Defending Bjork

Chapter 9: Tough Love

A/N: Well, here's Chapter 9. This chapter will probably seem a little different, as I've begun to stray a bit from the plot developed by ASP and into my vision of how things should've gone. As I do so, I feel the need to disclaim yet again. I do not own Gilmore Girls, the characters, or the borrowed dialogue I use at the beginning of this chapter and throughout the story. ASP and her writers are the geniuses here; I'm just a girl who likes to write. Hopefully, as I journey away from what ASP started, I'll continue to do justice to the show and its brilliance. That said, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Please leave a review, if you have a minute or two. I was completely floored and honored by the overwhelming response I received after the last update! You're all incredible! A special shout-out to ILoveJess because her reviews made me laugh out loud and smile for days and to raquel for her invaluable help with the music portion of this chapter. Given that I tend to be a fan of the "Oh geez!" variety of music, I couldn't have done it without her. I hope it seems like I knew what I was talking about. Thanks everyone! Enjoy! ~Becka


With one last furtive glance at Jess, Rory closed the door and turned to enter the living room. "Mom?" she called out, the bookstore bag still clutched tightly in her hand.

"Oh, hey," Lorelai replied, turning to peer over the back of the couch. "Where've you been? I thought Taylor auctioned you off to the highest bidder."

"No, I just went to get some pizza, and then I wandered around the bookstore for a little while," Rory explained while reaching into the bag to retrieve her mother's gift. "Here."

"What's this?" Lorelai asked, taking the book.

"You said you wanted to read 'The Children's Hour'," Rory reminded her.

"I did?"

"The other night when we were watching 'Julia', and Jane Fonda was playing Lillian Hellman."

"Oh yeah, and I made the Hellmann's mayonnaise joke," Lorelai said proudly.

"Which no one ever needs to hear again."

"Right, right. Well, thanks."

"You're welcome," Rory replied before grabbing the bag and heading towards her room.

"So who were you with?" Lorelai called after her.

"What?" Rory asked, turning to look at her mother.

"Pizza, book buying – did you have company?"

"Oh… yeah," Rory said hesitantly.

"Who?" Lorelai pressed.

"Um, Jess."

"Jess?"

"Yeah."

"Right."

"So, I'll be in my room," Rory said, gesturing in its direction before turning to go.

"Okay, good," Lorelai absently agreed. She waited a moment, then, deciding the conversation wasn't over, she placed her new book on the table and followed Rory into the room. "So how was the picnic?" she asked from the doorway, watching as Rory grabbed a book from the bag and set it on her shelf.

"Fine," Rory replied, glancing warily at her mother.

"Good. Did you get the Dean issue resolved?"

"Not yet. I didn't have a chance."

"Oh… you don't think maybe you could have found some time?" Lorelai asked.

"I was gone all day," Rory pointed out.

"Right… with Jess."

"Yes, with Jess; I think we established that already."

"So how did that go?"

"Fine," Rory repeated.

"Well, obviously," Lorelai said awkwardly. "The pizza… and the books. So good, that's… I'm glad."

Choosing to ignore her mother's unconvincing tone, Rory grabbed another book from the bag and placed it on the shelf.

Frowning slightly, Lorelai sat on the edge of Rory's bed and silently watched her daughter put the rest of her new books away. It wasn't until Rory turned to shelve the last book that she finally spoke, trying to keep her tone as gentle and even as possible, "So, you are going to resolve things with Dean at some point, right?'

Surprised, Rory turned to face her. "Of course, I am."

"Okay. Good. Just checking."

"I'm just giving him time to cool off," Rory elaborated defensively.

"Makes sense," Lorelai nodded.

"He's my boyfriend. Of course, I'm going to work things out with him."

"Got it."

"What's going on?" Rory asked.

"What do you mean?"

"You're acting weird."

"Babe, you've lived with me for seventeen years, my middle name is Weird," Lorelai joked.

"This isn't normal weird."

"Isn't that an oxymoron?"

"Speaking in two word sentences, changing the subject… you only do this when you're upset about something."

"I'm not upset," Lorelai disagreed.

"Then, what are you?"

"Stunningly gorgeous?" she offered.

"Mom, be serious."

Lorelai studied her daughter's face for a moment then said honestly, "It's nothing; I guess I'm just a little worried."

"About what?"

"This," Lorelai answered, gesturing between her daughter and herself. "You… keeping things from me. I knew that day would probably come… eventually, but I always hoped you and I would avoid it. I always want you to be able to tell me what's going on with you. No matter what."

"I haven't been keeping things from you."

