Disclaimer: I own the the book (as well as others) the Grinch Who Stole Christmas, no rights to TV, books, or movies. I just like borrowing them.

Author Notes: I think my story is coming to an end. I still have a few chapters in me, but I doubt I will go past 10. I don't have the patience or creativity for that. Thanks to allthat read (WOOT) and reviewed (WOOT) and here are some shout-outs.

Luvz: I am going to try and be zen. Really, really zen. I am not liking it, but I will be zen. ZEN! Maybe I should go back to the sheets that I share with Luke, maybethat will make me more Zen ;). I hope you get a chance to read and review this far, I relish your opinion about my bitchy Rory and I may even thrown in shirtless Luke for you.

Prof: I hope you don't mind me cutting your name down...I love your new story and I swear I will review it. I am glad I didn't hurt your feelings too bad with the milkmaid. I'm glad you are liking my story and that you keep reviewing it. I must be doing something right.

Ace: I hope you are the same as Ace7. Thank you for reviewing and I hope I didn't disappoint you to badly. I never wanted Lorelai to get that bad, just needed to make the point that without Rory, life was difficult. You should try and write your own story, you will never know if you are good at it unless you try.

Ace7: If you aren't Ace then thank you for reviewing my story and look above for more comments. Hope you enjoy this new chapter.

Kckgirl: I had to soften it, orginally I had Richard kicking her out and then she went to Christopher and I didn't want to open that can of worms. I figured for a girl who rarely ever had to pay for anything in her life, $275 is a lot of money. And damn right she needs her nose rubbed in it.

Roween: Thank you for reading my story and I am glad that you enjoy my Lorelai, I thought for awhile she was a little OOC, but people seem to like it.

To everyone else, thanks bunches and hope to see your comments about this chapter. Like I said I have had the Jess/Rory interaction planned for awhile, and I hope it turned out. I am expecting a lot of DAMN GIRL YOU MEAN! Just kidding, but seriously I would love some feedback. Enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 7: Who Am I to Tell Her

Jess woke up the next morning with a purpose. He knew that in the past he was an ass to mostly everyone that he met, but he wised up to the world and realized that most people just wanted him to be okay, to prevent him from fading away. Though he had been a pain in the ass to Luke, Jess appreciated the effort he made for him and has been trying to pay him back. He wanted his uncle to be happy and knew that he would be with Lorelai. He was still shocked at how unhappy Lorelai looked and the fact that the reason was Rory was slightly unbelievable.

Jess' first stop that morning was to go talk to Lorelai. He realized that Lorelai would probably not really want to talk to him, but in order to help his family like he wanted to he would have to man up and get her to tell him what was going on. He walked downstairs and flinched slightly when he saw the evil looks he was getting from nearly everyone as he poured himself some coffee to go. Jess kept his head because he knew that he changed and that the people most important to him knew that too. Jess was about to walk out the door, but stopped and quickly filled a second to go cup, figuring he would need the bribe.

Jess hopped into his car, grinning at the angry Taylor, before driving to the Dragonfly. He knew that Luke was spending most of his days at the house and that Lorelai, to avoid the chaos at their house, was spending much of the time at the inn. He and Lorelai had a pact of sorts, both really didn't trust the other, but for the sake of Luke tolerated each other. Lorelai, in the last few months, had been nicer to him the rare times she answered the phone when he called Luke, but that didn't mean that she would actually willingly engage him in a conversation. Jess parked in front of the Dragonfly and walked up the stairs, steeling himself for the meeting that was going to come.

Lorelai was in her office, looking over her books from the last month, trying not to think of the fact that this year, she and Rory would be apart for Thanksgiving, not doing their typical orgy of Thanksgiving food. Rory would be with her grandparents and she would have dinner with Luke, Sookie, Jackson, Jess, and anyone else that showed up at the Dragonfly. It wouldn't be the same, but it was all she had and she was going to hold tight to her fiancé and the family of friends that she had left. When she heard a knock on her door, she said come in, expecting Sookie to walk through the door with another cake sample for her to try, so she was surprised when she saw Jess walk through her door.

