Chapter 5- All We Can Do is Try

Author's Note- Sorry for the delay in updating! I'm trying something new in this chapter. A new format. I think it's easier to write, so I hope you like it. If not I can go back to the old way. It'll be a little longer, but I think it's better. Please review!!

Dedication- I love you all! Thank you for reviewing me! In the wise words of Sally Field: "You like me! You really like me!" hehe

Disclaimer- Still don't have anything to my name, unless you can count a whole truck load of books and cds…

[Hospital (hallway, outside of Rory's room) - Noon]

LORELAI: (in a panic) Luke! Luke! Oh my god! Luke! (running towards him) You'll never believe what's happening!! My baby! My baby is…

LUKE: (handing her a fresh cup of coffee) What's wrong?! What happened? (starting to panic too) Is everything okay? Where's Jess?

LORELAI: (crying) He left. He left, Luke. Because she's….she's…my baby…she's…

LUKE: (wrapping his arms around her and guiding her to a bench) What happened? Is she okay?

LORELAI: She's pregnant.

(With this, LORELAI broke down again. Crumbling into a ball, she sat on the bench next to LUKE burying her head in his shirt)

LUKE: Shhh. It's okay Lor, everything's going to be okay. (stroking her hair) I'll make sure that Jess takes care of her and the baby. He isn't going anywhere. He loves Rory. Everything is going to be okay.

LORELAI: (sitting up and looking him in the eye) No! No! It's not going to be okay! The baby isn't Jess's Luke! It isn't Jess's. I never thought I'd be wishing it was his, but it isn't. It isn't!

LUKE: (puzzled) Well, whose is it?

LORELAI: (bursting into tears again) It's Dean's.

(LORELAI looked away from him. Ashamed of it. Ashamed of her daughter's cheating. Ashamed of her daughter)

LUKE: (unsure) Oh. Are you…she…they sure it's not his?

LORELAI: Yes, he said that they didn't have sex. Oh my gosh Luke! What am I going to do? What is she going to do?

LUKE: I don't know Lor. We'll have to talk to her about this. Find out what she's going to do. Find out how Jess is…Oh my gosh! Jess! Did you say he left?!

LORELAI: (rubbing her eyes) Yeah, he left after he heard she was pregnant.

LUKE: He's gonna run...Are you okay? Can I leave to go find him? I won't be long.

LORELAI: Yeah, go, go. Tell him I'm really sorry about all this. I'm not sure that you should tell him the baby's Dean's though. Probably not a good idea considering…well, it's Dean.

LUKE: Yeah, I got it. You go talk to Rory. (kissing her) I love you. I'll be back in a little while.

(LORELAI watched helplessly as LUKE walked down the corridor and turned the corner to the elevators. She turned back to the door in front of her. Confused and almost frightened she sat and contemplated what to say to RORY)

[Jess's apartment – Noon]

("Clocks" by Coldplay blaring from the speakers, JESS is packing what little clothes he has. Throwing in some books and cds, he zips up his backpack. Taking one last look at a picture of RORY and him, he picks up his wallet and heads for the door. It bursts open just as he reaches for the handle.)

LUKE: (surprisingly calm) Where are you going?

JESS: God! You sure know how to give a guy a heart attack, there is such a thing as knocking you know!

LUKE: Jess, where are you going?

JESS: Who cares?

LUKE: I do, Lorelai does, Rory does.

JESS: Apparently not the later and I'm sure Lorelai doesn't give a shit either, I'm surprised you included yourself in that list.

LUKE: Of course I care about you, why wouldn't I? You're my nephew! And Lorelai cares, she told me to tell you she's sorry for what's happening.

JESS: Hm. And Rory? Cause last time I checked, sleeping with someone else and getting knocked up isn't exactly a way to tell your boyfriend you care.

LUKE: Jess, I'm really sorry. If you guys just talk about it, I'm sure…

JESS: (angry) No! Luke, no! I'm not gonna talk about it. Not with her. She cheated on me, with god knows who! I don't want to know! She's pregnant, it's not mine! That's all I need to know, to know that I'm out of here.

(JESS started for the door again)

LUKE: She didn't cheat on you.

JESS: (stopping and turning around slowly) What did you say?

LUKE: She didn't cheat on you. She had sex before you came back.

JESS: (completely stunned) And you know this how?

LUKE: Lorelai told me. Rory is torn up about it Jess. She didn't want to hurt you. She told Lorelai that she was lonely and that Dean was just there, and they did it. She didn't…

JESS: Dean? (barely choking out the word)

LUKE: (realizing what he said) Um…yeah, Dean. (nerviously) She slept with Dean. The baby is Dean's.

JESS: (sitting down on the couch) Of course.

LUKE: What?

JESS: Of course it's Dean's. It's always him. If it's not me, it's him. Something goes wrong with him, she runs to me. If something goes wrong with me, she runs off to him. I should have known. (burying his head in his hands)

LUKE: Are you okay Jess? I can…

JESS: (cutting him off) Does it look like I'm okay?! (suddenly angry again) No, I'm not "okay." I'm pissed. I'm gonna kill him. He's married! How could he do this to Rory?! She doesn't deserve this.

