightly cautiously as Jimmy closed the door behind him. Jess looked around at the blindingly white furniture and chic décor before remarking, "Nice place. Artsy."

Jimmy snickered. "Yeah I know. It's a little over the top. But there's a great restaurant downstairs; makes the stay worth it." They both stood awkwardly, their eyes wandering, before Jimmy finally offered, "Have a seat."

Jess looked around for a seat and settled into a plush arm chair as Jimmy sat on the edge of his bed, obviously more than a little nervous. After both of their eyes searched the room, desperate to avoid each others' gaze, Jimmy looked to Jess, confused.

"So, how old are you now?" he asked, curiously. "19?"

Jess looked to him, awkwardly. "No," he said. "18."

"Oh," Jimmy answered, suddenly feeling ashamed that he couldn't even remember how long ago his own son had been born. He looked at his feet, feeling like a complete idiot.

Reading his emotions like an expert, Jess tried to offer some comfort. "Hey, you were close."

Jimmy snickered at his attempt to help him feel better. "Yeah," he said, "I guess." He paused, contemplating, before asking, "You're out of high school now, huh?"

Jess nodded. "Yup. Just graduated a few days ago."

Jimmy's eyes widened. "Wow," he said. "Well, congratulations, I guess."

"Thanks a million," Jess replied, making sure the sarcasm in his voice didn't sound too sharp.

"So, a few days ago, huh?" Jimmy said, not really asking. "You made it over here pretty quick."

Jess shrugged. "It's not every day a guy like me gets to meet his father for the first time."

Jimmy nodded. "Yeah... so I guess I owe you an explanation, huh?"

Jess looked away from him. He wanted to be angry with him; he knew he had every right to be. But he couldn't bring himself to confront the issue. "Look, you don't have to explain yourself," he said. "I don't think there's much you could say to make up for it. Besides, I didn't come here to yell at you. I just... I guess I just wanted to know what you were like..."

Jess shot him a glance, and quickly looked away. But in that split second, Jimmy could see in his eyes a desperate need to move on. Jimmy realized that his son was a lot like him; he never wanted to waste time dwelling on the past.

But what were they supposed to do now, Jimmy asked himself. Be best buddies? Go golfing together, have a pint at the pub on the corner and watch Sunday afternoon football?

Neither one of them said anything for a long while. Jess was just about to stand up and offer to meet him another time after they'd had some time to let it sink in, when Jimmy spoke up.

"I love Television," he offered, like an eager schoolboy shouting out the answer to a math problem. Jess looked to him, confused, as he continued. "I mean-I love the band, Television. Not like TV. I mean, I like TV too. Mostly VH1 and comedy central... but I just meant to say that I, uh.... I have all their albums on disc and on vinyl." He chuckled weakly, suddenly embarrassed. "I guess that kind of makes me a dork..."

Jess stared at him blankly, completely clueless as to what this was supposed to mean.

"You said you wanted to know what I was like," Jimmy clued him in. "I was just trying to get the ball rolling, you know..."

Jess couldn't help smiling a little at the thought that he and his father might have a lot more in common than piercing eyes and dark features. "I like Television too," he said. "Marquee Moon's one of my favorite albums."

Though it was a small thing to agree about, it was obvious that to both of them, this shared interest meant a lot. Both had been expecting the worst from this confrontation, and both were pleasantly surprised with the direction it was taking.

Grinning, Jimmy stood. "Hey, you wanna grab a bite to eat?" he asked. "It might make this a little less awkward; you know, if you don't wanna talk, you can just put something in your mouth and look busy." He chuckled nervously as Jess stood with him.

"Yeah, I could go for some Pizza," he said as Jimmy opened the door for them both.

"Hey, you like Pizza?" Jimmy said, a little over-excited. "I LOVE Pizza."

Jess tried to suppress his smirk. "Gee, what a coincidence."

"Yeah, ok," Jimmy said, laughing at his own actions. "I know I'm reaching. But I really do love Pizza."

"Already noted," Jess replied as they stepped into the elevator, completely unable to hide the obvious, boyish grin he'd thought no one but Rory could bring to his face.

