Jess's watch said four thirty when he walked back through the hallway where he and Rory had their argument and saw her shivering on the floor. He'd just gone out for a smoke, he'd expected her to try and get a room again.

"Rory…are you okay?" he asked when she didn't respond to his footsteps. He bent down to feel her face, which was freezing cold and blank of all expression. He knew he should've just trusted his instinct and walked away. "Rory…what's wrong? Rory!"

She barely moved at all, only to curl her arm further around her leg. And he didn't think that was voluntary. He went against his instincts again and picked her up. She felt oddly heavy - she was pretty much dead weight, after all.

This time in the morning, there were still people arriving and partying. The parking lot wasn't near empty, but no one seemed to care that he was carrying an unconscious girl. No big deal to them.

The hospital parking lot was vaguely the same. He knew that morning rush would be starting soon - various injuries and people in drunken states. He filled out the forms quickly, having all the information about her personal history memorized. His heart had gotten involved, and now all he wanted was for them to fix her.

She looked even worse when they put her on a stretcher. Luckily Jess had the common sense to grad her cell phone. He still didn't have one. And though he knew her number by heart (it took lots of fast dialing to be able to call and hang up so smoothly) he could barley keep his hands still. He was nervous. So sue me, he thought.

"It's four o'clock in the freakin morning. Whaddya want?" Lorelai mumbled into the phone.

"It's Jess," He heard Lorelai look down at the caller id. He was even more nervous. They didn't exactly have the best relationship, he could guess. He doubted it had gotten better since he left.

"Where'd you get Rory's phone?" she asked, sitting up in bed. "Did you steal it?"

"She's unconscious. She was staying with my roommate. She's in the ER." From the other end of the line, he heard Lorelai's famous snort of disapproval. Then he heard the click, the beep, and the dial tone. "Thanks for your approval."

He mumbled to himself, flipping through the contacts menu. Dean, Luke's…Luke! He hit SEND and listened to it ring, knowing that Luke would probably be up for an order.

"Luke's," Luke finally said. He really needed to get his hearing checked.

"Rory's hurt," Jess said quickly.

"Jess?" Luke asked, suddenly confused. Jess heard him look at the caller id. That seems to be a recurring theme, he thought absently.

"I know, I took her phone when they put her on the stretcher." Why couldn't anyone understand that he wasn't a thief? "She was drunk and she passed out or something. She was breathing but not talking or moving."

"Did you call Lore?" he asked slowly. Jess thought he might be in shock. Rory, drunk?

"She hung up on me."

"Hospital?" Luke jumped into action. Jess could hear his pen click into a ready position.

"North Beach Memorial," Jess said. "Come please, both of you."

"We'll try," Luke said honestly. Then he hung up and left Jess staring at the lonely brick wall, scared and unprepared.

Jess had been asleep for hours - lucky, because consciousness would bring memories which would bring sadness over his ex-girlfriends current state. Instead he dreamed about what had happened. It made him numb and when he woke up he thought it was all a dream, not the reality. He awoke to Lorelai waving a book in front of his face.

"Jess!" she said loudly, obviously upset that her baby was hurt. Her hair was messy from sleep and airplane travel. She was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, with a limp bag at her side and bags equal in size under her eyes. "She's awake now."

"How long have you been here?" he asked groggily. Luke was missing. Maybe he hadn't come.

"Ten minutes," Lorelai walked over and sat beside him in a waiting room chair. "They won't let me see her yet, though."

"How is she?" Reality came slinking back. It hurt more than the numbness of the dream.

"Awake. Alive, apparently." The last comment was sarcastic. Lorelai would be Lorelai, no matter the placement. "Someone drugged her drink."

"What?" If he'd been calm before, he wasn't now. He almost chocked on his own tongue. It felt awkward, sitting there. It wasn't fair for him to be fine and for her to be hurt. He was selfish.

"I'm a bad mother. I said 'no windows.' It wasn't enough. I should've written a guidebook or called her every ten minutes reminding her to pour her own drinks. Or just locked her in her room." Lorelai stopped, sucking in air as hard as humanly possible. "Why am I such a bad influence on her?"

"Your not a bad influence. You're the best parent I know. If she grows up to be anything like you, she should be happy." Jess wasn;t used to comforting people. Apparently it was a natural gift, a survival instinct. "And if I ever find out who drugged her, I'll kill them."

"Jess?" Lorelai said softly, looking up.

"Yeah?"

"What are you doing here?" She didn't say it in a mean way like Jess thought she would. She asked it delicately, as if the question could break into a thousdan pieces at any second. It surprised him.

"You know. I found her." He said awkwardly. He knew what she really wanted to ask, and he was trying to avoid it.

"No, I meant why are you still here?" She knew why. He could see in her eyes that she knew. Because I love your daughter, he said in his head. He knew Lorelai could understand that, too.

"I don't really know."

"You and Rory broke up." Lorelai looked him in the eye this time. She was right. Finally she found his weak spot. Their gazes held for a minute longer. "Go. Sleep. I promise we won't leave without telling you first."

"The phone?" he asked, holding it out to her.

"Keep it. We need to stay in touch, and it won't do her any good." Lorelai attempted at a smile. It looked puny, but Jess knew she meant it.

"Thanks, Lorelai." He turned to leave but stopped short. "Can I ask you a favor?"

"Sure, why not?"

"Don't tell Rory I found her. I…I don't think she's ready for it yet." He said it in his typical way. They's have no connections then. He was free to run if he wanted, she'd never know the difference.

"I understand," Lorelai said. Like mother, like daughter, he thought as he was leaving. Both too perceptive for their own damn good.