LUKE: Well, I don't think that violence will help this situation Jess. Dean doesn't know. I don't think that Rory wants him to know. Just…leave it alone.

JESS: I'm leaving. (heading for the door) I can't handle this right now.

LUKE: No. You are not leaving. Not until we finish talking about this.

JESS: Let's see…my girlfriend is pregnant with another guy's kid. A guy whom I can't stand! I love her. But I can not raise his child. I can't do it, and I won't. I want no part of this. End of discussion.

LUKE: If you love her, like you say you do, not that I'm doubting you...but you should stay and help her…

JESS: Why can't Dean help her? He's the one who did this. He's the one who messed up all of our lives.

(With this he turned around and left, slamming the door behind him)

[Hospital- 12:30 pm]

(After three coffee runs, Lorelai finally decided to go and talk to Rory. Standing outside her door, she quietly knocked.)

RORY: Come in.

LORELAI: Hey sweetie. How do you feel?

RORY: Um…okay I guess, considering…

LORELAI: I know…(sitting down in the chair next to the bed)

(They sat in silence for a few minutes, each not looking forward to the inevitable upcoming talk)

LORELAI: Um…this is uncomfortable.

RORY: Yeah, it is…Mom, I'm really sorry.

LORELAI: (surprised) Honey, you don't need to be sorry! We'll work through this. Everything is going to be okay. (she moved from the chair to the edge of the bed and pulled RORY into a hug)

RORY: (bursting into tears) No, no it's not mom. It's not supposed to be like this. I'm going to Yale, I can't have a baby. I'm not ready. I'm not married. And it's Dean's. Dean is married mom! (crying harder) What am I going to do? What about Jess? He's going to be pissed. I hate myself. How could I do this? I screwed everything up!!

LORELAI: Sweetie, you didn't do this on purpose, it just happened. And now we have to deal with it as best we can. You can take a year off of Yale, go back next year. We'll figure this out together hon, I'll be right here for you every second. Don't worry. You won't have to do this alone.

RORY: Where's Jess? I want to tell him myself.

LORELAI: Um…sweetie, the doctor told him, and then he left. Luke went after him.

RORY: (crying again) Oh God! He left! I lost him! I love him, mom. What am I going to do? I need him.

LORELAI: Don't worry, Luke is talking to him. He's not going anywhere.

(LORELAI'S cell phone went off and she dug through her purse to find it)

LORELAI: Hello?

LUKE: Hey, uh, it's me. He left.

LORELAI: What?! (looking at RORY sadly) Did you talk to him?

LUKE: Yeah, he's really mad, he uh…doesn't want anything to do with the baby…it kinda slipped out that it was Dean's…

LORELAI: Luke! You weren't supposed to say that?! (sighing) Well, do you have any idea where he's going? New York maybe?

LUKE: No, I asked and got a "Who cares."

LORELAI: Well, maybe we'll just give him time. Call Liz in a few hours, maybe he went there.

LUKE: I'm really sorry Lorelai. Tell Rory I'm really sorry.

LORELAI: It's okay Luke, it's not your fault. We'll just see what happens.

LUKE: I'm gonna head over to the diner. Are you going to be okay?

LORELAI: Yeah, thanks for coming today. Bye.

LUKE: It's nothing Lor, I love you. Bye.

(LORELAI turned to RORY, biting her lip. RORY was crying again, the hope gone out of her eyes)

LORELAI: I'm sorry sweetie. (hugging her again)

RORY: I can't do this mom, not without him.

LORELAI: Don't worry, he just needs time. Plus, he's gotta come back to get the stuff out of his apartment, he'll be back.

RORY: (nodding) I'm ready to go home now. Can we leave?

LORELAI: Yeah, I'll go get a nurse.

(LORELAI left and RORY lay back on her pillow and closed her eyes)

[On the road, somewhere between Star's Hollow and New York City] A/N: I threw in some stuff from Jess's point of view here; not sure if it fits or works…but I wanted to go through Jess's thoughts and his problem, so yeah, tell me if it's good.

I'm getting further away from my problems, from her, from the whole thing. I don't want to get involved in this. It's too complicated. Too messed up. I can't see myself raising a child. Especially one that isn't mine. Especially Dean's. I'm not ready for fatherhood. I just recently became responsible for myself. How can I be trusted to be responsible for someone else?

Rory. I love her, I do. Am I being selfish? Leaving her like this? Probably. She's gonna be heartbroken when she finds out I left her…again. You're stupid Mariano, you know that. She's the best thing that ever happened to you. She's…I hate to sound mushy…but the love of your life. You can't leave her. This is too big of a problem for her to handle by herself. But she does have Lorelai…no, she needs you. I just don't want to turn into my father. I don't want to screw up this kid's life, like he did mine. It's not fair to it…I wonder if it's a boy or a girl…I should go back. She needs me. If I fail, I fail…it's better to have tried and failed than to fail by never trying at all. Or something like that, anyway I've got to go back. I love her, no matter what. We'll get through this, together.

A/N: Please review! I want your feedback, good or bad!