I'd like to apologize for the erraticness of my updating. I know it's sometimes two days and sometimes two weeks between my posts, and I feel guilty that I can't keep to a regular posting schedule. My school/work/extracurricular thing can be a little shifty (well, not school, sadly), and I never know how much time I'm going to have to write. I hope you guys understand, if you even noticed. If not, please completely disregard this message. Erratic posting? Who said anything about erratic posting?
And while I'm in AN mode, I'll throw in a disclaimer for the hell of it. I don't own, kids. Yeesh.
Madison and Tony are laying on her bed, making out. She is partially underneath him, her arms wrapped around his neck, and his hand is visibly traveling up her shirt. Tony shows no sign of stopping anytime soon, but Madison looks a little uneasy as she tries to break the kiss. Not stopping, Tony follows her squirming, and she finally must push him away, both gasping for air.
Madison: (Still breathless) Well, you certainly have gotten bolder.
Tony: Maybe now you can drop the nickname Shy Boy.
Madison: (Flirty) Never. You'll always be my Shy Boy.
Tony: (Take aback; a bit pleased) Always? You think we have an always thing here?
Madison: (Shrugs nonchalantly, then grins) I don't know. That's what makes it fun.
Tony: Well, I don't know about always…but I think a long term thing at least.
Madison: (Smiling) My little optimist. (Tony resumes kissing her)
Tony: What time (kiss) is your step-dad (kiss) getting home? (kiss)
Madison: (Disdainfully) When he's done with his hooker.
Tony: So, not for a while then. What do you suggest we do in the mean time?
Madison: (Rolling her eyes, still kissing him) We're not playing Monopoly again.
Tony: (Playfully) Why would I want to play Monopoly?
Madison: Please. In our early days of dating, it was like one of your major turn-ons.
Tony: You're exaggerating. And when did you start referring to them as 'the early days?'. We're only 18, Mad.
Madison: Fine. What do you want to do that doesn't involve bankruptcy?
Tony: (Serious-playfully) I could think of some things…
Madison: (Pulls away again) Okay, this is weird. Since when have you been the instigator?
Tony: Since when do you pull away? (Begins nuzzling her neck)
Madison: Since my virgin boyfriend started doing that. (Swats his head away)
Tony: (Very serious, loving look) Madison?
Madison: (Eyes widen) Tony?
Tony: I'm ready. (They look into each other's eyes, and slowly Madison leans in for the kiss. Chorus of background song starts playing as Tony rolls fully on-top of her, and the camera backs out of the window as they continue to kiss.)
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
Rory smiled as her cast mates congratulated her on a job well done. She walked off the set with Lorelai to pats on the back, and 'nice work's, looking forward to changing out of Madison's chest-hugging tank top.
"Are you okay?" Jess asked from immediately behind her, and she spun around to his voice.
"You scared me, Loserpants."
"Sorry. Are you okay?"
"I think so. Next time I do a scene where I'm underneath something heavy, I'm so wearing a bra, no matter what Terri says."
"Yea, sorry about the heavy part. Kinda comes with being made of flesh and bone, but I could work on that if you want."
"Would you?" Rory asked flirtatiously as she suddenly noticed her mother had disappeared, probably around the same time as she and Jess had begun their playful banter.
"So, what are you doing tonight?"
"Anything involving pizza, and Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Unless you needed company, because I still owe you for last week."
"I was thinking we go out to celebrate Tony's deflowering. What says you?"
"What time are you picking me up?"
"Uh, 8:45ish?"
"No ish. You don't pick a respectable lady up at ish."
"Who said you were a respectable lady. I mean, Tony was a virgin before you touched him for the very first time." She playfully twisted his ear. But made sure it hurt. "I mean, 8:45 it is, madam."
9:00 – She wasn't answering her cell phone, and she was already 15 minutes late. Jess was starting to feel a bit miffed that she'd forgotten their 'date', but that wasn't like Rory at all. He was a little worried. So he called Luke, coerced the man into calling him in, and was currently traveling down the hallway Luke had taken him down many months ago, heading for the Gilmore's door.
"About time you came to the door like a gentleman, instead of making Rory meet you at the curb," a heavyset red-haired woman sniffed as she moved past him. But she winked when she said it, so it wasn't much of a reprimand.
