A/N: Apologies for the delays, peops. The weather here took a ridiculously hot turn which put paid to the writing and the posting of fic (and the general use of my computer or my body to a certain extent! lol). Thanks for all the reviews on the previous chapter, and now, without further ado, here is the next one, and it was one of my favourites to write! :)

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 25

Jess picked the mail up off the table and flipped through the envelopes. Luke had a habit of just throwing it there as he moved back and forth through the apartment early in the morning, and half the time Jess paid no mind to it. Now he couldn't help himself. Lately, he had something to look for, whether he liked it or not. So far he had heard nothing from any of the four colleges he had applied to. Apparently, today was a big day.

"Huh," he said to himself, looking down at one small envelope dwarfed by two large ones.

These were not the odds he expected to be playing. Honestly, though his grades were good and he was pretty sure the interview process went well enough, Jess was well aware that he was lacking in the extra-curriculars and such that colleges looked for. Opening up the small envelope first he found that Harvard had rejected his application, which actually stung a little bit, even though he had been expecting it. He was never going to be good enough for a school like that, not a damn chance, but it was where Rory and Paris were most likely to end up. Now he could not go with them, even if he wanted to.

Taking a deep breath, Jess moved on to the two larger envelopes and was half way through opening the second one when Luke came barging back into the apartment.

"Hey, Jess, I need you to-" he began, but stopped very abruptly when he realised what was going on. "Are those...?"

"Acceptance letters." Jess nodded, clearly struggling with the concept himself. "Apparently, I'm University of Bridgeport material. Also, somebody in the Yale admissions office is clearly on crack or something," he said, shaking his head. "They want me too."

"Oh, wow, Jess. This is... This is amazing!"

Luke looked overjoyed and sounded it too. He was stood by Jess now, just itching to make a big deal but clearly knowing that was not something his nephew was overly comfortable with. Eventually, the pressure was too much and Luke couldn't help but hug him. Jess let it happen, even going so far as to let one arm go around his uncle and pat his back. He had to admit, even if only inside his own head, that it was kind of nice to have someone be proud of him. It was cool to have anything for them to be proud of at all actually.

"You did good, nephew," said Luke as they parted.

"Thanks," he replied, nodding his head, feeling as awkward as he looked.

"I guess it's true what they said about good news coming in threes. You getting accepted to college, Rory and Paris being on TV tonight, and Sookie..." he trailed off when he remembered that last part was supposed to be a secret. "Well, er, Sookie is pregnant, but that's not public knowledge."

"Nobody's gonna hear it from me," Jess assured him, eyes still stuck on the acceptance letters in his hands.

Colleges wanted him to go there, and not just any colleges either. One of these places was Ivy League. It was beyond Jess' comprehension, and yet somehow he didn't hate it. Somehow he was actually considering doing this, going on in his studies, making something of himself. He never really thought that he would get the opportunity for so long. Everything was different now. It was almost too much to deal with.

"I should head out," he said eventually. "School," he said by way of further explanation.

"Yeah, right, school" Luke agreed. "Well, you have a good day."

"Thanks." Jess nodded, grabbing his jacket and bag as he head for the door.

He barely made it down the stairs and out from behind the curtain when Rory came barrelling towards him, Lorelai hot on her heels.

"Where's the fire?" he asked, until he saw the tell-tale large envelopes clutched in their hands.

"I got in!" his girlfriend told him triumphantly.

"Where?" he checked.

"She got the trifecta, baby!" Lorelai said joyously. "Harvard, Princeton, and Yale!" she cried, grinning so wide her face looked set to split in two.

"Rory, that's great," said Jess, hugging her close. "I know how much this matters to you."

"It really does," she admitted, grateful for his congratulations.

Rory half expected Jess to be weird about her getting into all three schools. He really didn't like to talk or even think about college and the future. Quite honestly, it made Rory nervous to consider it too, but at least now she knew her options, and apparently she had a lot.

