Chapter Seven Starts NOW

They helped Jess into his bed. He glanced around his room, and spotted the futon. He grinned up at Mark.

"Yeah-- I'm crashing in here with you from now on." He said it in a no nonsense way that Luke raised an eyebrow at.

"Just as long as you don't snore like you used to." Jess replied sharply. Used to. Mark nearly flinched. Jess and Mark had shared a room when they lived in New York- the house was too tiny for separate bedrooms. The only time they weren't sleeping in the same room was when Mark would just leave for a few months, and his last two year escapade.

"I've never snored." Mark shot back. Jess let out a small chuckle to contradict that statement.

"Hey, why don't I eat something? Do we have any kind of food?" Jess asked, suddenly hungry for some non-hospital food.

"I, uh, bought some Frosted Flakes," Luke offered awkwardly. Jess looked at him gratefully.

"Could you.. Can I have a small bowl of that?" Jess asked, even more awkwardly than Luke had offered. He hated asking for things, and knew at that moment that he'd hate being waited on like this.

"Yeah, I'll go make it." Mark offered, leaving the room swiftly. Luke watched as Jess pushed himself into a more sitting position. He pulled out the paper back Mark had given him, and put it off to the side on the bed.

Suddenly, Rory, Mark, and Lorelai entered. Jess blinked at them owlishly. He felt himself suddenly get tired just looking at the over caffeinated girls.

"Hi Jess!" Rory chirped from a sort-of hiding place behind Lorelai. Jess gave her a small, guilty smile back. She had a pink cast on with an Emily the Strange sticker stuck on it. He stared at it.

"Hey, Jess." Lorelai said warmly. Jess stared at her for a long moment.

"You know Lorelai, just cos I was impaled and nearly killed doesn't mean you have to like me." Jess informed her slowly. Rory's eyes widened, as did Lorelai's.

"W-what?" The older Gilmore asked, stunned. Jess fiddled absently with the blankets edge. Lorelai looked into his eyes as he answered, nearly quivering in fear at the blank look in Jess's eyes.

"There was a kid named Jack in my grade school class." He said slowly, blankly. "He was a real asshole. Everyone hated him. And then one day, he dies from some rare infection. Suddenly, everyone pretends he wasn't an asshole. Pretending that he was like a real stand up gentleman, and talk about him like he was there friend and good buddy. I always thought that was strange. You're allowed to still hate me, Lorelai." He finished weakly. "I broke your daughter, for god's sake."

Lorelai stared at him, grasping for something to say. Luke stood silently stunned.

"I don't hate you, Jess." Lorelai said. "It's not because I'm not allowed to hate you. I just don't." Jess looked at her in understanding and nodded.

"Ok."

The Gilmore's stayed for a moment longer before Luke ushered them out, rambling about Jess's rest (or lack thereof). Once they left, Jess ate, alone, his small bowl of frosted flakes. He couldn't finish it. Mark took it to the sink for him, and he went to sleep shortly afterward.

(Time Passage of Two Days)

Luke watched as Mark paced back and forth in the kitchen. Jess's barely touched bowl sat in it, even after all this time. Jess had barely said two words after the 'Gilmore Incident'. Mark was worried sick. He ran a hand threw his hair.

"God. What's wrong with him? Was- I should have never left him. Oh god." Mark groaned, faced racked with guilt.

"What do you mean, left him?" Mark looked a bit sick.

"About two years ago, I left him to go after a job and a future. A nomadic style of living. He really needed me, and I let him down." He explained, lowering himself onto the couch finally. "I left him with Liz and that bastard Frank."

"Frank?"

"One of Liz's boyfriends. He pops up every so often, apologizing and they get back together." Mark coughed a little, looking away. "He was always a bit.. rough with Jess."

"Rough?" Luke asked angrily.

"You know.." Mark trailed off uncomfortably. "He got beat up a few times. He took the brunt of Franks anger. I was older than Jess, and Frank lay off me. I- a couple of times Jess-- he said that he was glad he got it so bad from Frank."

"Glad?" Luke asked, falling heavily into the seat next to him in shock.

"Well, yeah. Y'know, when he punched Jess around, he never touched Liz." Mark reflected. "No matter how bad she was to us, Jess always carries a torch for her."

"No way," Luke murmured incredulously, shaking his head. "No way in hell would Jess ever 'carry a torch' for Liz. You should hear the way he talks about her." Luke denied swiftly.

"He does," Mark insisted firmly. He continued, his voice full of anguish and guilt. "The night I last left, two years ago, he faced down Frank. It was like he was suicidal or something. He was sort of heart broken. I was abandoning him again. And Frank smacked around Liz one to many times. Jess blew up, and beat the crap out of him. Frank beat the crap out of him, back. I left in the middle of it."

"Jeez," Luke muttered, putting his face in his hands.

End Chapter

R&R

i dont think

i will turn this into a lit as

of yet. a- i am bad at romances

b- aren't there enough lit's out there?

can't we just have a real jess-based story?