Lorelai POV

The scream that tore through the house at 2 am was anything but funny, and even though I wanted to laugh at the loud swearing coming from Jess as we ran down the stairs, I was too heartbroken to laugh.

"You're okay, he can't touch you now," I murmured in her ear, running my thumb over her cheek brushing away the tears, ignoring the way she flinched from my touch. She was sleeping sat up because of her broken rib/punctured lung situation, which made it easier when she woke up and started being sick. I continued murmuring comforting comments to her while rubbing her back. It didn't feel sufficient enough, but I didn't know what else to do.

I noticed Luke shooing Jess away and I smiled a little. I knew that Jess didn't mean any harm but she didn't need an audience for this.

When Rory was done, she turned into me, sobbing, "Mommy..."

"I've got you, baby," I told her, "You're safe now."

It was something I avoided saying because it started feeling like a lie after Christopher got out of prison, but I felt like I could honestly say it now. She was safe for the first time in a long time, and it felt like such a relief to say the words out loud.

"You're crying," She whispered, and I smiled at her through my tears. I almost told her why, that I was crying because I was relieved, but I decided against it. I wasn't sure it would help, so I just agreed.

The next morning was painful. I had slept sat up with Rory curled up against my chest. When I opened my eyes, I spotted Luke standing up from the chair, and I smiled at him.

I slowly got out from under Rory without waking her, something I had mostly perfected over time, "I'm going to take a shower, would you put on some coffee?"

He smiled at me, "Do you think I'm an idiot?"

I laughed, kissing his cheek before heading to the stairs, where I found Jess asleep. I called Luke over, barely containing my laughter and when he joined me, I could feel him shaking slightly.

Jess was not a small kid. He was on the skinny side but he was about Rory's height. And somehow, he had managed to fit himself on one step, curled up in this weird ball. I sat down on the step below and touched his shoulder, attempting to wake him.

He was up immediately, "What?"

I smiled kindly at him, "You were asleep on the stairs. Why don't you go and grab an hour in your own bed?"

He glared at me, almost disgusted by the suggestion, "I'm up now."

He wandered off to the kitchen and Luke followed, rolling his eyes.

After my shower, I joined Luke and the kids in the kitchen. Rory was sat in her wheelchair picking at her breakfast, but Jess had an empty plate before him and was resting his head on the table. I considered kicking him – we try and avoid making her feel guilty for something beyond her control – but I decided that it wouldn't help matters. Luke left to get himself ready for the day, handing me a large mug of coffee.

"What's the plan today?" I asked, raising my mug to my lips and taking a mouthful of the heavenly stuff; after two weeks of practically living on hospital coffee, this was amazing.

"Both the Stars Hollow Gazette and The Franklin want articles on my kidnapping so I'm going to spend the day in the diner writing. It helped last time so I'm hoping it'll help this time," Rory informed me, "I'm actually a bit nervous about that. It's one thing to tell a small town about it, but to tell a bunch of rich kids about this? Ugh."

"So, don't do it," Luke suggested like it was an option, and she glared at him.

"I have to," She said, "Not only will it clear up any rumours and stop me from dealing with all the questions when I go back, but both of my English teachers said it can suffice as extra credit work to make up for the tests I've missed so far."

"Wait, so they're going to punish you for being kidnapped?" Jess asked angrily.

"It's not really a punishment," Rory said, "I missed two tests while I was in the hospital so I have to make it up somehow or I'll fail. It could have been worse."

"That's a punishment!" Jess insisted, "They shouldn't fail you for missing a test when you were in hospital. That's completely unfair!"

"If you miss a test because you were off sick, you either fail the test, do extra credit work or take the test at a later date. It's the same at Chilton, except you don't get to take the test later because it would be pretty easy to cheat that way," She explained, and Jess frowned.

"It's still unfair."

"I never said it was fair," Rory pointed out, "I just said it's not a punishment."

"Huh," Jess said, surprised, "Can I read your article once you've finished it?"

"Sure," She said, "If you go to school today. I'm home now, so you can go to school."

"So close," He muttered under his breath and Rory laughed, amused.

"Go and get ready or you'll be late," She told him, and I smiled into my mug.

Listening to them acting like how I imagined siblings would... it broke my heart that he wasn't mine, but it also warmed me from the inside, knowing that this would give Rory another family member to lean on. And honestly, I didn't mind taking Jess in and treating him like my own; it almost made our family seem right.

After work, I stopped by the diner to pick the kids up, I found Rory in her corner with Tristan and Jess was nowhere to be found. Before I could ask Luke where he was, he dragged me into the storage room.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Jess got in a fight at school and stormed out when I tried asking about it, and Rory cries every time she tries to write that stupid article. I know she hasn't really told us what happened, but she just can't do it. Tristan came in when she last started crying, which saved me a job because I was trying to deal with Jess, and how on earth did we think we were going to manage more than one kid?"

"Well, normally, kids aren't this difficult. They don't suddenly become troubled and most kids don't get kidnapped, so this is an unusual situation," I wasn't just telling him that; I was reminding myself, too.

"She could talk about it last time," He said sadly, "I touched her earlier and she flinched... I don't know how to help her if she won't tell us what happened."

"I don't know how to help either of them if they won't open up," I admitted, "You keep working, I'll go looking for Jess."

"Thanks," He said gratefully, kissing me softly before returning to his job.

AN: Let me know what you thought, I hope you enjoyed.