Chapter 4 exes & new chances
Gilmore house
"Rory are you up?" Lorelai asked walking in her room to find it empty.

'she's up before me...in summer vacation?' Lorelai thought and hurried up to get to Luke to hopefully find her there.

still on the bridge
"Telling you I'm sorry for how I handled...actually how I not handled things." Jess replied to Rory's question.

"You" Rory started not sure what to say. then her bottled up anger uncorked again. "You could have just told me that over the phone if it was that important to you" she snapped. "I don't care anymore Jess. you left I dealt, I moved on." she told him.

"Guess you didn't love me after all then huh?" he asked her. giving her no to respond he added "sorry to bother you" he then walked off.

Rory sat there a moment with conflicting emotions, she then got up and yelled after him "So you're just going to leave like that, again?"

"Isn't that what you want me to do?" he told her having turned around to look at her. "I'm trying to make things easier for you." he added.

"But you don't Jess. you always make things harder. "First making me fall in love with you while I was with Dean. then when something is troubling you, you retreat to yourself shut everyone out including your girlfriend. Then you leave me here without so much as a note, a goodbye, a letter. nothing. and now you're here again apologizing…what do you expect from me Jess because I don't know what to do anymore. I don't know as if to hate you, just be friends with you, forget about you, pretend you didn't mean a thing to me or to just forgive you because I'm still in love with you." she ranted, then realizing what she had said as last she knew it was true but she didn't want to be hurt by him again so she ran off.

"Wait, Rory stop" Jess called after her as she ran past him. he then ran after her.

diner
Lorelai entered Luke's diner and looked around to see if Rory was there. When she wasn't there she grabbed her cell phone to ring her. Luke came up to Lorelai "what's wrong?" he asked her.

"Rory wasn't in bed when I woke up. I thought she may be here but since she isn't..." Lorelai didn't finish because Rory just came into the diner.

"Rory where have-" Lorelai started but again didn't finished because Jess came in after Rory "jess" she said, she looked at her daughter again seeing she was upset she walked up to Jess.

'Oh crap, I'm dead' Jess thought to himself seeing Lorelai come at him.

"what did you say to her" Lorelai asked in more of a demand then a question.

"just let him go mom, I'm sure that's what he wants" Rory said to her mother. meanwhile Luke watched the scene in silence.

"No I'm not letting him go. not before he, 1 tells me why he's in town, 2 what he said to upset you, 3 tell me a reason not to tear his head off his body right now" Lorelai said loud and angry.

When the other costumers in the diner were watching them Luke said "she hasn't had her coffee yet. so for your own safety continue eating your breakfast"

"Can I just talk with Rory" Jess asked Lorelai.

"no you can't just talk with her. anything you have to say to her you can say to me." Lorelai told him.

Jess sighted and ran a hand through his hair then looked at Rory then at Luke.

"maybe you should just let them talk privately Lorelai" Luke suggested.

"No Luke I'm not going to let him anywhere near Rory again before he tell me why he is here!" Lorelai said angry.

"mom-" Rory started but jess interrupted

"Because I love her" he said loudly so the entire diner could hear him.

Lorelai was silent for a few seconds then recovered from this unexpected bit of info and said "you don't leave the people you love Jess."

"I thought she'd be happier without me. all I do is screw up her dreams." Jess told her while looking at Rory. "I love you, Rory" he told her again.

Rory had just stood there while Jess told her the words she only dreamt he would say. he had hurt her, a lot. but he loved her.

"Jess, you're an idiot to think I'm better off without you. When you came to Stars Hollow Jess, it was the day I started living. I've never felt such a strong emotion for anymore. not even dean. when you left you took that with you. all I had left was an emptiness I didn't know existed before I met you. Emptiness and pain is all I had left. I don't want to fell that emptiness and pain anymore jess. but I don't know if I can trust you again. how can I be sure you won't take off again next time when things get rough?" she asked him.

"Because I know I'm not alone with my problems anymore. you have to face them together when you're in a relationship. and you have other people to help you." Jess answered. "And because I don't think I can be without you anymore. not unless you don't want me around."

Lorelai sighs and pulls Luke aside.
"if he hurts her this time I will kill him." she told him.

"I don't think he will. I mean look at him. where is the teenager that drove me crazy for two years." Luke responded.

"oh he's still in there." Lorelai answered.

"yeah, you're probably right" Luke said.

"I know I am" Lorelai told him.

"Still I don't think he'll hurt Rory again. not on purpose." Luke told her.

"Well for both their sakes I hope that you are right" Lorelai said to him.

"jess, I want to believe that. it's just...it's going to take time" she told him.

"so you're giving me another chance?" Jess asked her not quite believing it himself.

"seems like it. I must be crazy for doing so" Rory told him.

"Crazy enough to kiss me?" he asked her.

"Maybe, we'll just have to see if you are up for that" she replied.

he walks to her. "always" he tells her just before he pulls her to him in a passionate needy kiss. Rory replied the kiss carefully at first then let her walls down and showed him just how much she missed him. she then remembered they're in public. in the diner, with her mother and Luke. she pulled back blushing deep red.

As Jess and Rory were kissing Lorelai told Luke "You think they forgot we're here?"

"seems like it" Luke told her and Lorelai took a step to them to go and break them up but Luke grabbed her hand and pulled her to him kissing her.

Lorelai protested at first then gave into the kiss.

Suddenly there was a loud shot, followed by a window shattering and glass falling unto the ground.

Luke broke the kiss and looked at his broken window and Nicole with a gun behind it. smoke was coming from the cheap gun "Nicole?"

It was then that he noticed Lorelai weak in his arms. he looked down at her to find blood on the ground and on Lorelai.

"MOM!" Rory yelled rushing over.

"Call 911" Jess yelled then saw Nicole aiming the gun again and ran at her. he jumped through the broken window and crashed into her holding her hand which held the gun up so it fired in the air. one, twice. Jess then smacked her hand hard on the sidewalk so she dropped the gun. Nicole then kicked him between his legs and pushed him off her. she grabbed the gun and aimed it at Jess. luckily the kick hadn't come that hard at jesses balls but it still hurt a lot.

When Jess saw her grab the gun and aim it at him he had stood up as well and rammed Nicole's arm against the broken glass from the diner still in the window Nicole screamed and dropped the gun. as Jess went to grab the gun he turned to face her again and saw she had a dagger in her hand and was coming at him without thinking he fired and Nicole stopped moving then dropped dead forwards against Jess who pushed her off him. and saw he had shot her in the head. dropping the gun he stared at her before he looked back inside the diner to see Rory and Luke trying their best to help the shot Lorelai. he heard sirens and hurried back inside the diner.

end chapter 4