"Maybe you didn't intend to, but –"

"Where is this coming from?" Rory interrupted. "Is this about Jess? Because you were there; it was just an auction."

"And pizza and the bookstore," Lorelai finished.

"So, this is about Jess," Rory said, upset.

"I just don't want you to get hurt."

"I'm not going to get hurt."

"You don't know that. Guys like that…"

"Like what?"

"Oh, I don't know, Rory – angry at the world – using the past as an excuse to act like a jerk – lashing out at anyone who happens to be within yelling distance. Any of this sound familiar?"

"Jess isn't like that," Rory disagreed.

"Well, I have to say that the few conversations I've had with him suggest he's exactly like that," Lorelai said, growing frustrated. "And let's not forget the vandalism and the stealing and the cutting school and the fighting. I just don't think it's a good idea for you to be hanging out with him, especially when it's causing problems between you and Dean."

"So you're saying I can't date Dean and be friends with Jess?"

"No, I didn't say that, but things just aren't always that simple. In a perfect world, you should be able to do whatever you want, but in this imperfect world, seeing you spending time with Jess upsets Dean. He's trying to give you the benefit of the doubt, but he needs to know you want to fix things too."

"How do you know what Dean needs to know? Did he say something to you?"

"Yeah, he and I talked a little after the auction. He was really upset."

"So he went running to my mother?" Rory asked angrily.

"Well, he needed someone to talk to."

"Well, he could've talked to me."

"No, he couldn't, 'cause you were off with Jess," Lorelai reminded her.

"I wasn't off with Jess. Jess outbid him."

"Yeah, you mentioned that."

"Well, he did," Rory said in frustration. "Why is that so difficult for everyone to understand?"

"We're just concerned about you. We don't want you to invest time in someone that might not be worth the effort."

"Wow!" Rory exclaimed disbelievingly. "I thought you, of all people, would be willing to give someone a second chance."

"Rory, this isn't about me giving Jess a second chance or a third or a fourth. This is about me protecting you and making sure that you don't get hurt. Guys like Jess are dangerous. They get into trouble, and I don't want you hanging out with him and getting into trouble too."

"I won't get into trouble just because I spend time with Jess."

"I think the ringer snowman would beg to differ, Professor Hinkle," Lorelai said hastily.

Surprised, Rory paused for a moment, her face flushing red. Then, she spoke cautiously, "How long have you known about that?"

"For a while," Lorelai sighed.

"So… what? You were just holding onto it as your trump card, waiting for the perfect moment to play it and prove me wrong?"

"Of course not; it just sort of slipped out," Lorelai said truthfully.

"Well, it doesn't matter anyway because it isn't Jess's fault. He didn't get me into trouble. It was my decision."

"So you just woke up one morning and decided, 'Hey, today I feel like destroying a snowman'?" Lorelai asked skeptically.

"I can't believe I'm even still talking about this. Apparently, you and everyone else in Stars Hollow think I'm mindless and incapable of deciding anything for myself, so I don't know why I should even bother saying what I think… if I can think at all, that is," Rory said, grabbing her coat from the bed.

"That's ridiculous," Lorelai scoffed.

"No, this whole conversation is ridiculous. And, as much as I'd like to stay and listen to you tell me what to think and who to spend time with, it seems Jess already filled my brainwashing quotient for the day."

"Rory…"

"No, I don't want to talk about it anymore. I'm going for a walk," she said coldly before heading out the door.


"It's your turn," Luke mumbled gruffly at Jess as he walked around the counter.

Jess sighed and shifted his eyes from his book to his uncle. "My turn to what?"

"Deal with that," Luke said, directing his gaze towards a window table.

Jess looked in the indicated direction. "No way," he stated firmly before returning his attention to his novel.

"Jess…" Luke warned.

Despite Luke's tone, Jess ignored him and continued to read.

"One of us has to take their order."

"Have fun," Jess offered tonelessly, his eyes still not straying from the page.

"I took it yesterday," Luke reminded him.

"Yes, you did," Jess agreed, turning the page.

"And the day before that."

"You're very perceptive, Uncle Luke."

"Please don't make me do it again," Luke said, a slight tone of desperation peeking through his tough façade.

Smirking, Jess at last looked up from his book. He glanced at Luke, considering his plight, then he turned his attention to the pair by the window. It only took him a second to make up his mind. "I am not going over there," he said firmly

"Not good enough," Luke disagreed. "I need a reason."

"Okay, how about the fact that her stare alone is a lethal weapon, and I'm too young to die?"

"It's not that bad."

"Well, you're not exactly doing cartwheels at the idea of going over there either, are you?"

Unable to argue, Luke said nothing.

"So how long does this usually last?" Jess asked.

