Disclaimer: None of it mine

A/N: Thanks as always for being awesome reviewers. You all rock. This chapter...sigh, I'll never be happy with it because I'll never get it as long as I want to without completely taking away from the story at hand. Anyway, I hope you like it!

Chasing Fate--Chapter 7

"No way." Jess muttered as Jimmy pulled their rented car up to a large, domineering stone house.

Jimmy put the car into park and shut it off. He leaned over the steering wheel and looked up at the house. He sighed. "Way."

"This looks like it's out of a bad horror movie." Jess said, staring at the ivy covering parts of the house. "You lived here?"

Jimmy nodded. "Yeah. For about two years. Then I turned 18 and ran for my life." He slapped Jess on the shoulder and said, "History repeats itself, huh, kid?"

"Geez." Jess growled, pulling away from Jimmy. He got out of the car and slammed the door. Arms crossed, he leaned against the car and continued to look at the house.

Jimmy got out of the car and stood next to Jess. Jess pushed himself away from the car and said, "Let's get this over with." He started to walk up the driveway.

"Jess." Jimmy said, "Just a sec."

Jess stopped. "What?" He asked, annoyed and disinterested.

Jimmy hesitated and said, "Victoria is…well, she's different."

Jess raised an eyebrow. "Different like 'a woman trapped in a man's body' different?"

"No." Jimmy said, smirking and shaking his head. "That might make things easier. She's a heinous bitch, Jess." He blurted.

"What? How heinous?"

"Pretty much the most awful woman alive." Jimmy said with a nod. "She hates everyone. She's mean, sarcastic, judgmental…I could go on. I guess…Ma said she used to be normal, but then her fiancé died and…I don't know. Ma didn't like to talk about it, and then she died and I was not going to ask Aunt Victoria." He shuddered as he said her name.

Jess rolled his eyes. "Geez, Jimmy. She's a 65-year-old woman. How bad can she be? Can we just get this over with please?"

"Yeah." Jimmy said, staring at his son's back with a smirk. This was going to be fun.

The Mariano men stood in front of the front door and Jimmy rang the bell, standing up straight and clasping his hands behind his back. He looked at Jess, who was leaning against a column, looking bored. Before Jimmy could warn him though, the door opened. Victoria Rossi stood there, staring at them. She was tall, she stood about two inches taller than Jess, and her stiff posture drew great attention to that fact. Her dark brown hair was streaked with silver, and it fell down her back. She looked younger than 65, but at the same time she looked…tired, as though life had become too much and she was sick of dealing with it. Her big green eyes were dull with that same tired look.

"James." She said, nodding at him.

"Hello, Aunt Vicki." Jimmy said. He took a step towards her and planted an awkward kiss on her cheek.

Jess raised an eyebrow as he observed that while she'd used his full name, he had shortened hers to an endearment. His family was nothing short of bizarre. It took Jess a moment to realize that his great aunt was staring at him.

"What's that?" She asked, her eyes burning a hole into Jess.

"This is Jess." Jimmy said, clearing his throat. "My son."

Victoria took a few steps until she was standing right in front of him. "Your son?" She asked dryly. "When did that happen?"

"About 19 years ago." Jess said, rolling his eyes. He felt a sharp, painful sting on his cheek and it took him a moment to realize that she had slapped him across the face.

Jess looked straight at her for the first time, but her expression gave away nothing. She continued to look at him with that same stoicism, as if she hadn't just slapped him.

"Smart mouth." She said, not speaking to anyone but herself. Then, she turned to Jimmy and said, "He got that from you. Come in. You can get your bags later."

"We didn't bring bags." Jimmy said, causing his aunt to stop. "We're staying at a hotel in town."

"No, you're not." Victoria said, not turning around. "You can go back to the hotel and get your things, but you'll be staying here. I made arrangements already."

Jess looked at Jimmy, sure he was going to put up a fight. "Alright." Jimmy said, following his aunt into the house.

"Jimmy, man." Jess said. "Come on."