"I got a couple of these this morning too," said Jess, as Lorelai squeezed by him to run upstairs and give Luke the happy news. "Bridgeport wants me. Also - marvel at the concept - Yale," he admitted.

"Yale? You got into Yale?" Rory cried happily. "Jess, that's amazing. I knew they'd want you. Who wouldn't want you?"

She was so happy, hugging and kissing him so much, Jess couldn't catch his breath and didn't really want to. There was no way he could tell her about Harvard now. It was the one place she had always been hell-bent on going to, and now it was a definite that if she did, she would go without him. Jess wouldn't ask her to stay, to go somewhere closer like Yale just so they could be together, but right now, he couldn't even tell her the truth of his rejection, not today. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe.

"I kept telling Jess that if he just made an effort in the interview process, he could easily get into any of the colleges he applied for, and Yale proved my point for me," said Paris happily.

"I am so proud of him," Rory agreed, letting herself into the house with her friend right behind her. "Actually, I'm proud of all three of us."

"We're doing pretty good so far," Paris agreed with a smile.

She now had acceptance letters from Yale and Princeton, along with a rejection from Colombia that she said she couldn't care less about. The main target was Harvard and they had yet to get back to her, or Jess from what she understood.

"Well, it may not help our chances with college now, but I suggest we put all out concentration on this speech now," said Rory as they moved through to her bedroom to work. "I do not want to make a fool of myself on C-SPAN."

"We have this thing down pat," Paris reminded her. "All the hours of rewriting and practising we've put in, nobody will ever have delivered a speech as well as we're going to tonight."

"One more run through wouldn't hurt," her friend insisted. "I know you're all up on our public speaking skills, but some of us get nervous."

"What's to be nervous about? Lorelai, Luke, Jess, your grandfather, they'll all be there to support you. What more encouragement could you need?"

"They'll be supporting you too, Paris," Rory reminded her. "You know you're as much a part of the family as anyone."

Paris smiled at that, unable to help it. She did look at Rory as a sister much of the time, even if she was even less related to her than Jess had been. It was kind of cool having family, since her actual blood relatives numbered two mostly-absentee parents. Of course, there was one other person in her life that she had become very close to recently, but he was in no way family, and that was a very good thing.

"So, I think if we could just run through the whole thing one more time," Rory was saying as she pulled her copy of the combined speech from the desk drawer, "just to check the timing more than anything-"

"Rory?" Paris interrupted her, barely gaining her full attention before the confession slipped out. "I had sex with Jamie."

"What?"

The word came out of Rory like a mouse squeaking. Paris wasn't sure whether to be offended or just feign injury to the ear from the high-pitched sound.

"Nice reaction," she said, wincing too much. "Are you part dolphin or something?"

"I'm sorry." Rory laughed at herself, sitting down on the end of the bed with a bump. "I just... Wow. That's such a big deal, but I guess you have known each other a while now. If you felt ready, then it's good, right?"

"I think so." Paris nodded, blushing also, she just couldn't help it. "It's so weird, I didn't go over there with a plan or anything. We were just talking, debating actually. We were discussing modern day Marxism in America, which is not what I would have deemed a 'come and get it' sort of conversation, but nevertheless, he came and got it," she explained. "Do you think I'm crazy?"

"Why would I think that?" asked Rory, probably looking as confused as she felt, she supposed. "You and Jamie are... Well, I'm not sure I've heard you use the word 'love' personally, but you're close. You like each other a lot."

"Actually, love was mentioned at the time. I don't know that it was the only reason it happened, though I have a feeling it may have been a factor. The realisation of these feelings that I barely knew I was capable of... I do love him, Rory. I never expected to, and if you asked me to give you a breakdown of the reasons why, I'm not sure I could. Is that how it is with you and Jess?"

"Kind of, I guess," Rory considered. "I mean, there's a lot of things to love about Jess, and about Jamie, of course, but it's hard to say exactly why you love a person. You just, kind of, do."

"Exactly!" said Paris excitedly. "And I never thought I could be okay with something like that, with feelings that I can't quantify or properly explain, but it's weirdly nice. It feels good. That night with Jamie felt really good," she admitted.

