Author's Note: Hey! Here is yet another chapter. I want to clear something up here. Everything in seasons one, two, three, and four on the show have happened in this story. In the Flashbacks of this chapter it's how my season five beginning with Jess in it would have gone. I added a Jess scene. It's vague but... there. It takes place after what's happening with Rory in the story. A while after. But I'm starting it there so I can go with this idea in my head. The Rory stuff takes place about... two weeks after the break in.

Dedications: I would like to dedicate this story to all my reviewers, and I swear one of these days I will name all of you... And to the Java Junkie thread over at , and while this story is not a total JJ one, it's dedicated to them, especially Jessa, Deh, Vanessa, and Teresa.

Disclaimer: Short, Simple. Don't own. Don't sue.

Missing

Chapter 3

She got out of the taxicab, her bags in hand and stood, facing the once charming and welcoming home. She made a mistake. A huge, life-changing mistake in which she couldn't fix.

The town knew. That's one of the few things her mother was sure to tell her. Idiotic Dean went and left the note she had written him lying around for Lindsay to see. Causing a blow up in the market, Gossip Central.

She was expecting their stares and whispers and even their confrontations, but there was one thing she didn't expect to see standing on her front porch.

Jess.

----

The sound of a person yelling woke her, snapping her out for her dreams. She recognized it at once. Three voices, one loud, one soft, the other frustrated. Emily, Lorelai, and Luke. Luke trying to shut them up, pointing wildly to the living room where she lay.

"She's my granddaughter, Lorelai! I have the right to see her!" That was Emily, yelling like usual... her voice angry.

"Mom... Rory is sleeping, okay? She needs her rest, especially now..."

"Hello, Rory..." Richard said softly, stepping into the room, drink in hand. He sat down next to Rory, placing the drink on the coffee table and reaching over to receive a hug from his granddaughter.

"Hey, Grandpa."

"Your mother told me the news, I hope that is quite alright. She has yet to calm Emily down enough to do so."

----

"Why can't you leave me alone?!" she cried, dropping her bags at the foot of the steps, and stomping up them like a stubborn two year old.

"Because sometimes you don't always get what you want..." he spoke it directly to her, keeping eye contact, and a neutral expression. She noted his appearance. More mature, older, wiser.

"Oh, yeah? Well..." she stuttered, breaking the eye contact he tried to hold and looked down, at a loss for words.

"Wow. Look at this! I rendered Rory Gilmore speechless!" It was the same old sarcastic Jess again, as he shook his head.

"Shut up!" she screamed and stomped into the house, slamming the door, only to have him open it right back up before she could lock it. It had new locks... one's she couldn't figure out.

"You're different, Rory! What happened? Sleeping with a married guy, I ask you?" He followed her into the living room and into the kitchen, not leaving her alone.

"People grow up! People change!"

"No, Rory! You didn't grow up! You grew down!"

"No! No, no, no, No!"

"Is that the only word that Ivy League School has taught you? Or have you changed so much you can't speak proper sentences anymore? Huh, Rory? I told you I changed, but if I knew it meant giving what I gave up to you, I wouldn't have..."

He knew he was weakening her. He didn't understand what he was saying, just talking, trying to break her down. He would tell her that in the future. He saw her start crying and slip to the ground for the second time. Only this time it was different. He was there to catch her when she fell. And he held her, letting her cry into him. And that is how Lorelai found them.

----

The glow of the TV screen lit up the dark room, as the ending of Dirty Dancing played. Rory was curled up at one end of the couch, wide awake, Lorelai at the other with Parker, the two of them fast asleep. Luke sat on the armchair next to the sofa, staring at the television screen, looking lost in thought.

"Luke..." Rory whispered, startling the man. She pointed to the kitchen and motioned for him to follow her in, as not to wake the two sleeping persons.

She walked over to the coffee machine, flipping it on and adding coffee beans to it; one hand rested gently on her stomach. She was having a hard time grasping the concept. She was pregnant. Again. Without Jess.

"Are you okay?" Luke asked, genuinely worried for her. She nodded slightly and sat down at the table, tapping her fingers nervously on the surface.

"I... I want you to propose to my mom..." she whispered then looked up. Seeing him start to protest she quickly went on. "You've been waiting so long, Luke. But something was always in the way, and probably always will be. I know Mom probably already told you but, I'm pregnant and Jess is gone. For now, anyway. And there is this huge possibility that he is not coming back. He's gone, Luke. But he isn't forgotten. So, just do this. For me, do this for me...." She sighed and got up, pouring the fresh coffee into a cup and taking a sip. She knew she didn't have much longer to drink it, so she wanted to savor every last drop.

Luke looked at her like she was crazy. Crazy, yet it made perfect sense. Sighing deeply he made an attempt to change the subject.

"You should really give that up. Especially now..."

"Not a chance in hell..." she whispered back with a small smile. She nodded over towards Lorelai and Parker and he nodded, mentally suggesting he'd take care of it. She walked over to her bedroom, and entered, dreading the long night.

----

It was cold. So freezing cold that it was unbearable. He shivered. Multiple times. It was then that he felt it. The pain in his body. Pain like he never felt before. Just... There, and there... and there.

He didn't know how, but he felt the blood. Wetness. Blood on his arms, face, legs. Some dried some fresh.

He heard a door. Open, close. Open, close. Then a siren. It made the pain in his head worsen. Voices. Closer and closer. Loud, soft... in-between. Then a bang like a gun. Thump. It didn't add up in his head.

Until he heard someone yell. Closer to him than ever before. Questions. None of which he could understand, nor answer. Just one word he supplied them with.

Rory.

TBC.