****************************************************

DING-DONG.

"Go away, Sookie!!!" Lorelai called from the couch.

"Lorelai!!!" Sookie called, frustrated. "Come on, let me in!"

"I already told you over the phone," Lorelai said, stubbornly. "That front door's never opening again; No one comes in, I don't go out. Period."

"So what are you gonna do when Rory comes back?!" Sookie called.

"She's tiny, she can fit through a window!"

Sookie sighed. "Lorelai, I didn't want to have to do this, but you leave me no choice!"

Hearing angry, heavy footsteps leaving the porch, Lorelai leapt over the couch to the window and peered through the shades. Seeing Sookie marching straight to Babette and Morey's house, she knew what Sookie had planned. She was going to ask Babette for their spare key. This was a problem. If Babette heard that Lorelai was in a bad mood, she'd be over in mere minutes, with baked goods, various types of stew, tapes of her favorite soap, and some cognac, which, according to her, could fix any problem and heal any wound. Babette fancied herself a comforting presence, and her maternal instinct always led her to the bedside of any girl in town with love troubles. Lorelai knew, though, that once Babette made her way through her front door, it would be a long time before anyone could coax her to go back out it.

Defenseless and defeated, Lorelai opened the door and called across the lawn.

"Sookie! You can come in, just don't tell Babette, please?"

Sookie shook her head as she crossed the lawn back to the Gilmore's porch. "You're spineless."

"I was cornered!" Lorelai defended herself as they walked back inside. "I had no choice; you were brutal and merciless." She grabbed the blanket she'd been wrapped in before Sookie came and settled onto the couch once more.

Sookie sat on the arm of the couch with her. "I did what I had to," she said. "I was worried about you."

"You didn't have to be worried about me," Lorelai said, taking a bitter bite of the cold, leftover Chinese food she had on the table.

"How could I not have worried about you?" Sookie cried. "You left me a cryptic message on my answering machine, and every time I tried to call you back, I got a busy signal."

"I left my phone off the hook," Lorelai said. "And the message wasn't all that cryptic."

"Not that cryptic!!??" Sookie cried, disbelieving. "It said, and I quote, "Sookie, it's Lorelai. I've recently decided never to leave my house again, so do you know of a restaurant that would be willing to deliver food every day? Thanks, bye."'

Lorelai stared at her in awe. "You memorized my message word for word? That's creepy."

"Well I listened to it about a hundred times. I was really worried, Lorelai, what the hell happened to make you decide to never leave the house again?"

Lorelai avoided Sookie's eyes as she took another angry bite of Lo Mein. "Nothing happened," she said. "Absolutely nothing."

Suspicious and on the verge of a revelation, Sookie eyed the Chinese food in Lorelai's hand. "Chinese food, huh?" she asked.

"There's more in the fridge, you can have some if you want," Lorelai said.

Sookie ignored the offer. "I thought you liked burgers better than Chinese?"

"Usually I do," Lorelai said.

Not saying a word in response, Sookie rushed to the window and peered out.

"Aha!" She cried out, startling Lorelai.

"Aha? Aha what?"

"You're porch railing is still broken!!!"

"Which means...?"

"You had a fight with Luke!!!" Sookie cried out triumphantly. Lorelai rolled her eyes.

"I did not have a FIGHT with Luke."

"You must have!" Sookie insisted. "If you hadn't, you'd be at the diner right now eating a burger, and trying to convince him to come over here and fix the porch railing!" She paused. "What did you guys fight about?"

"Nothing!" Lorelai cried. "We didn't have a FIGHT, Sookie; there was a complete lack of fight. In fact, there was a complete lack of anything resembling genuine interaction! I would have been happy to fight with him about it; at least then I wouldn't feel like such a complete idiot. Then, I would feel like a fraction of the idiot that I now am; maybe a 5th of the idiot. Well, unless it was a public fight in the diner, in which case I'd feel like more of an idiot than a fifth. Maybe a third in that case-"

"Whoa whoa, honey, you lost me way before the part about fractions," Sookie said, sitting on the couch with her. "What happened? Start from the beginning."

