Disclaimer: If Gilmore Girls really belonged to me, Rory would have gone with Jess when he came to her dorm room. sigh if only...

A/N: Hallo luvs! So so so sorry this has taken forever!!! My beta went out of town (not her fault) and so I decided to focus only on my trory. I wrote three chapters of that one, but have been seriously neglecting this story. There are other reasons as well, which you can read on my profile if you desire. Pleez don't stone me ;)

Thanx: To everyone who has reviewed this story. I couldn't do it without you, and I love you all. A special thank you goes out to my beta, dear sweet Molly (GQSecondAct)! READ HER STORIES!!!

Chapter 6: Hospitals And Late Night Visits

Jess hated hospitals. They were too clean and white. Everything was white. And the smell. Sterile. Too sterile and white. It hurt his eyes, and he was starting to get a headache. Rory was staring straight ahead, and hadn't spoken since 'it' happened. She just gaped at nothingness. It was driving Jess crazy.

He knew this kind of stress was too much for her body to deal with, but in his heart Jess knew he couldn't handle this alone. This! He couldn't even bring himself to think what was going on. The full seriousness of the situation hadn't hit him, yet. All he could think about was his baby girl's face before she collapsed. Lori was gasping for air, and all the color drained from her features. Then she fell. Jess watched the scene over and over in his head and couldn't even begin to comprehend why this had happened. Why had she done this?

"Daddy! Read me Oliver Twist," Lori begged her father.

She was only eight years old, but she loved to read with the same passion that both Jess and Rory had. Jess grinned at the beautiful blue-eyed girl and stood up to retrieve said book. When he returned, Lori was already sitting on the couch wearing her father's old Metallica T-shirt as a nightgown. He shook his head and sat beside her, while opening the book to the beginning. He started to read, but Lori stopped him as she snuggled closer to him.

"Daddy, I love you."

"I love you, too, Dodger."

Jess angrily hit his fist against his wall, and decided he had to have answers. Someone had to pay, and he knew that Riley would probably know what was going on. He was Lori's best friend, and they spent almost every waking hour together when she lived at home. He had to have seen something, unless he was in just as much denial as Jess was.

"Rory," he said softly, as he put his hand on her shoulder.

She didn't move her eyes from the fixed spot on the wall, but she did answer.

"Yes?"

"I'm going out for some air, okay?"

She didn't say nor do anything in response, so he leaned over and kissed her cheek while murmuring his love for her. Quickly, he left the hospital and ran to his car. With a shaking hand, he unlocked the door and pulled it open. As he sat in the driver's seat he thought about how much Lori was like him. They both had the same "rebel-without-a-cause-I-don't-give-a-damn" attitude, and look where that got him. He was shipped off to Luke's, but he found Rory there and she saved him. Jess thought about what possibly could have happened to Lori as he drove towards Riley's place.

Incessant beeping was the sound Lori awoke to. Her head felt like someone had been hitting her with a two-by-four all night, and she was having problems focusing on anything. Her vision kept blurring, but she was still aware of her surroundings. Lori knew she was lying on a bed. She could feel the crisp sheets over her, but the problem was she couldn't remember how she got there. Her mouth was parched and she didn't have enough spit to swallow. That beeping was starting to get on her nerves.

She tried to remember the last thing that happened, but all she remembered was being angry. Very angry. Then... it hurt her head to think, so she closed her eyes to try and block everything out. A woman's voice floated through the hazy place before sleep that Lori found herself in.

"Ms. Mariano? Are you awake, dear?"

Lori tried to answer, but all that came out was a squeaky groan. The woman smiled and brought a cup of liquid over to her.

"Here, drink this. I'm sure you're very thirsty."

Lori took the glass and tried to drink it while she was lying down. Unfortunately, some water went up her nose, so she sputtered and choked. The nurse took the glass from her and left the room, much to Lori's delight. She was in no mood to talk to anyone. All she wanted to do was curl up and die in peace. Her body ached and her head started feeling heavy. A doctor entered the room at that moment and she cracked her eyes open.

"What happened?" she asked in a sedated voice.

"You collapsed. You're parents and grandparents called an ambulance, and it's a good thing they did."

"Oh, I don't want to see them."

He sighed, "Well, you don't have to right now, but you will have too eventually. I'm actually about to go out and speak with them. Why don't you get some rest."

She nodded, but groaned as her head began to throb due to the action. She felt hung over, but couldn't remember drinking anything. She did remember throwing up, but she didn't know if that was because she was drunk, or the other thing. Lori decided that she didn't care and fell into a deep slumber where she didn't have to think about the mess her life had become.

Jess stood outside of Riley's door and began to knock. The door swung open, and the half-asleep teen stood on the other end, suddenly wide awake as he stared at Jess. Jess was confused about why he was nervous until he remembered that Riley helped Lori sneak out of Stars Hollow. Jess almost laughed at how that didn't seem to matter anymore. If that was the only thing wrong now, he would jump for joy. In reality, his daughter was lying in a hospital bed after starving herself.

"Hi Jess."

"Riley, I'm here about Lori. I'm not even going to talk about what you did tonight because I don't give a damn about it anymore."

"What? Why?" Riley asked him as he let Jess come into his apartment.

"Lori's in the hospital."

"What!? She was fine earlier! What the hell happened?" Riley yelled in fear and shock.

