Stay With Me - Chapter 4

"Trouble On The Couch"

Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls, and I don't make money off of this fic.

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..::Gilmore House - 8:05pm::..

LORELAI: (walking inside) Rory?

RORY: (coming out of the kitchen) Mom! There you are, listen, we really need to…

LORELAI: (exasperated) You lied to me.

RORY: (finishing her last sentence, confused) …settle this? Wait, what are you talking about?

LORELAI: Luke never told Jess he couldn't stay. Now, if I'm right, you told me Luke wouldn't let Jess back. Which in that case, if, you know, what Luke told me was true - you lied.

RORY: But Mom…

LORELAI: And I talked to Jess to!

RORY: (looking behind her) He's here?

LORELAI: Hey! Discussion here, focus please!

RORY: (sheepishly) Sorry.

LORELAI: How am I supposed to trust you with a boy in the house if I can't trust you to simply, tell the truth? How is this going to work if you aren't honest with me?

RORY: I have a boyfriend, Jess is just a guess.

LORELAI: (whining) But he's a boy guest!

RORY: And I still have a boyfriend. Don't be so… worried about that.

LORELAI: (getting serious) Doesn't erase the fact that you lied to me.

RORY: I know, I know! It's just; I figured Jess wouldn't go back. I mean, he's been on his own in a nice apartment and moving back in with Luke in that cramped office space would drive him insane. He would never go back, I know for a fact he wouldn't. And I thought instead of explaining that whole thing to you, it would make it easier to just… say Luke didn't want him. I'm really sorry.

LORELAI: (still unsure) Ror, please, just don't do it again. Ok?

RORY: I won't, I promise.

LORELAI: Don't promise just… never again.

RORY: (smiling) Never again.

LORELAI: (smiling and moving to hug RORY) Ok.

(RORY and LORELAI hug for a few seconds, then RORY pulls back and gives her mother a look. LORELAI nods, answering the unasked question and RORY kisses her before running out of the room, toward the front door.)

LORELAI: (watching her leave, whispering to herself) This is a big mistake.

..::Gilmore House - Porch - 8:15pm::..

(RORY quickly walks out the front door excitedly and stops short when she sees JESS sitting on the steps. She silently calms herself down before closing the door. He turns around when he hears the door shut and smiles. She smiles back, and takes a seat beside him.)

RORY: (quietly) Hey.

JESS: Hey.

RORY: (sighing) Jess… I'm sorry, about all that. I didn't mean for you to feel... unwanted or anything.

JESS: Nothin' new.

RORY: It's just that...

JESS: Don't worry about it. (pause) You must have put in a good word for me or something in there.

RORY: Why do you say that?

JESS: I heard some arguing.

RORY: Oh God, what did you hear?

JESS: Nothing specific but the fact that I even heard a little shouting, says alot. There's trouble in paradise and it doesn't take a genius to figure out that I was the topic of your argument in there.

(They sit in an uncomfortable silence as JESS stares at the ground, trying to think of a place to go since he assumes he isn't allowed to stay. RORY watches him silently, seeing the internal struggle, and smiles.)

RORY: (standing up) So, trouble, are you coming?

JESS: (finally looking at her) What?

RORY: Are you coming in? It's getting dark and I'm sure you have alot of unpacking to do… (noticing his big sack and backpack are the only things he brought) or not.

JESS: (standing up) But I thought...

RORY: (smirking) That's the problem Mariano, you think too much.

JESS: (smiling) Ok, I'm coming.

(RORY begins to walk towards the door while JESS picks up his stuff and follows.)

JESS: (watching RORY open the door) But if I walk in that door and see Lorelai anywhere near a sharp object or holding a knife, hammer, keys...

RORY: Keys?

JESS: Yea, you put them between your knuckles and... (noticing she's confused) Nevermind.

RORY: (fake reassuringly, smirking) Oh don't worry Jess, if she was going to kill you, it would be in your sleep.

JESS: And now I feel much better.

(The two enter the house and continue laughing. LORELAI hears them from upstairs and sighs heavily, letting her head fall back onto the pillows.)

..::Gilmore House - 10am::..

(LORELAI walks downstairs in her pajamas, her hair is a mess and she's obviously very tired. She continues down the stairs until she catches sight of JESS sleeping on the couch and it scares her half to death. He's sprawled out like an eight year old, and she tip toes through the living room quietly into RORY's room.)