Lorelai sighed. "This is all your fault."

"All my fault?" Sookie asked, completely bewildered. "How is it my fault? I don't even know what you're talking about-"

"I kissed him!!!" she cried out.

"You WHAT?"

Lorelai didn't answer; she just buried her face in her hands. "I'm such a monumental idiot!!!"

"Wait, let's be clear here; by 'him', you do mean Luke, right?"

"No, Mr. Potato-Head," Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Of course, Luke. That's why this is your fault."

"How is it my fault that you kissed Luke?"

"You're the one who kept telling me he liked me, and you kept saying I had to do something before it was too late. Well, I did something, alright, something incredibly stupid. God, I should have realized what was going on. It was so obvious. He never brought it up, he never wanted to talk seriously about it. And then I, like a complete fool, just kiss him, for no good reason. I should have seen it coming!"

"Seen WHAT coming?" Sookie asked. "I'm so lost!"

Lorelai sighed. "He's obviously over me, Sookie."

Sookie chuckled heartily, as Lorelai's forehead wrinkled at Sookie's totally inappropriate response.

"In what universe could that possibly be construed as funny?" Lorelai asked, incredulous.

"I'm sorry," Sookie said, trying to contain her laughter. "But Lorelai, honey, that's impossible. Luke can't be over you."

"No trust me; he is; he's acting like it never even happened!"

"Like what never happened?"

"The kiss! Work with me, Sookie!"

Sookie shook her head. "Lorelai, Luke is not over you. He's been completely hung up on you for years. He's the opposite of over you; he's under you. Way under you. Like I'm talking lowest-depths-of-the-Atlantic-Ocean under you."

"Well maybe that was the case last time you had an in-depth conversation with him," Lorelai argued, "But since you last saw him, he must have built a ladder or something, because he's definitely not under me anymore."

"Lorelai, you must be reading him wrong or something; he can't possibly-"

"No Sookie, just-just forget it, ok? It's hard enough feeling this way; I don't really want to get my hopes up again."

Sookie watched her for a moment before cautiously asking, "You had your hopes up?"

Lorelai didn't answer.

Sookie shook her head in disbelief. "I had no idea, sweetie. I thought you were still in denial, I never knew that you wanted... well, what exactly DO you want?"

Lorelai shrugged. "I don't know," she said. "I guess I just wanted... SOMETHING. Anything."

"I'm sorry," Sookie said, suddenly feeling guilty for encouraging Lorelai to go after Luke. "Hey, what do you say I go rent A Love Story and bring back some food from Al's pancake world and we mope together?"

Lorelai cracked a smile. "That sounds great."

**********************************

"So," Liz began awkwardly, "This your first time in New York?"

Rory shook her head. "No I've been here a few times before," she replied. "I came down a couple years ago with my mom and some friends to see the Bangles in concert."

"Your mom's a Bangles fan?"

Rory cracked a smile. "Yeah. I am too."

'Gee, what's that like?' Liz thought to herself. She couldn't remember the last time she and Jess had agreed on anything.

"When else have you been here?" she asked.

"Well, about a year ago, I came down here to see-" she stopped short. She'd forgotten for a moment that she was with Jess' mother.

"Jess?" Liz completed the sentence for her.

Rory blushed a little, embarrassed. "Yeah," she said.

The two of them were walking together, in search of a good restaurant to have lunch in. They were complete strangers, and any mention of the one thing they had in common, Jess, seemed to make them both unbelievably uncomfortable. It left them with very little to say to each other.

"So," Liz began, trying to change the subject, "You like to read?" she winced at her own clumsy transition, but thankfully, Rory jumped on the subject eagerly.

"Oh yeah," she said with a grin. "I love reading. I've developed something of a reputation in Stars Hollow for being a book worm."

"Yeah," Liz said. "Jess is a big reader too..." she trailed off, realizing how stupid that must have sounded. "Of course, you probably already knew that, so I don't know why I said it..."

Rory smiled. "Yeah, I've never known anyone to read as much as he does." she paused. "Do you like to read?"