"Hey Lorelai, mind if I talk to you?" asked Jess hesitantly.

"If that coffee is for me, then talk all you want," Lorelai said after getting over her shock of Jess being at the door.

Jess handed the coffee over to her, mentally patting himself on the back for thinking to bring coffee as a bribe. He hesitated before saying anything, not sure how to broach the topic.

"You know, Luke is proud of you. When you called and told him about the book, he didn't even grumble about giving me coffee or kick Taylor out of the diner. That's a typical sign of happy Luke," said Lorelai, very curious as to why Jess wanted to talk to her.

"Well, after all I put him through when I stayed with him, I'm glad that I can start making up for it. Lorelai, I am sorry too, for how I treated Rory. I know it was no excuse, but I was really messed up, angry at everyone, and took it out on her," responded Jess, seeing again the look of pain that flashed across Lorelai's face with the mention of Rory.

"I'm not going to say that it is okay, because it's not okay to treat someone like how you treated her, but I can understand being angry and taking it out on others. Besides, nobody is to blame for how Rory's life turned out, except maybe me," said Lorelai, who started out strong, but ended on a whisper.

This was the opening that Jess was looking for, but was stunned into silence at the look of hopelessness on Lorelai's face and tears pooling in her eyes.

"Lorelai, what is going on with Rory, why isn't she talking to you?" he asked quietly.

Lorelai seemed to recover herself a little bit and looked at Jess straight in the eye. "No offense, but I thought when she was dating you and then you crushed her, she would be over her teen rebellion, bad boy phase. Everything we spent all those years working for paid off; she got into all those important schools, she was valedictorian at one of the most difficult schools on the East Coast, and she had a future. The last few years though, it seemed as if she was just falling apart. She slept with Dean, did you know that? He was married and she slept with him anyway. When I called her on it, she told me I set a bad example, that she hated me for ruining it. After a few months it was all forgotten, but I never, ever forgot the look on her face when she said she hated me, I never wanted to see that again. So I tried this last year to accept, or least understand, the choices that she was making; dating Logan casually, becoming a member of the secret Yale society, taking an internship with a man that most probably had ulterior motives, and stealing a yacht. Then she tells me she is quitting Yale, she no longer wants to become an international journalist, that I wouldn't understand since I didn't go to college, and it is something that all college kids do. All I could think of was what made my baby girl give up? How did I fail in teaching her to hold onto her dreams? So I went to my parents, who just backstabbed me and took her side. High society people never have ulterior motives; the Huntzbergers loved Rory, I was just making a mountain out of a molehill. I couldn't believe that they were letting their perfect granddaughter give up her dream, the one we all wanted to come true. Then, it all spiraled out of control. Luke and I got engaged and I held off telling her, she found out and didn't understand why I didn't tell her. I wanted to tell her, but I didn't want that to be the reason we were talking again. She screamed at me when I went to apologize and I saw that look again, the look she had on her face when I caught her with Dean. My baby girl hated me again, and this time there was no making it better. She refused to talk to me, changed her phone number, e-mail address, sent any letters I wrote her back to me, and it almost killed me. I spent months in a hell of my own making, until I realized I needed to get up and live. That's where I am now in my life, Jess, that's why Rory isn't talking to me. Whether it is because I didn't teach her to hold onto her dreams tight, or because she hates me that much, it's what I have. I have your uncle, who if you didn't know has the patience of many saints, my friends, a dog who eats my Jimmy Chos, parents who I am suddenly understanding a lot more, and a daughter who hates me. My life in a nutshell, if it wasn't for Luke I would probably be institutionalized or living in a commune with a new name like Raindrop Apple."