"I know, but apparently she has an eating disorder. Obviously you don't know anything about it. I thought you might, but it seems that she had us all fooled."

"Oh no. I never thought it was this bad..." Riley started.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I knew she was dieting, but I had no idea it was like this. She's been miserable since Josh cheated on her, you know. But, I think this started before that whole thing."

"What do you mean before?"

"Well," Riley said, uncomfortably. "I was around them a lot more than you were, and I got the feeling he wanted her thinner."

After Jess gave him a puzzled look, he continued, "I don't know for sure, but it's just little comments he made about her eating habits. It struck me as odd, and after he brought it up a couple of times Lori stopped eating as much junk food."

Jess' brown eyes darkened, and he felt rage building up inside of him. This whole fucking thing was about a guy! That little dickhead was going to pay for what he did to Lori! Jess knew what he had to do, so he told Riley he had to go.

"Wait, call me when you know anything about Lori, okay?"

Jess nodded as he ran out the door and towards his car. He needed to pay Josh a little visit. This was going to be a long night. Before he left, though, he knew he should call Lorelai and tell her he wouldn't be back for a little while. After hanging up the phone, he gripped the steering wheel and sped towards Josh's apartment to kill the little bastard.

Rory felt lost. The moment they wheeled her unconscious little girl through the huge double doors was one of the worst moments she'd ever experienced. She wanted to be there with her, to hold her hand and promise that everything would be okay. Instead, the nurse restrained her until Jess came and guided her over to a chair. That was where she had been since.

"Hey, Mommy," Lorelai whispered with a grin. "How would you like to hold your daughter?"

Rory held out her shaky hands as Lorelai handed her the little girl. She started crying again, and Rory just said, "I know, baby girl. I know." Then, she rocked her gently until she stopped.

Rory almost cried as memories of Lori's birth flooded her memory. She placed a hand on her stomach and wanted to scream and cry. This would all happen again someday with the next one. She'd feel the same loss and hurt that she was feeling right now, but she knew it would all be okay. It had to be okay. A tear slowly slid down her cheek just as a doctor approached the group.

"Are you the Mariano group?"

"Yes," Rory told him, standing up. "Is she okay? What's going on?"

"Well, Lorelai woke up for a few minutes which is definitely a good sign, but she is dangerously malnourished and will have to take certain vitamins intravenously."

"But she hadn't lost that much weight," Rory said in surprise.

"Yes, but since she hadn't been eating that much she was missing some key vitamins and that was what caused her to faint. If there are no further complications, she should be able to leave in a week."

"Thank you," Rory said, with a sigh of relief. "Can I see her?"

"Let's wait a little while," he told her, wanting to obey the wishes of the young woman. She already had a lot to deal with, and he didn't think it would be the best idea. "Maybe you should go home and rest. Tomorrow you can visit her. Don't worry, she's fine. Just keep a closer eye on her for the next few months."

"I will, thank you."

Rory fell into a chair and let tears of relief and pent up anxiety stream down her face. She thanked every higher power for allowing her to keep her first-born child safe. The next few months would be tough on everyone, but at least now she knew about the problem.

Josh lay in bed with two naked girls on either side of him. Life was good. He was 24 years old and could get all the ass he wanted. Most girls begged him for sex. Josh loved his life at that particular moment. He rolled over to spoon with one of the girls when he heard a banging at his door. Groaning, he got out of bed and put some boxers on to see who it was.

"Hey what do you..." he began as he pulled the door open.

Before he could finish his sentence, Jess decked him in the face. Josh stumbled backwards and grabbed his nose as blood gushed out of it. Jess' eyes flashed with hatred and anger for this asshole, which was increased even more when he realized that this guy was much older than Lori had told him. How dare this jackass take advantage of his 16-year-old daughter?

"How old are you?" Jess asked him in a low voice.

"What the hell does that have to do with the fact that you just sucker punched me?!" Josh exclaimed in confusion.

"I asked you a question."

"I'm 24, God! Who the hell are you!?"

"I'm someone you will wish you didn't piss off," Jess replied as he punched him again.

Then, Jess picked Josh up from the floor and pushed him up against a wall. Josh stared at him in confusion and shock as blood poured down his chin. The droplets dripped onto his chest and the floor, but Jess didn't even notice.

"What the hell did you say to Lori?" he asked the boy in a threatening manner.

"God, this is about that whore!" he exclaimed just as Jess' fist connected with his eye.

He didn't say anything else as he hit him again. Once the guy was on the floor, Jess began kicking him while muttering obscenities. Jess felt the same kind of anger that he had as a teenager, and he didn't know how to control it. He could almost hear Rory's voice begging him to stop, though, and he knew he had to listen to it. His foot paused in mid-kick and he looked down at the asshole that had made his daughter think she wasn't beautiful.

"Listen to me," he said, hoarsely. "You stay the hell away from Lori. Do you understand me? If I hear you even looked at her funny, I will hunt you down."

After he said that, he spun around and left the apartment. Once he got to his car, he realized he had a voice mail. It was Luke telling him that Lori was okay and that everyone was going home because they weren't allowed to see her, yet. Jess never cried, but when he heard the news, he couldn't keep a couple of tears from escaping. He sniffled and wiped them away, quickly and drove home.

A/N: Yay! I'm sooo glad I finished this chapter cuz I've been looking forward to writing it!!! Please Please Please Review!!!