She shrugged. "I guess. It never really caught on with me like it did for him, though." She shook her head with a slight chuckle. "I don't know where the hell he gets it from. He never really knew anybody else who read like that."

Rory smiled a little. "I think it must be something you're born with," she offered. "My Mom isn't exactly the biggest reader, either. Well, unless you count the writing in Cosmo and on the sides of cereal boxes."

Liz giggled a little at this last statement to hide the bewildered look she knew was forming on her face. This Rory girl was confusing to her; like a walking contradiction. She was outgoing, but shy; polite, yet casual. She was mature for her age, and naïve at the same time. From what Liz could gather, she didn't exactly come from a perfect, wealthy family; and yet she seemed happy with her family situation, and simply happy in general.

Liz couldn't figure her out, and she wanted desperately to just come out and ask her, "What's your deal? Tell me your life story; help me understand you."

But all she said aloud was, "Your mother sounds like an interesting character."

Rory snickered. "That's a really nice way to put it," she said. "Yeah, she's not really your classic Donna Reed type mother... but she's my best friend."

Liz was convinced she was hearing things. "I'm sorry, what?" she asked, leaning closer to hear better.

"She's my best friend," Rory repeated.

"Well," Liz said with an awkward smile, "That must be really great."

'Liar,' Liz thought to herself.

Rory grinned. "Yeah, it is. Convenient, too. Makes everything easier; we can complain to each other when we have bad days, we can borrow each other's clothes... I'm even staying near home for college so I can stay close to her. Well, her and other people." She tucked her hands in her pockets, and hoped to God Liz wouldn't ask what other people, and force her to say, "Well, Jess, mostly."

But Liz's mind was on other things. "College, huh?" she managed to get out.

"Oh, yeah," Rory said, blushing. "I'm going to Yale."

"YALE?"

Rory grinned. "Yep."

Liz was speechless. What was going on? Was the world rotating backwards on its axis? Was the world coming to an end? Had she accidentally wandered into an alternate universe?

Jess was in a relationship with a girl who was going to Yale. A polite, nice, funny, smart, Yale-bound girl who liked to read and was best friends with her mother. And it was a serious relationship, too. How did this happen? Had he pulled a Madonna and reinvented himself when he got to Stars Hollow? Had he fooled this innocent, naïve girl into thinking he was... well, not the way he really was?

Before she had a chance to think up something slightly intelligent to say in response to Rory's 'Yep', Rory spoke.

"How about there?" she asked, pointing to a small Deli.

"You mean Ellie's Deli?" Liz asked, incredulous. "I don't know if you'd like it there; it's not too fancy-"

Rory giggled. "Well I don't do fancy restaurants, generally. They're not the most comfortable atmosphere for me. I mean the food's good and all, but there's just something about them that makes me nervous. I think it might be the ridiculously large number of forks." She chuckled nervously.

"You're sure?" Liz asked again. "Deli's really are just the New York version of fast food joints, you know."

Rory smiled. "Fine with me. For my mom and I, the 5 major food groups are hamburgers and French fries, pizza, leftover Chinese food, candy, and... well more candy, basically."

Liz giggled. "Ok. Ellie's Deli, here we come."

*****************************************

"All right," Jimmy said as they sat in a booth together. "What'll ya' have?"

Jess smirked a little. Jimmy's New York accent, which had been barely noticeable 25 minutes ago in his hotel room, was coming through clear and strong now. It had obviously been a LONG time since Jimmy had been back here.

Jess examined the menu. 'Damn,' he cursed under his breath when Jimmy wasn't looking. He hadn't brought much money with him that day; definitely not enough money for a good size meal at Bertucci's.

"Uh, I guess I'll just have a slice of pepperoni."

"That's all you want?" Jimmy asked. "I thought you said you were hungry."

Jess avoided Jimmy's eyes. "Well, I'm a little short on cash today--."

"Oh cut that out," Jimmy said with a smile. "It's on me."