Jess looked at Lorelai stunned at the story and sad at the fact that she seemed to blame herself. If anyone knew the effect of bad choices, it was Jess, and he also knew that there was nobody to blame but the person that made the choices. "Raindrop Apple, huh?"

"Like I said, he has the patience of a saint, I don't look like a Raindrop Apple, and straight-jackets never really worked for me," said Lorelai with a bit of grin, grateful that he wasn't pushing the subject of Rory. "Are you coming for the wedding? It would be nice to have you there."

"I'm pretty sure I can get away from my job, so I will be there," said Jess.

"You know Luke doesn't have a best man, and as much as Kirk would love to do that, I am sure he would rather have you, if you wouldn't mind."

"If he wants me to, I'm there."

"Thanks, Jess. Also, thanks for letting me vent on you; I probably needed to do that."

"No, problem. I should actually get going; I have some things I need to take care of today."

"Alright, I'll see you around later. Thanks for the coffee, it's smart to use a bribe when you want to talk to a Gilmore," said Lorelai with a wink.

"I'll see you later. Lorelai?"

"Yeah?"

"It's not your fault, stopping thinking that. Everyone is responsible for the mistakes and choices that they make, it can't be blamed on others," Jess said as he walked out the door, leaving Lorelai to mull a bit on his words.

Lorelai was still mulling, staring into space, when Luke called her cell.

"Hey babe, wanna come see your new and improved bedroom?"

"The wall is finally fixed?" squealed Lorelai.

"Yeah, all you need to do is pick out some paint."

"I love to paint! Luke, I picked you out a best man, by the way."

"Lorelai, I told you, Kirk is not going to be my best man," said Luke, grumbling over the phone.

"Nope, Jess."

"Jess?"

"Yeah, I think you were right about him. He is a good guy, just had made some bad choices. So can I come over and look at our pretty, pretty new room?"

"If it is going to be our room it can't be pretty, how about just nice and comfortable," said Luke, slightly shocked at her comment about Jess.

"Wait till you see the Hello! Kitty quilt I'll make for our bed."

"I'll see you when you get over here, Crazy Lady."

"Love you, Coffee Man."

"Love you too, Crazy Lady."

With that Lorelai, hung up her cell, and left the Dragonfly, confident that maybe her life would work out just fine.

Rory woke up at 7 am like she did every morning, throwing her pillow at her alarm clock, wishing that she could just stay in bed. It was her last day of community service and she would finally have that yoke off her neck and then maybe her life would come together. Yeah, she wasn't in school anymore, but she didn't need school to be happy or to have a successful life. She had just thrown the best and most successful fundraiser in DAR history, and there were others on the horizon. She ignored the voice in her head that sounded like her mother which kept saying that she should go back to school where she could keep learning new things like she loved to do. She had gotten very good at ignoring that voice in the last few months, just like she had gotten very good at ignoring or yelling at anyone that mentioned her going back to school or talking about her mother. Her grandparents, after the month long silent treatment she gave them, have gone back to how things were before she started paying rent, where everything she did was okay and there was no need to mention how she was living her life. In Rory's mind any mistake she made wasn't as bad as the ones her mother made in the past; she wasn't pregnant, she didn't run away from a generous home, she was kicked out. Rory was still in denial about the whole affair, set on blaming her mother for how things were and she had no plans to leave the river anytime in the near future.

She made herself some coffee and got dressed for her final day of picking trash on the side of the road. As was her custom, she picked up and re-read the letter her mother wrote her, telling her of her impeding wedding. Rory couldn't believe that Lorelai set a date without her; it was as if what Rory thought didn't even matter. She knew her mother loved Luke, but she had doubts that the wedding would actually take place. Lorelai's track record wasn't good, chances are that she would run like she always did when commitment was looming. She ran out on Max, refused to get serious with Christopher, and never, ever had a lasting relationship. She wasn't going to count her chickens and certainly wasn't going to acknowledge a wedding, when her mother didn't even ask her thoughts about it. The voice in her head was calling her a bitch for thinking that about her mother, but she used a mental pillow to shut it up.