LORELAI: (gently shaking RORY and whispering) Rory! (pause) Rory!! (louder) RORY!

RORY: (sleepily) Huh? What? (seeing LORELAI) Mom? Is everything Ok?

LORELAI: (sitting, still whispering) Oh yea, everything's fine.

RORY: Then what's wrong?

LORELAI: (looking around the room) Nothing, nothing.

RORY: (sitting up) Mom…

LORELAI: (whining) There's a boy in the house!

RORY: (falling back down onto her bed, sighing) We've been through this!

LORELAI: Yea but, we've never had any boys live here before!

RORY: Max did… (thinking about it) kinda.

LORELAI: Hardly! And this is different!

RORY: It's to early to talk and your confusing me, please get to the point so I can go back to sleep.

LORELAI: My point is, what if I want to… walk around naked!? Now, (throwing her hands in the air) I can't!

RORY: Mom, you never walk around naked.

LORELAI: Yes, I know this, but the option was always there! Now its been taken away, by that…(disgusted) that thing on the couch!

RORY: By Jess.

LORELAI: Like I said.

RORY: You never thought about this when Max moved in. So why are you making such a big deal about it now?

LORELAI: (smirking) Honey, I could have walked around the house naked when Max lived here. It was never an issue with him.

RORY: Ugh, Mom! Your just looking for a reason to complain… go back to sleep!

LORELAI: (pouting) I can't! Not now that I know a freedom-stealing man who's taken away the right to walk around naked away is sleeping peacefully, like a little baby on our couch. Thief…

RORY: Go draw on his forehead or something if it makes you feel better.

LORELAI: (pretending to be shocked) Rory, that's so immature!

RORY: (flatly) Because this conversation and its contents are full of maturity…

LORELAI: (nodding) Point taken.

RORY: …and if it means that much to you, walk around naked anyway. (smirking) I'm sure he wouldn't mind.

LORELAI: (glaring) You're sick.

RORY: And you're cracked!

(RORY rolls back over and throws the covers over her head. LORELAI pretends to be offended, then finally leaves RORY's room. When she gets back out and looks at the couch, JESS is gone. At first she is in shock, wondering how he left without her hearing him and then decides she doesn't want to know, and goes back upstairs.)

..::Luke's Diner - 10:30am::..

(JESS walks in and goes straight to the back, trying to avoid LUKE who is serving customers. LUKE however, finishes serving before following JESS into the back, intent on finding out why he is staying with LORELAI and RORY instead of him.)

LUKE: (entering the storage room where JESS is) What the hell do you think your doing?

JESS: Good morning to you to.

LUKE: You don't just move into someone else's house without permission!

JESS: (opening supply boxes) I had permission.

LUKE: Not the right persons permission.

JESS: Well, that's all fixed now.

LUKE: It doesn't matter Jess, what you did was wrong. You could have stayed here and you know it!

JESS: There's a million things I'd do before I moved in here again, moving in with Lorelai and Rory is one of them.

LUKE: (rolling his eyes) You know what? Whatever Jess. Do what you want… but you better not screw it up. Especially not with Rory being so nice about it…

(JESS stops what he's doing once RORY is mentioned and LUKE notices, finally putting two and two together to figure out why JESS is staying at the Gilmore's.)

LUKE: Oh no. No, no, no, no! Jess, she has a boyfriend!

JESS: (beginning to walk away) What are you talking about?

LUKE: (following) You went there instead of here because you thought it might give you a better chance to be with Rory!

JESS: That's not true, I needed a place to stay and she offered.

LUKE: Oh that's bull. You like her…

JESS: (walking faster) I don't know what your talking about.

LUKE: …and you figure the closer you are to her, the better chance you have of stealing her away from Dean. Well don't do it, don't even try! Lorelai will kill you, Dean will kill you… I'll kill you!

JESS: (turning around and yelling) Hey, I just needed a place to crash! Your just jealous because I went there instead of coming here! (backing away) But hell, if making up some stupid reason as to why I went there helps you get over why I didn't come here, then fine - whatever. But do it on your own time, because I've got work to do.

(JESS goes back over to the supply boxes and starts pulling things out of them again. LUKE just stares at him as he works, wondering if he's right about the jealously thing or if JESS is just being evasive because he does like RORY. He decides to think about it later, and leaves the storage room to take care of customers.)

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A/N - Sorry this took so long! I hope you enjoyed, and please R&R!