Jimmy grabbed Jess's arm and pulled him towards her. "Please don't make her mad."

"What are you girls doing?" Victoria demanded, swinging around with her arms crossed over her chest. "You look ridiculous."

"Sorry." Jimmy said, snapping back to attention.

Victoria led them into her living room. "I thought you were bringing…that woman you live with. Not-" She stared at the two pointedly, "Your son." She said the word sharply, with a hint of disgust.

"Sasha couldn't get away." Jimmy offered. "Lily hasn't been feeling well."

"Ah, yes. Her daughter." Victoria nodded and sat down. "Quiet a growing family you seem to have. Sit." She commanded. The two did as they were told, sitting awkwardly on a sofa.

"So, Jess." Victoria turned to him and asked, "Who's your mother?"

"What?" Jess asked. He really had no idea how to react to this woman. She really was horribly mean and bitter to the point where he didn't know how to handle himself without getting slapped again.

"Your mother. The woman my nephew procreated with to create the embryo that eventually became you." Victoria said.

"Liz Danes." Jess said, looking at Jimmy just in time to see him lower his head and awkwardly rub the back of his neck.

"Liz Danes." Victoria repeated. "The one from New York?"

Jess nodded. "Yeah." Victoria's head snapped up and he amended it to, "Yes, ma'am. I'm from New York originally."

"Originally." Victoria parroted, eyes burning into Jess as she waited for him to continue.

"I lived in Stars Hollow Connecticut for a while." Jess said uncomfortably. "Then I moved to California with Jimmy."

Victoria nodded and the distinct whistling of a teakettle drew her attention away from Jess. "That's the tea. James." She nodded at her nephew, who stood up to go get it.

"There was a girl in Stars Hollow." Victoria said bluntly, staring at Jess. His head shot up and he looked completely taken aback. "What?"

Victoria didn't repeat herself. She just stared at Jess and nodded, as if something she saw in his eyes confirmed her statement. Jess didn't know how to respond, so he just sat there. It seemed that all of the women in Jimmy's life were extremely empathetic, with the exception of Liz.

Jimmy came back in, looking extremely awkward and uncomfortable as he held a tray with three teacups on it. "I see you're still using the antique china, Aunt Vicki." Jimmy said as he placed the tea on the table.

"It's in perfect condition." Victoria said with a shrug. "If you want it, I'll will it to you. I can't take it with me. I doubt that I would if I could. I don't like the china that much, but inheriting things is much cheaper than buying them yourself."

Jess swallowed a laugh. He had a feeling that his great Aunt Vicki didn't like it when people laughed in her presence. In fact, he had a feeling that she didn't like it too much when people breathed in her presence.

"I know you two don't want to be here." Victoria said. "And that's fine. Today, I'll show you around the house. James, I sure you remember some of what I have, but I've acquired some new things in the, oh, eighteen years since you've come to see me. And Jess, I guess since I know that I have a great nephew now, you get to be in my will too. So you can look around, see if you want anything."

Jess shook his head. "Thanks, but I'm just along for the ride. I don't need anything."

Victoria laughed at that, but said nothing else on the matter. She began to drink her tea, prompting them to do the same. "Tomorrow, you will go through the house by yourselves and make lists of the things you want. Detailed lists. 'That vase in the room' will not be accepted. The day after that, James, you'll come with me to the lawyer's office and witness my will."

Jimmy nodded. "That all sounds fine, Aunt Vicki."

The three finished their tea in silence, and then Victoria stood. "Well, then, let's get this over with, yes? Then you can go back into the city, get your things, do whatever it is an estranged father and son do in Massachusetts. I don't really want to think about it."

She began leading them around her home, pointing out objects of value and letting them know what they were worth. Jimmy looked around intently, if only to appease his aunt. Jess just stared blankly at everything, until they came to a room completely filled with books.

Jimmy sighed and smiled, "The library." He said brightly, then whispered to Jess, "The best memory I have of this place."