Rory got ready to leave, grabbed her keys, and was about to walk out the door when her eyes fell on the package her mother sent her for her birthday. She still hadn't opened it and had no plans to. She shook the guilty thoughts out of her head, walked out the door, and went on to her last 5 hours of community service. After all, none of this was her fault; her mother kicked her out, refused to listen to her reasons for leaving school, and then made hasty decisions without talking to her. She was moving on with her life, and didn't need her mother for it.

Jess haddriven around for a while after leaving the Dragonfly. The look on Lorelai's face shocked him. The woman was usually so happy and vibrant, that the look of sheer hopelessness scared him. He was glad that Lorelai talked to him though, it was good for her to get it off her chest and it gave him the information he needed. He no longer wanted to get back together with Rory, he moved on after she refused to leave with him, even had a new girlfriend in New York, but part of him still cared for her and he didn't want her to end up like he almost did; bitter, angry at everyone, nearly falling off the face of the planet. He didn't know if he could fix anything, but he did know he had a few things to say to a Miss Rory Gilmore and he would say them.

Jess drove up the Gilmore mansion, parked his car, not caring if the elder Gilmore's saw him, and marched over to the pool house. He knocked firmly on the door and there was no answer. He knocked again, this time a little louder, and still no answer.

"What are you doing here, Jess? I am not leaving with you, so don't even bother asking me!" said Rory, brushing past him, eager to get out of her community service clothes and take a nap.

"Amazing but true Rory, not everything is about you! I just have some things I want to say to you."

"What is that exactly? You know what, I am feeling very generous, I'll give you ten minutes before I call the police and have you thrown out for trespassing."

"What the hell happened to you, Rory? Suddenly you are Scarlett O'Hara and I am trespassing on Tara? Do you even know what you are doing to you mother?"

"Oh, did she send you here? That is just perfect, now she is sending my ex-boyfriends to get me to talk to her?"

"Actually, no she didn't send me here. I am sure she would tell me to stay away from here if she knew I was here. I actually just came from talking to her and was stunned to hear that Rory Gilmore, golden girl with a plan, dropped out of Yale after committing a crime."

"Guess I am not so golden anymore. Did she blame Logan for it or Mitchum Huntzberger, because I am sure that they are at the top of her blame list right after me!"

By this time, both Rory and Jess were standing in the middle of the pool-house yelling at each other. Jess knew that yelling wasn't the key to solving this, but the girl obviously needed a kick in the ass and if yelling at her was going to do it, then by god he would.

"Actually, she blames herself," said Jess taking his tone a little softer, hoping that Rory would do the same.

"Good, she kicked me out and then kept me out of decisions in her life; none of this is my fault."

"God, Rory, listen to yourself. You sound like the kids you hated in high school. That woman sacrificed everything for you, so that you would have a better life then she did, and what are you doing in return, throwing your failures in her face, blaming her for YOUR mistakes."

"You don't understand, and like you are one to talk, you didn't even finish high school."

"You're right, I didn't. But I had to work for everything that I got after that. I worked my ass off to get my GED, to get my book published, and to make amends with people that I kicked to the side when I was angry and ran away. You had tough choices, and instead of working them out, you just gave up. At least I fought back and got back on my feet."

"You don't understand, and neither does she. None of you went to college; you don't understand the pressures of it. I had to drop classes, and my work wasn't excellent anyway. I was just wasting space there. You just don't waste space at Yale," said Rory, sitting on the couch, suddenly exhausted and trying to think of a way to get rid of Jess.