"Nah, you don't have to-"

"Yeah, but I want to," he said with the most fatherly stare Jess had ever received. "Besides, I'm the one with a 9 to 5 job. You're 18. You oughtta be spending your money on-oh I dunno, CDs, cool shoes Liz would never buy you..." he flashed Jess a mischievous smile. "Girlfriends. Not Pizza with some old guy like me."

Jess smiled reluctantly. "Ok, fine. I guess we could split a pizza or something."

"Great. Pepperoni and sausage sound good to you?"

"Like music to my ears," Jess said sarcastically, putting his menu down.

Jimmy smiled to himself. He could see that Jess had certainly picked up his old habit of sarcastic witty comebacks. That had been Jimmy's specialty at Jess' age. Some things must just be genetic, he supposed.

"So, 9 to 5 job, huh?" Jess asked casually.

"Oh yeah," Jimmy caught on. "I guess I never really told you about my work, huh?"

"Sure didn't."

"Right," Jimmy said, sighing. "Well, it's really just a hobby, but for the past couple years I've been writing weekly articles for a local newspaper in California."

"What paper?"

"Small, local one. Nothing you've ever heard of. Venice Beach weekly. It's just getting started, really."

"So what'd you do before that?"

"Well..." Jimmy fidgeted with his napkin a little. "I actually own a little chain of California restaurants," he said. "It's called Jimmy's. Real original, huh?" he chuckled.

Jess was in awe. "You own a restaurant chain?"

"Yeah," Jimmy said. "At first, I just opened up a little joint. Italian food, New York atmosphere. No big deal. But I guess it caught on with the California people, cuz it was like Jennifer Lopez's career; it just blew up all of a sudden. And the next thing I knew, I owned 14 restaurants named after myself." Jimmy shook his head with a chuckle. "It's crazy isn't it?"

"Well crazy wasn't exactly the word I was looking for," Jess said, his eyes still wide. "But I guess it works."

Jimmy sighed. "I guess I should explain... Jess, this is sort of why I finally came back here to see ya'. I mean, I haven't always been this successful. I grew up in a tiny apartment sharing a bed with my cousin Mikey, ya know? I never would have imagined I'd end up like this. But Jimmy's did well, and I took some of my money and invested it in good stock, and next thing I knew, I had even MORE money... I mean, I'm no Bill Gates or anything. But I've got enough. More than enough..." he trailed off.

"What are you getting at?" Jess asked, trying not to sound bitter.

"You gotta understand, Jess," Jimmy began again. "When I left you and your Mom... well, there were a lot of reasons, most of them stupid; but the biggest reason was that I had nothing to offer you. Or her. I just figured at the time I was an extra mouth to feed; I wasn't helping anything. I was working minimum wage in the city, and I was on the verge of getting fired anyway. So I left, and I swore to myself I wouldn't come back until I had something substantial to offer you." he sighed. "So now here I am."

"And what exactly are you offering me?" Jess asked, his bitterness growing. "A trust fund, 18 years too late?"

"I know the money thing isn't an excuse!" he said. "I know there isn't any excuse. I'm a jerk for what I did, and I wouldn't blame you if you never wanted to forgive me for it. But you said yourself you just wanted to know me." He sighed. "I want the same thing. The money has nothing to do with that. It's just that... I'm a simple guy. I don't want a private jet or designer suits. I don't have that much to spend the money on. I figured it couldn't hurt to give you some."

The was a prolonged silence before Jess asked softly, "Are you sure about that private jet thing? Cuz that could be pretty cool."

Jimmy snickered. "I'm pretty sure. I dunno, I've got a bizarre fondness for public transportation. Must be a New Yorker thing."

They both smiled, relieved that the tension was mostly gone.

"So now that that cat's out of the bag, ya' think it's ok if I pay the bill?"

Jess chuckled. "Whatever floats your boat, Bill Gates."

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A/N: Ok, sorry that was so short. Next one comes soon, and I MEAN that this time. unless I get abducted by aliens or something, which at this point probably wouldn't surprise me... but yeah, please review!!!!!!!! Ahhhh, it's so good to be back!!!!!! I missed this!!!!!!

~Emaline