Even though he didn't remember their number from back then he easily found their apartment. A Looney Toons welcome mat sat in front of their door, and one of those little, fuzzy In/Out signs hung from the knob. It was currently reading "In", but Jess had the suspicion it never changed. He pressed the small button next to the door, and the faintest buzzer sounded from inside. A minute later, Lorelai came to the door.
"Hi…why am I saying hi to you?"
"Because it's the polite thing to do, Ms. Gilmore."
"No, I mean, why are you here, and not making out with my daughter in a parking lot?" So, she told Lorelai about that…
"Rory was supposed to meet me at 8:45, but it's nine, and I'm still dateless."
"I thought she left…you know, I don't think I heard her leave. I just figured cause it was that time and I didn't hear her screaming at me to fix her hair." Lorelai began moving into the apartment with a puzzled look on her face. Jess closed the door behind him and followed. "Rory? Bunny, are you still here?" Every time Jess heard Lorelai refer to Rory by nickname, it was always Bunny. Maybe she occasionally got a generic term, like sweetie or honey, but overall, it was always Bunny.
Liz didn't have a nickname for him. She called him 'screw-up', 'loser', 'failure', 'fucker', 'son-of-a-bitch', and anything else her colorful mind could come up with when she was mad at him. And when she was in her mommy-mood, it was a variety of 'sugar', 'cookie', 'baby boy', 'puppy', 'pet', and so on and so forth. Never anything set in stone. Never anything that didn't change depending on her mood.
"Rory!" He was jerked out of his brittle musings as Lorelai screeched, and he ran to the door she was standing in front of. Lying on a bathroom floor, her dark hair spilling out over the white tile, was Rory. "Oh my God, Rory!" Both were at the fallen girl's side instantly, Lorelai gathering her daughter into her arms, Jess feeling her pulse in her limp hand.
"Strong heartbeat, she must be unconscious." For the first time, Jess noticed Rory was only wearing her underthings. He looked around as Lorelai grabbed a washcloth, wet it, and applied it to Rory's brow.
"Water. There's water on the floor. She must have slipped."
"C'mon Buns, wake up." Jess slowly pried her body away from Lorelai, and turned her on her side. He tilted her head back, and raised her thighs into right angles with her hips.
"She's probably cold. Can you get a blanket?" Nodding, tears suddenly raining down her cheeks in sheets, she scurried off to fetch the item. She returned a few seconds later, still sniffling, and together they covered her. Jess took her exposed hand, pinched the skin lightly, and began murmuring to her. "Rory, wake up. You can do it Rory. Your head must hurt like hell, but your mom's crying, and I can't handle weepy women." Lorelai should have yelled at him at that point, but instead she smiled through her tears.
"Were you a paramedic in your former life?"
"Nah, I just…know some things." Her appreciation was startlingly welcome. "My mom used to do some stuff…she passed out a lot. I learned how to take care of her when she was like this." Rory began to stir. "Keep talking to her. Rory, can you open your eyes for me?" No response. "Rory, your mom and I are really worried; can you say something?"
"Rory, wake up because you have to see this. Jess is being nice." He tried to glare at her, but you couldn't look at a woman who was cradling her daughter's body as mascara ran down her cheeks with anything but sympathy. Rory's eyelashes fluttered.
"Good girl. Welcome back." She opened her cobalt eyes unfocusedly, and things slowly slid back to their positions as she saw Jess kneeling over her.
"Hi?"
"Oh Rory!" Her mother collapsed hysterically at her side, and through her sobbing all that could be made out was 'so worried'…'lying there'…'Thank God Jess'. Awkwardly, Jess turned back to Rory, who was still staring as if mesmerized by his face.
"We had a date tonight, didn't we?"
"Not anymore. Fainting chicks aren't really my cup of tea."
"I was getting ready, and I fell. I think I hit my head on the counter."
"Does it hurt?"
"Like a bitch."
"Let's get you to the hospital, see if you have a concussion or something."
"Why are you in my bathroom?" She was dazed, but still inquisitive Rory.
"After demanding I pick you up at exactly 8:45, when you didn't show, I came looking." The only sound that could be heard in the bathroom was Lorelai trying to breathe normally, and failing.
"Thanks."
"No problem." Rory turned to her mother, and allowed the kisses and words to be heaped upon her, as Jess stood up to leave the women alone.
"Jess?"
"Yea?"
"Would you drive me to the hospital?" A half-smile crossed his features.
"It'd be a pleasure."