"It's usually over in a day."

"It's been at least four."

"Five," Luke quickly corrected, and they both fell silent.

After a few moments, Jess ran a hand nervously through his hair and glanced at Luke out of the corner of his eye. "I bought Rory's picnic basket," he admitted.

"You outbid Dean?" Luke asked, surprised.

"He didn't put up much of a fight."

"And she had lunch with you?"

"Yeah."

There was a brief pause as Luke processed the information. "I'll take their order."

"Good idea."


Jess watched from the counter as Luke walked over to the table, pen and pad of paper in hand. Much like they had been all week, Lorelai and Rory were sitting sullenly across from each other, both seemingly refusing to speak or make eye contact with one another. Jess's eyes focused on Rory. She sat with her left arm propped on the edge of the table, her chin resting on her hand. She was gazing out the window at the passersby, looking like she wanted to be anywhere but where she was. Jess was well-acquainted with that look.

When Luke reached the table, she turned her head to look at him and gave him a halfhearted smile. Jess saw Luke nod in acknowledgment before directing his attention to Lorelai. At that moment, Rory scanned the rest of the diner, and, before Jess had time to look away, her eyes met his. He saw something flicker in their depths – amusement, maybe – but then Luke spoke to her, and she broke contact.

Jess picked up his book and resumed his usual position at the counter, but he didn't read. Instead, he directed his gaze slightly above the top of the book in an effort to more discreetly observe what was going on at the Gilmore table. He watched as both women leaned back in their chairs, defensively crossing their arms over their chests. He watched as Luke switched his attention quickly from one woman to the other, trying to get their orders as fast and painlessly as possible. He watched as both Lorelai and Rory spoke curtly in one-word sentences. And, based on his observations and the look of increasing defeat on Luke's face, he decided that the process could go on indefinitely. Losing interest, he focused his entire attention on the book. About ten pages later, he looked up and saw Luke approaching from the tables. "They're gettin' two salads. Tell Caesar the greener, the better," he told Jess irritably. "I'm taking a break."


A short while later, Rory sat at the table, absently pushing pieces of lettuce around on her plate. Sighing, she stabbed a cherry tomato with her fork and popped it into her mouth. She then glanced at her mother, who was staring, flabbergasted, at the plate of vegetables before her. Rory knew she was dying to say something, anything, to immortalize this unprecedented moment, but instead she just silently gaped at the leafy manifestation of Luke's effrontery. Looking at her own plate, Rory's stomach growled. Sighing again, she set her fork on the plate with a loud clang and turned her eyes back to the window. Within seconds, a smile spread across her face, and her whole posture changed. Eagerly, she shifted her attention to the door, just in time to hear the bell jingle and see the face of her best friend peering around the doorframe.

"Lane?" Rory questioned aloud, drawing her friend's attention and causing Lorelai to look towards the door.

Lane smiled and slipped quickly into the diner. Then, walking briskly towards the register end of the counter, she raised her eyebrows at Rory and pointed animatedly at two stools. Placing her napkin on her partially eaten salad, Rory pushed it to the center of the table and darted over to join her friend.

Lorelai looked from Lane to her daughter to her salad. Sighing, she stood up, picked up her purse, and mumbled something inaudible before walking out the diner door.

"Oh my God! What are you doing here?" Rory asked as she slid onto the stool next to Lane's.

"Did I just see you eating a salad?"

"Oh… yeah," Rory said, glancing at the now-vacant table. "Don't ask."

"You went vegetarian, didn't you? And all because I wasn't here to talk you down from the ledge."

"No, the salad is Luke's version of tough love."

"Oh, so you and your mom are still fighting?"

"Actually, I think we've successfully moved onto the silent fuming portion of the program."

"Oh, well, good," Lane quipped. "At least progress is being made."

"Speaking of progress, what are you doing here? Did Mama Kim stay your execution?"

"Not exactly. We were about to head to the Friday Bible study group, which, by the way and perhaps not surprisingly, seems to be the liveliest of the daily Bible study groups."

"Really?"

"Yeah, they even add the occasional vocal inflection to the Bible readings. If I close my eyes, it's practically like being at a funky coffee shop poetry reading."

Rory gave Lane a skeptical look.

"Okay, so maybe closing my eyes leads to falling asleep which leads to dreams of being in a funky coffee shop listening to beat poetry. But when your actual existence involves sitting among a large group of considerably older Koreans reading Bible passages, you start to delude yourself into thinking your dreams are reality."

"Well then, delude away. Just try not to snore."

"I'll do my best," Lane promised. "I'm also trying to work on sleeping with my eyes open, but apparently I'm not a fast learner."