"Really, James? The hearing hasn't gone yet. Gossip like little girls in your own time. There are a bunch of first editions against that wall over there." Victoria waved her hand carelessly.

Jess immediately walked over to the wall of books she gestured towards and ran his hand along the spines. "You have a first edition of, geez, it looks like all of Hemingway's novels. And these are Dickens, and Oscar Wilde, Tolstoy, James Joyce…" Jess looked at all the classic works that were staring back at him. There didn't seem to be an end to her literature collection.

Victoria nodded and her voice was momentarily quiet. "They were Peter's. You can have whatever you want, except The Dubliners. That is coming with me." The next time she spoke, her voice returned to its normal harsh and no-nonsense tone. "You can make a list tomorrow. We're moving on."

--

It was about 1 AM when Jess walked into Victoria's library and turned on the light. He walked over to the stacks of books and picked The Dubliners off the shelf. He sat down on an old sofa and began to read. His great aunt might be a psychotic bitch, but at least he was going to get his hands on all of these books one day.

"Sneaking downstairs to read." Victoria's voice bit out. "Couldn't you at least be smoking or doing something rebellious?"

Jess looked up at her, and pulled a back of cigarettes out of his back pocket. "I didn't see an ashtray." He knew she smoked because he could smell it on every piece of furniture in the house. Victoria walked over to the desk and pulled an ashtray out of the drawer. She dropped it on the table and said, "For every ash I find on that couch, I will make your life miserable."

"I'm good there." Jess said, looking at his book.

"Oh, boohoo. You're 19. You haven't had a chance to mess up your life yet." Victoria sat on the couch and took one of his cigarettes.

Jess rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

"Aww…" She said sarcastically. "Daddy walked out when you were a baby, no one ever treated you right, drugs and alcohol too tempting, get sent away, fall in love, fuck it up, run away. Poor little boy with all his little boy problems." She pulled a lighter out of her robe pocket and lit her cigarette.

"Geez, what the fuck is your malfunction?" Jess asked, pulling out a cigarette of his own.

Victoria's eyes widened and she looked ready to slap him again.

"No, you don't get to hit me for being insolent." Jess said. "You want to be heinous, I don't care. I'm pretty difficult myself. But I know why I'm the way I am. What the Hell happened to you?"

Victoria stared him down for a moment, then decided to answer his question. "I was engaged to be married when I was 23. When I was 25, Peter died." She stopped for a moment, and she actually smiled for a moment. "I waited my whole life to be in love, and then it was gone. Car accident." She took a drag of her cigarette.

Jess responded by smoking his own cigarette. He released a cloud of smoke and said, "And that justifies it?"

"I don't make any effort to justify it." Victoria said. She tilted her head and said, "Actually, no one's ever asked so I've never had to. I haven't been happy since he died. I'm not going to pretend that I am." She smirked, and Jess was shocked at how familiar it looked. "I'm way too bitter for that."

"Huh." Jess said. "So why didn't you try…"

"To find someone else?" Victoria rolled her eyes. "Stupid boy. When it's love, it's love. You really think you get more than one shot at it? Don't you believe in fate?"

"What?" Jess yelped, surprised at her words.

"Fate. Meeting the one person you were destined to meet. Being with them. You really think you can meet someone who completes you, lose them, and find someone else who just happens to also complete you? Like there's a spare if you break the first?" She shook her head. "You're dumber than your father, and kid, that's saying something."

Jess was silent. A joke. This was all a big cosmic joke. Do you believe in fate? Maybe he should start, because fate seemed to be going to great lengths to prove its case.

"How far is Connecticut from here?" He asked, closing the book and handing it to his aunt.

She looked at it and smiled. "This was Peter's favorite. The Connecticut border is about twenty minutes away from here."

"Huh." Jess said thoughtfully. "Good to know."

"Jesus." Victoria said, standing up and rolling her eyes. "I feel bad for whatever girl you fell in love with. She's in for a ride. Shut off the lights when you're done."