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
"The hospital is the first place we had an actual conversation."
"While blowing like a pack of cigarettes. I remember." Lorelai sat in the back seat of Jess's car quietly at the two people in the front flirted shyly with each other. A little voice told her that Rory shouldn't be ignoring her mother after this near-death (hey, it really could have been if she'd hit hard enough) experience, but the bigger, saner voice told her that Jess had alerted them to Rory's absence, helped her when she was out cold, and woken her up. He could kill someone, and still be her hero. For now, she was content to watch Rory weakly speak while leaning her head against the window.
"Sorry you actually put on clean clothes for me, but didn't get to go out. You look nice."
"As do you." Rory blushed as she looked at herself, wearing just an oversized puppy T-shirt and gym shorts. Lorelai had grabbed the first things she could find, and Rory had managed to dress herself. Her hair had already been dried when she slipped, but her face was completely void of all makeup. Jess was reminded for the millionth time that night their first meeting. What a rousing success that had been. But, almost a year later, they were actually doing pretty good. He was here, wasn't he?
Jess continued driving, silently sending up short prayers of thanks that she was okay. When he'd first entered the room, and seen her immobile body, he'd been far more afraid than he should have been. She was awake now, and he was relieved, but nonetheless he'd been afraid. He'd deal with what that meant later.
He pulled into the parking lot of the emergency room, not wasting time looking for a good spot. He parked as close as he could get without searching, turned the car off, jogged to her side, and opened the door. She'd gotten into the elevator and to the car with Lorelai's support, but now she was determined enough to walk on her own. Which she was doing, only at a turtle's pace.
"Rory, do you want a piggy-back ride?" Jess finally asked, exasperated at her baby steps. Beaming, she happily climbed onto his back, and buried her face in his hair. It smelled like a great deal of product, even though it looked unkempt. Like a child, she let him carry her into the building, and he held her hand while Lorelai filled out the paperwork. As they were waiting, a young woman came up to them, and asked if Rory was alright. They responded she was fine, just had a little headache, and she smiled. None of the Jersey Girls were dying, life could go on.
"You're so lucky to have Jess here with you. I have no idea where my boyfriend is right now." She walked away respectively, as Jess and Rory looked at each other. They hadn't been consciously playing the couple act.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
"So, Miss Gilmore, you're going to be fine. You'll have a lump for a few weeks, but there's no internal damage, and I can prescribe a simple pain medication for you."
"That's great news. Thanks, Doc." The medical professional began scribbling something down as Lorelai rubbed Rory's back. Jess leaned against the wall, looking around anxiously. The last time he'd been in a hospital, this hospital to be exact, his mother had been dying. She'd been released, and he'd gone to see her once (with disastrous results; he doubted they'd be speaking before Christmas), but there had been that moment when he didn't believe she'd make it, and he'd felt like an orphan. He had no idea where "James Mariano", the enigma from his birth certificate, might be. So if Liz croaked…best not to think about it.
"I want to go home."
"Just wait for the nice man to give you the meds, Bunny, and we'll be off. Is the hospital pharmacy still open?" The doctor answered affirmatively.
"I need to give permission, so who'll be picking this up? I don't think Miss Gilmore should be filling it herself."
"Lorelai, you take Rory to the cafeteria for some coffee. I'll pick up the vicodin, and take you guys home." The doctor gave Jess a very pointed glance. "Sorry, no vicodin. Vicodin bad."
"Jess, after tonight, I think I'm gonna have to start telling people you're a decent guy."
"I drove you guys over here. You can't leave people at a hospital with no way to get home." He flushed awkwardly as he tried to explain his behavior.
"You can in horror movies." Jess rolled his eyes, and took the slip of paper from the stern-looking medical professional. Lorelai took Rory's hand and pulled her to her feet as they set off .
As they walked down the hallway to get caffeinated, Lorelai smiled at her daughter.
"Jess was really cool tonight. I was freaking out because you were all not-respondy, but he got you up."
"I was pretty surprised to see him when I woke up."
"And you didn't have any problems exploiting your 'I'm-so-weak' status, did you?" Lorelai's eyes twinkled.
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"The piggy-back ride, the hand-holding, his mere presence for two hours in an emergency room." Rory smiled at the scuffed floor. "I think you might have company on the ride to Backwards World."
"Stop," Rory commanded lightly, but her smile had grown wider.