"You know, closing your eyes might actually help because they probably think you're deep in meditation," Rory offered.

"Good point," Lane said, nodding.

"So where's Mama Kim, and what happened to the lively Friday Bible study group? They might be gettin' that party started without you, you know."

"Oh, it doesn't actually start for a half hour, but Mama always likes to get there early, so we can get good seats. Although I'm still not quite sure what exactly defines a good seat in a Bible study group or if one even exists. But, anyway, we were about to leave when a roaming antique collector from the Midwest arrived and wanted to take a look around the store."

"Roaming antique collector?" Rory asked.

"Yeah, apparently, he's spending his whole life going from city to city, antique store to antique store, searching for the perfect find. He ultimately wants to have the most impressive antique ever to be televised on 'Antiques Roadshow'."

"Lofty goals," Rory mused.

"He seems determined though. I suspect we'll see his name in PBS lights someday."

"What is his name?"

"I don't actually know," Lane answered, thinking. "I guess I should've asked. After all, he's practically become my new hero. I've never seen someone sweet-talk Mama like he did. He actually convinced her to stay behind and let him look around. It's probably the first time in years that Mama's going to be on time to the group instead of early."

"Wow!"

"I know! She was so caught up in his enthusiasm that she told me I should walk to the group by myself and save her a seat. This is actually the first time I've been out of her sight since she found out about Henry."

"How are you doing?" Rory asked hesitantly, not wanting to push Lane to talk about the breakup if she didn't want to. "You seem better."

"The pain comes and goes. One minute I'm fine, the next I'm a post-Tony, pre-Gavin Gwen Stefani."

"I'm sorry," Rory said sincerely.

"Thanks. I'll be okay. On the bright side, now I can fill in yes after the question 'Have you ever had your heart broken?' on those silly email surveys."

"Maybe you can even type up a little anecdote." Rory offered.

"See, exactly. My own version of 'Tis better to have loved and lost then never to have loved at all'."

"Next thing you know, you'll hear it on 'Friends'."

Lane nodded sadly, thinking about Henry. "Hey Rory."

"Yeah?"

"Can you send me a copy of that survey?"

"It'll be in your Inbox before the night is through," Rory assured her.

"Thanks."


They sat in companionable silence for a minute. Out of the corner of her eye, Rory saw Jess stand up and shove his book into his back pocket. Soon he appeared directly in her line of vision as he walked behind the counter towards the register to ring somebody up. Rory's eyes trailed his movements before turning back to Lane.

"So, what else have you been doing during your imprisonment?" she asked.

"Working on all of the homework I'm missing, moping, listening to music. My 'Beat Happening' cds have become my companions in despair."

"Beat Happening?" Rory asked incredulously.

Lane shrugged. "Some people favor melodic, haunting music during times of depression; I prefer my breakup music loud, distorted, and as out of tune as possible."

"You should try 'The Shaggs'," Jess interjected from his position behind the register.

"Excuse me?" Lane said as both girls turned their attention to him.

"The Shaggs," Jess repeated, leaving the register and moving to stand across the counter from them. "A makeshift girl band from the late 1960s. If you're looking for out-of-tune brilliance, they're your band."

"But they're so bad that I couldn't even make it through half of the album. They take awful to unsurpassed levels."

"Not that people haven't tried," Jess added.

"The Vaselines, for example."

"Jonathan Richman," Jess offered.

"But who wouldn't fall in love with 'My Little Kookenhaken'," Lane remarked. "What about Deerhoof?" she threw back.

"Marine Girls."

"Tracey Thorn's old band?"

"Sure," Jess replied. "There are definite similarities in the way the vocals don't quite match the underlying melody of the instruments. Listen to 'Place in the Sun'."

"But the thing about Marine Girls is that there is an instrumental melody," Lane pointed out. "The same can't be said of The Shaggs."

"True," Jess agreed. "But there's definitely some Shaggs inspiration lurking there."

"I think that's debatable."

"Okay, but their influence on Half Japanese is not."

"True, they do approach the ranks of the unlistenable, but they're still more musical than The Shaggs."

"Which is what makes The Shaggs so special. No band in history has been able to capture their weird, un-self-conscious mix of vocals and instrumentation."

"But that's because The Shaggs didn't set out to mimic a sound," Lane said.

"Exactly. It's the purest form of music. Completely unaffected by trends or public expectations."

"And completely incapable of being tolerated by the human eardrum," Lane finished. "I think I'll stick with Beat Happening."

"Suit yourself," Jess said with a shrug before walking off to take the orders of some customers who'd just walked in.