"That's great, Paris. I'm happy for you." Rory smiled. "So, you think Jamie will affect your choice of college? I mean, Princeton already accepted you and your boyfriend goes there, so..."

"Harvard is the goal," Paris said, shaking her head. "I can't possibly consider any other college whilst Harvard is still an option. I can't actually imagine going anywhere but there. Can you?"

"I don't know," Rory admitted. "For the longest time, it was all about Harvard, nowhere else, but the more I think about it... I don't know, sometimes I think it might be okay to go to Yale, like Grandpa did, to be close to home, to Mom and everybody, but like you said, Harvard is the goal. I need to give it more thought."

She didn't add that she was also waiting to see what happened with Jess and Paris, whether they got the big or small envelope when it came to her main option for further education. If neither of them got accepted to Harvard, Rory wasn't so sure she was that dead set on going anymore. Maybe that was the wrong reason to change her mind, but she just couldn't help it.

"We should really get back to the speech, I guess," said Paris then, snapping her friend back to reality.

She made an excellent point. The Chilton Bicentennial, and moreover C-SPAN, waited for no woman!

"Where is she?" asked Rory for what felt like te forty-seventh time. "Mom, have you seen the time? I can't understand why she's not here!"

Lorelai did her best to calm her daughter, but quite honestly she was starting to worry too. When Paris left the Crap Shack earlier, she was in good spirits and more than ready for the speechifying she was due to do beside Rory tonight. Now they were within five minutes of go time and Miss Geller was nowhere to be seen!

They tried calling and texting. Luke had even offered to drive towards her house to check if her car broke down on the way, but there would've been no time to get her there now, even if that was the case.

"This is insane," said Jess, pulling his cell away from his ear. "Paris lives for this junk. There's no way she would deliberately miss it."

Just as he said it, Rory's eyes caught sight of a familiar blonde head and called Paris' name. The almost unrecognisable girl came ambling towards them as if she had all the time in the world, and the weight of the world on her shoulders for good measure.

"Miss Gilmore, Miss Geller," said Headmaster Charleston from behind them. "I hope you are quite ready. I am about to make your introduction."

Without another word or care for what was happening, he headed back into the hall and up onto his podium. Lorelai watched him go with no small amount of worry. She craned her neck to where Luke and Richard were sat together, giving them a thumbs up that everything was fine. She only wished that were true.

"My life is over."

"Paris, now is not the time," Rory insisted.

She was in a state of panic herself and hadn't noticed, as Jess had, the envelope clutched in Paris' hand. The small envelope. He already knew what it must be, and there was no way his sister was going in front of cameras and making a speech. Not today.

"Rory, she can't do this," he told her with a look. "She can't."

"But... But I can't do this alone!"

"Babe," said Lorelai, pulling her to her. "You got this. You know you do. We're all here for you."

Paris was muttering to herself and Jess was torn. He wanted to help her but he couldn't abandon Rory either. The difference was, his girlfriend had other support here where Paris had none. It was kind of the main reason why the two of them had so easily taken up sibling roles with each other in the first place.

Stepping in closer to Rory, Jess pulled her forward and laid a kiss on her cheek.

"You'll knock 'em dead," he promised her in a whisper. "Just be cool, okay?"

"Like Frank at the Sands, right?" she joked, trying to keep the nervous shake out of her voice. "Sure, I got this."

"We know you do, hon," Lorelai said encouragingly. "We'll see you after," she said to Jess then, both of them knowing he wouldn't be there for the speech - he had other priorities right now.

"C'mon, sis," he told Paris, leading her away from the scene.

They walked towards the nearest classroom that was not being used for coats or coffee. Jess took Paris in and sat her down at a desk, crouching down by her seat and trying to see her face. She was beyond pale, but with red-rimmed eyes that proved she had been crying before this. The tears were over now but instead there was panic and confusion.

