Pascale0405- I didn't even know that was your website when I put that there; I loved it though!

So yea, I'm back. HATE my new house, new neighborhood, and new family. Wait, same family, no wonder...Anway, I've been doing a lot of writing while I was away...now for the fun part, a lot of typing. So I've now got something up NOT Gilmore Girls, of which I'm very proud of myself. And here's chapter nine, just for you guys. Miss me?

Lorelai craned her neck, looking for her daughter and Jess. They were both gone. Sighing in frustration, she wished Rory had taken the time to grab her cell phone on the mad dash out of the house.

"Luke, I don't see either of them," she called, but then spotted both culprits stepping out of the elevator, laughing.

"And then CJ just totally flips out and starts running after the car…which is obviously going faster than him, so Adam decides it'd be hilarious to throw MY board out the window. So we're zooming around the exit to the highway, and CJ's pushing plank after us, and there's like four cop cars sitting there just staring." Rory tried to muffle her laughter with the back of her hand, but it wasn't working. Sometime while they'd been standing outside, going through almost a whole pack, Jess had asked her what she did over the summer. She'd responded a lot of nothing, and asked him the same question, which led to his describing the insane road trip he'd taken with three friends.

"So did they pull you over?"

"I think they were momentarily stunned by a skateboard on the highway."

"That's illegal."

"Yea, but we were in Bush country."

"You're horrible, Bush country people are just as rebellious as the rest of us."

"Says the girls who was born in Connecticut, lives in New York, and pretends she's from New Jersey."

"How do you know I was born in Connecticut?"

"I looked it up when I first got the gig."

"I wish I could say the same, but I can't. I just got a call from Max saying that I'd meet you in a few weeks…why didn't I meet you then?"

"I was on my road trip."

"Ah. So where WERE you born?"

"Here."

"This hospital?"

"I'm a New Yorker. I've been here my whole life."

"Ahem." Lorelai stopped their chattering with a stern look, noting they both reeked of smoke. She hated with a passion whenever Rory indulged herself like that, even though she could hardly disagree with her daughter's need to deal with the stresses of filming a popular television show.

"Well boys and girls, Liz is stable now, and it looks like she'll be fine someday soon. You can go see her, Jess." The smile disappeared from Jess's face, and he hesitantly flicked his eyes around the room.

"C'mon, fraidy-cat," Rory chided, grabbing his arm and pulling him towards the door Luke was standing outside of. Both were in a relatively good mood- they'd never had a conversation that long, much less one where they were just being Rory and Jess, not Madison and Tony. Even more surprising to both than the fact that they were getting along, was the fact that they both liked it.

The first thing Jess saw when he entered the room was Liz lying on a thin bed with rails, her eyes closed tightly and her skin pale. Rory left him there, going back to her mother, as he sank dazedly into the chair next to her bed.

"Is he okay?" Luke asked her when she returned to him and Lorelai.

"I think so. I know I'd be a wreck if something happened to mom, but from what I gather, Jess isn't as close to his mother as I am to mine." Lorelai responded by draping the arm that wasn't holding coffee over her daughter and squeezing.

"Liz and Jess have both made their fair share of mistakes. Jess's Dad bailed right after Liz gave birth, so Liz had to juggle her own problems AND a crazy kid. She's never been able to forgive him for holding her back as a single mother, and he's never been able to get over her failed attempts to parent him. It was a relationship doomed from the start."

"I'm sorry for them."

"Me too."

"There isn't anything we can do for them?" Rory's innocent everyone-can-get-along-if-they-try attitude broke through her concern. Luke sighed.

"A lot of history is there. Some things can't be fixed, kiddo, even with time."

"I don't see why not."

"Understandable; you don't know either one of them very well."

"I know Jess," she defended.

"Don't you hate him or something?"

"I wouldn't say hate, more like strong dislike. Mutual, at that." Not long ago, she wouldn't have corrected him. Now, after having a pleasant conversation with him, and of course…after that kiss a few weeks ago…there was a slight chance he'd risen in her eyes.

"Please drop it. This isn't your problem to correct." Rory frowned, but agreed out of respect for Luke.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Liz had been unconscious the entire time Jess had first yelled at her, then angrily spoke to her motionless form, then idly recollected matters of minimal importance, hoping she could hear him in this state. She hadn't woken up, and it was getting late. Slowly, making sure no one was around, he stood up and approached her. When she was asleep, she didn't look all that…bitchy. He leaned over and lightly brushed his lips against her dry forehead, before turning and leaving the room.

Luke was the only one waiting for him. When he inquired as to where the Gilmore girls had gone, his uncle told him they'd gone home. Pity. Talking to Rory today had been tolerable, interesting, even amusing. Maybe she wasn't that bad. They'd obviously gotten off on the wrong foot…maybe there was still a chance for them to stop ripping each other's throats out every time they were in the same room.

The only time they'd been able to get through a whole rehearsal peacefully still remained the time they'd practiced in her trailer. That had definitely been…different. Not to mention a little unsettling. There were many people Jess could get carried away like that with, and he hadn't pegged Rory Gilmore for one of them. In fact, he'd tried to pursue a liaison with ditzy Madeline at the beginning of filming several months ago, but the raven-haired hottie had mysteriously broken it off after a few days of making out complete with groping. She'd said something about not being the right girl for him. Whatever, he'd moved on. And on. And on.

"You okay getting home?" Luke asked, noticing it was dark by now.

"Yea. Drive safe."

"You too."

"Took the subway."