"Your wrong about that, I may not have gone to college, but I know your mother did. As I recall, you skipped her graduation to come and see me. Did you even apologize for that? Did the sacrifices she make even make a dent in your self-indulgent world? The woman could have done so many other things when she had you. She could have given you up for adoption, married your father and been unhappy all her life, stayed at this house and also been unhappy, or not have even had you; but instead she kept you, didn't make any decisions without thinking of the consequences that they would have on you, made sure you had the best that she could give you, even if it meant sacrificing a little bit of herself. Did you ever thank her for going to her parents to ask for money for Chilton, knowing what a sacrifice it was for her? Did you ever apologize for saying you hated her when you made the mistake of sleeping with Dean? Have you ever once done anything to thank her for how she raised you? You are ruining your own life, not her! You sit there and say that it is her fault, she kicked you out, she didn't tell you she was getting married, she didn't consult you about setting a date; but why should she Rory? All she does is give and all you do is take! Wake up and realize that you did this to yourself. You are miserable because you let one asshole tell you that you weren't good enough. If one person can change your whole outlook on your life plan, the plan I may add, that you have had since you were like four, then you aren't the person that Lorelai raised."

"How dare you stand there-" started Rory.

"I dare, because I care. I care that my uncle is happy, and by-proxy Lorelai. Right now, both of them are miserable because you are acting like a spoiled brat. Grow up Rory, and realize that these decisions that you made are your fault. Not Lorelai's for kicking you out, not that asshole for telling you that you don't have it, but you. You made the decision to quit Yale, you made the decision to steal a boat, you made the decision not to be a part of your mother's life. This is a mess of your making and it is nobody's fault but your own."

"Get out!" yelled Rory, shocked that he was talking to her like that.

"I will, but remember that nothing your mother did can compare to what you are doing to her!" yelled Jess as he stormed out the door.

Rory sat on her couch, stunned and in shock over the things that Jess just said to her. She shook her head, trying to clear it to no avail. The voice in her head was getting louder and louder, continuously saying "see it is your fault". She tried to muffle it down with her manta of "it's her fault, she kicked me out, it's her fault she kicked me out," but instead her inner Lorelai was getting increasingly louder with her accusations. Rory finally screamed at the top of her lungs and threw one of the throw pillows against the wall. The throw pillow landed on top of the gift Lorelai had sent almost a month ago for her birthday. With tears streaming unnoticed down her cheeks, Rory walked over to the gift picked it up and finally opened the card.

My Darling Girl,

I know things aren't very good between us now, because we are too much alike Mini Me. Both of us are stubborn and unwilling to give in, but as the adult I will cave first. I miss you, so much, and would love you to come home, but right now you need to work out your choices in your life and I can't help you there. All our lives we worked for one goal, mine was slightly different than yours, but both were the same none the less. While you dreamed of being an international correspondent, I dreamed of you being happy and successful, having the life I tired to give you. When you told me you were quitting Yale, I saw all that slipping away. I don't want you to end up like your father, floating through this life, not knowing what you want, never being happy with what you get; I wanted you to hold onto your dreams. However, I think I have seen that tree before, so you know it all comes back to this same argument.

Enough unpleasantness, onto the spoils. I know we have had a plan for your birthday since you were 4, but I think due to circumstances that will have to be put on hold. Instead, I am going to give you something I never thought I would give to you. While you were growing up, as you know, we didn't have much money, so I never was able to get a baby book to record all your amazing accomplishments. Instead I used this, a journal given to me when I turned 16, just after I found out I was pregnant with you. In it, I recorded much of our life together, things that you know, and things that you don't know. You are insisting that I don't understand how you feel, but baby, you also don't understand how I feel. So I am giving you this, in hopes that you read it and understand a little more why I so desperately didn't want you to give up on your dream.

I do love you and never really could be disappointed in you. Use your time wisely and try and understand what I am giving you here.

Love always

Mom

Rory opened the Hello Kitty wrapped package and immediately burst into tears. The guilt that she had been burying for months overwhelmed her, and as she sat on the floor and held her mother's journal to her breast, she finally got off the river of Denial and realized that it really was her fault.

AN2: Well? Was it good? I am not sure what I can give you that is coming next, but I think it will be good. Review please!