"Okay, what just happened here?" Lane asked, turning to Rory, who'd been silently enjoying their debate.

"What do you mean?" she asked, confused.

"If I didn't know better, I'd swear I just had a conversation with Jess Mariano."

"You did," Rory affirmed.

"No, we're talking an actual conversation. It could probably even be classified as a debate. I didn't even think he knew how to formulate a sentence beyond 'Can I borrow a pen?' and 'Can I take your order?' Are you sure I wasn't hallucinating?"

"Nope, it's true," Rory teased. "Jess can speak in full paragraphs if the spirit moves him."

"Wow," Lane enthused, amazed. "And it was even fun. It's not often someone around here can talk music beyond Britney Spears and Michael Bolton."

"Hey!" Rory protested.

"Present company excluded, of course."

"And don't you forget it," Rory instructed. "Michael Bolton?" she asked, crinkling her nose.

"Kirk," Lane said, by way of explanation. "You know, I think that conversation just might get me through the next week of solitary confinement."

"Well, I'll be sure to thank Jess for you."

"Oh my God," Lane exclaimed, looking at her watch. "How long have I been here?"

"Um… fifteen minutes maybe," Rory guessed.

"Okay, that still gives me fifteen minutes to get over there and try to figure out which seat Mama would consider good today."

"Good luck."

"Thanks. I'll try to talk to you soon," Lane said, jumping off her stool and heading towards the door.

"I dare you to snap your fingers after one of the readings," Rory called after her.

"Don't tempt me!" Lane replied. Then, with one, last, small wave goodbye, she hurried out the door and down the street.


Her mood considerably better after seeing Lane, Rory smiled to herself and turned back around on the stool to face the counter. The enticing smell of onion rings wafted over to her, and again, her stomach growled. She was considering whether or not she should order something or just wait a few hours until dinner at her grandparents' house when Jess walked back around the counter and towards the opening to the kitchen. He handed the order over to Caesar and then strolled over to where Rory was seated.

"Hey," she said softly, looking up at him.

"Hey," he answered noncommittally. "Just so you know, your friend is crazy. The Shaggs album is amazing."

"Yeah, according to Lane, it's amazingly awful," Rory teased. "But I've never heard it, so I won't judge."

"Fair enough."

"You sort of made her day, you know."

"Whose?" Jess asked.

"Lane's. Things haven't been so great for her lately, but she loves discussing music."

"It wasn't a big deal."

"Well, it was for her."

"For the most part, she really knows what she's talking about," Jess said, impressed.

"Yes, she does," Rory proudly agreed. "And apparently so do you. You two should talk more often."

"Don't count on it," Jess dismissed.

"You should really give people a chance; they just might surprise you."

"Not likely."

"If you say so," Rory shrugged, looking away.

"So how was your salad?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Healthy."

"Which, in Gilmore-speak, means disgusting. Do you want something? You must be hungry."

"I'm fine."

"Rory, I heard your stomach growl from across the room. So either you're hungry or you're about to reenact a scene from 'Alien'. Personally, I'm hoping it's option 1."

"Fine, I'll have a basket of onion rings."

"Coming right up," Jess said as he headed over to tell Caesar.

"And a cup of coffee," she added.

Jess smirked and placed her order with Caesar. On his way back, he grabbed a mug and filled it to the rim, then he set it in front of her and leaned forward, his elbows on the counter. He watched as she took a sip, and then he asked bluntly, "So what's going on between you and your mom?"

"Nothing," she answered, staring into her cup.

"Right," Jess drawled.

"We just got into a fight. It's no big deal."

"You two barely ever fight."

"How do you know? You've lived here less than a year."

"I know," Jess said confidently, his eyes catching Rory's in their gaze and conveying wisdom beyond his years. Intrigued, Rory had to force herself to look away. Slowly, her hands feeling unwieldy and cumbersome, she raised the cup to her lips and took another sip.

"What was it about?" he pressed.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"You know, until today, you hadn't said two words to me since Sunday," Jess pointed out.

"That has nothing to do with it," Rory said defensively.

"I didn't say it did."

"Good because it didn't."

"But either way, I'm pretty sure that whatever you're fighting about probably isn't worth it."

"What if it is?" she demanded, looking back up at him boldly, her eyes challenging his.

"Is it?"

Unsure, she hesitated, processing his question, her mind at war with her heart. The silence roared in Jess's ears, but steadily, he ignored it and waited.

Finally, haltingly, she raised her eyes again. As soon as they met his, she knew the answer. Almost imperceptibly, she nodded and whispered, "It's worth it."

"Then she'll come around," he promised before walking over to grab her order of onion rings, a small but hopeful smile on his face.