"Ah." They rode the elevator to the ground level together, becoming more uncomfortable by the minute as they were the only people in the car. They probably should have been speaking or something, just out of politeness.

"So what's going on with you and Rory?" Not what Jess had expected Luke to break the ice with.

"Huh?"

"You two looked pretty friendly today, and I think it's obvious she cares for you in some way."

"Wait, what do you mean 'in some way'?"

"She was worried about you and your mom. If she really hates-excuse me, dislikes- you, like she claims, I don't think she would have been so concerned."

"My relationship with Rory is none of your business."

"She's my girlfriend's daughter, so yea, I think it is my business."

"How long does this stupid ride take? Rory is just my costar. We're many things, but friends is not one of them."

"I've heard some rumors about you and her."

"You of all people should know you can't believe everything you hear, being related to my mother and all." The door opened and he moved to get out, but Luke held him back.

"Excuse me?"

"That girl had her heart broken badly about a year-and-a-half ago. If there is something, anything, going on between you two, you'd better listen carefully."

"There's nothing going on, get out of my way now Luke."

"YOU are not good for her. Rory is an incredible girl, and she's earned the right to be with someone who can take care of her, impress her mother, and above all, make her happy."

"And I can't?" Jess responded sarcastically, growing defensive.

"Well, seeing how you can't keep your ass out of prison and/or rehab, I think it's safe to say that if you feel anything for her, you'd better get over it. I won't let you ruin that girl. She deserves so much better that you."

"Hey," Jess snapped, stopping his efforts to escape his uncle's grasp, "I don't know what Liz told you, but that's none of your goddam business. From what I've heard, you've been arrested yourself. Liz said something about you beating up a car. And I've been to rehab ONCE, which in my eyes, makes me a better person for making the effort at all, much less beating the habit. You crossed the line there, Luke." He spun and exited the building in a few large steps, fuming. Luke walked back to his truck, wondering if that had been the best way to handle that.

From the looks Lorelai had been shooting Rory after she'd come back with Jess, he'd assumed something had obviously been going on between the two that her mother hadn't liked. And seeing both their names mentioned on a tabloid while buying milk a few weeks ago had gotten the ball rolling. Still, maybe he was imagining things.

Actually, now that he'd gone to the trouble of confronting Jess, he almost hoped there was something occurring. Just to make that unpleasant moment worth it.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Rory bobbed her head up and down to the music as it flowed out of the high-tech stereo and through her headphones. She was at her friend Lane's apartment, listening to the Korean girl's latest demos, while trying not to upset Senator Doose next door.

"This SO kicks butt, I can't believe Doose won't let you play it louder."

"If he wasn't home now, we'd be able to crank it, but Dave and I have FINALLY got his schedule down to a T, and he's definitely not going anywhere for five-and-a-half hours."

"Aww, you and Dave are so cute…spying on the neighbors."

"Shut up!" Lane nudged Rory as she shed the headphones, giggling. The two had been friends since they helped each other carry boxes up to their new apartments a few years ago while moving in. Lane and her live-in-lover Dave were members of Devil's Advocate, a multi-platinum rock band as of late. Rory and Lane hung out as much as their busy schedules allowed it.

"How are things going with you two?"

"They're going really good. We've been talking, and he MIGHT be popping the question sometime in the near future." Rory squealed and grabbed her friend in a hug.

"Oh my God, that's so great!"

"I know!" Lane had tried to be nonchalant while telling her, but Rory's happiness was contagious.

"So what about you?" she asked, once things had calmed down a bit. "Any guys at all?"

"I'm going through a dry spell. Scratch that, dry existence."

"Oh shut up, you're gorgeous."

"Why thank you Lane, I had no idea you felt that way about me."

"You know it. No, I meant what guy would pass up the chance to be with Rory Gilmore?"

"Not many, and that's the problem. If I find someone, I want them to be someone who likes me for ME, and not for Madison Armstrong."

"What about that guy I've been avoiding mentioning because you said 'don't even go there' when I brought up a certain media rumor?"

"Jess…it's not like that. He's just there. He's not a bad guy, but we hit it off really wrong. And seeing how we're both too stubborn to let things go, I think we've developed into something along the lines of sworn enemies."

"You think? You don't sound too sure there."

"It's weird. Like, he was perfectly civil to me yesterday at the hospital. And a few weeks ago, we had a…really good rehearsal."

"Meaning? Hey, you want some chips?"

"Of course, I live for chips! And I don't even know what I mean. We were just working on the kiss scene," Lane's eyebrows shot up, "and I guess we lost ourselves in the moment."

"Whoa, why did you tell me about this earlier?"

"It didn't mean anything at the time, I just thought we weren't sure when to stop because Max wasn't there breathing down our necks. But then I thought about it, and I'm so confused now."

"What was his body language?"

"…Romantic? Turned on? How else are you supposed feel when kissing?" Rory shrugged. "And anyway, I don't know, my eyes were closed."

"You guys are pretty cute together," Lane admitted. Tony and Madison weren't a couple on television yet, but everyone KNEW what was coming.

"Hey, get back on my side!"

"I am on your side, I'm just saying that if you figured out what's going on, and it was something along those lines…I think it'd be good."

"You don't even know him."

"True. Well, I trust you to utilize common sense when picking your man, so I'll just worry about the cuteness factor."

"Some friend you are."

"Oh yea, did that sound completely insensitive?"

"Only a little, seeing how you know I don't get along with this guy."

"But you said things were changing."

"Maybe they are. I don't know. How about those chips?"