Paris wasn't kidding when she said her life was over. As crazy as it seemed, that was what she would believe if Harvard had said no. Jess would lay every cent he had on that being the problem, that the letter clasped too tightly in Paris' hand was exactly that, the rejection she had been dreading from the college she always strived so hard to attend.

"I thought of nothing else for the longest time," she said, still staring into space until suddenly her eyes moved to meet Jess' own. "You know better than anyone. I was on my way and nothing could stop me, and here's the really funny thing – after four years of slaving away, I get home today and I find this," she said, waving he envelope in his face. "I'm not going to Harvard."

Jess closed his eyes a second and tried to find the right words to say. He wasn't good at this. At comfort, at helping people out in troubled times. He could get himself out a jam, always, but other people? He had only just learnt what it was to care about family and to have them care about him. Jess was so out of his league right now, and yet he had volunteered for his gig. He had brought Paris into this room to help her and now he had nothing.

"I'm sorry," he said eventually. "Paris, if I could fix it, I would," he told her, with all the sincerity he possessed.

He meant it. They both knew he did, but it really didn't mean much, because what he was proposing was impossible. He couldn't change Harvard's mind about her any more than he could move a mountain. It was sweet that he would even offer though.

"How did this happen to me?" she asked then. "Is it my fault? Did I take my eye off the ball? I keep going over and over everything, where I must have gone wrong. I mean, Rory got in, and she's never even been as dedicated as I am. She had a boyfriend to distract her long before I did. She had sex before I did-"

"You had sex with that Princeton tool?" said Jess, shocked by the revelation. "Yeah, I know, not the point and none of my business," he back-tracked off Paris' incredulous look.

"If not for Rory and you, I'd think I was being punished for it," she said sadly, slamming her hand against the desk in frustration. "I don't deserve this, Jess. Do I? Am I so horrible? Have I been so bad that this is some kind of punishment?"

Tears welled in her eyes and threatened to fall. Jess' heart broke for her. He pulled the next desk over, sat down beside her and threw an arm around her shoulders.

"Listen to me," he told her, moving her chin with his free hand so she was looking at him. "You're not being punished, okay? That's crazy talk, and as crazy as you can be, I know you're not so stupid that you believe that crap," he said definitely. "I'm sorry you didn't get into Harvard, Paris, but your life is not over. C'mon, you're too good for that school anyway."

"Too good for Harvard?" she scoffed. "Now who's crazy?"

"Still you," he assured her with a half-smile he couldn't help. "C'mon, it's just a school. Okay, screw Harvard, there are other places. You got into Princeton, you got into Yale. Pick one, go there, do whatever you want, but do not let one stupid school's rejection define the rest of your life. If you do that, then you're not the sister I agreed to have."

Paris wasn't sure whether she wanted to laugh or cry. Jess was being oddly sweet for a guy that would usually run screaming from that kind of thing, but then she always knew he was capable of it. She felt absolutely wretched over not getting into Harvard and she doubted that would change any time soon, but Jess did have a point. She did have other options, other Ivy League schools that would take her. It was hard to imagine going anywhere but Cambridge's fine institution of learning, but she supposed in time she could adjust her thinking.

"Rory said she might consider Yale yet," she noted, sniffing hard to keep from crying too much.

Jess shrugged. "I guess at least we'd all be in the same place that way."

"All?" Paris echoed.

"I got into Yale too remember?" he reminded her. "And for what it's worth," he said after some deliberation inside his own mind, "I didn't get into Harvard either."

Paris' eyes widened at that and then she frowned. As far as she knew, Jess hadn't heard back from Harvard. If he had kept that rejection a secret from her, he had to have kept it from Rory too, or Gilmore would've broken and confessed the truth by now. Too many conflicting emotions converged in Paris then and the tears came again, in loud horrible sobs that she was ashamed to realise she couldn't hold in a moment longer.

Jess pulled her to him and held on tight, it was all he could think to do for now.

"It's gonna be okay, sis," he told her, determined to make it true somehow. "We're gonna be okay."

To Be Continued...