A/N: Apologies for the delay, folks. I know I normally update faster than this but things got a little crazy and busy for a while there. Please rest assured that I totally appreciate all of your wonderful feedback and I am in no way abandoning this story! And now without further ado...

Chapter 15

The decision really didn't take as long as Jess thought it would. As much of a wrench as he knew it would be to leave his family and travel all the way across the country for potentially several months, he knew he had to do it. It was adventure, it was the east coast. It was getting to know a whole other side of his family, and it was Rory.

Quite honestly, there wasn't much time to spare in getting things organised. Transcripts were sent to Stars Hollow High, arrangements were made with Luke and Lorelai, and before he hardly had time to process, Jess was packing up a bunch of his stuff to take to Connecticut. Twenty-four hours from now, he would be on a plane, and that would be it for seeing Jimmy, Sasha, and Lilly until at least Thanksgiving, probably more like Christmas.

"You can't bring me back and forth all the time. It'll cost a fortune," Jess insisted.

"Hey, you let me worry about that," said Jimmy, no more authoritative than he ever had been before, though that was what he was trying for, Jess was certain.

For all that had been said when Luke was here, as much as Jimmy was more of a friend than a father much of the time, Jess had to admit he loved his dad. The guy had been pretty good to him the past seventeen years. If he had the words to tell him, he would. Maybe Jess did have those words, he just wasn't sure saying them would be a good idea. Instead, he wrote them down, a letter addressed to Jimmy and Sasha both which he planned to leave on the kitchen table before they all headed to the airport tomorrow. It was easier than trying to explain out loud, and he knew they would understand that.

Jess had fast learnt he was better at getting things down in the written word than speaking to people. The verbal thing, it tended to come and go, depending on who he was talking to or how serious he needed to be. It was half the reason he had written that message in the book he gifted to Rory on her last day in Venice. Not long after she got home, she called him, crying happy tears, so she said, after reading that note.

"I already miss you," she told him desperately.

"I miss you too," he promised her, not knowing what else to say.

At that time, he hadn't known how soon he would see her again, if at all. Now, he was headed towards her and staying there for months on end. That was Jess' favourite part of this whole thing, though he had to admit, he didn't so much mind the other factors either.

"You all set for tonight?" asked Sasha, poking her head around the door.

"Pretty much," Jess agreed, looking at the suitcase and bags piled up.

"Y'know, we're going to miss you around here?"

When he looked at Sasha, Jess was sure he could see tears in her eyes. She wasn't the type to get over-emotional for no reason, to cry at the drop of a hat, but he supposed this was kind of a big deal actually. They had lived all together for six years now. It was going to be so strange not even seeing the folks he called family every day.

"I'll be back before you know it," he said bravely, shrugging his shoulders. "Just don't let Lil decide she wants the bigger room while I'm gone, okay?"

He was kidding and they both knew it. Lilly wouldn't take her big brother's room. She was more likely to try to hide in his suitcase and go to Connecticut with him. She got upset a few times over the last week, contemplating life without Jess in it all of the time. Unlike Sash, she barely recalled life before him and Jimmy, so it was probably tougher on her in that way.

"Thank God for modern technology," said Sasha then, looking at Jess' cell on the desk. "I know calls will cost too much, but you can send text messages and emails. Keep us up to date."

"I will. You know I will," Jess promised.

This was tough, much tougher than even he had expected, but he had to do it. Plans were made, everything was in motion, and Jess was sure that once he got to where he was headed, he would be just fine. It was only the wrench of leaving everyone behind that came so hard.

"I should go grab, Lil. I promised to take her to the book store today. Last chance for a while."

Sasha nodded that she understood and smiled because she was grateful he was being so kind to her daughter. They were as much brother and sister as any two people could be, despite the fact they shared no blood bond. Conversely, Jess was off to meet the woman who gave birth to him and had no idea what to expect, no concept of whether they would get along or look alike or anything.

"Hey, Sash?" he said as they moved down the hallway together. "Y'know, just because Liz is my mother... it's all a technicality," he told her, the look on his face saying much more than his words ever could.

"Thanks, kid," said Sasha, her hand on his shoulder, before she hurried away.

That time he actually had made her cry, and Jess was sorry for that. Still, he had to say what he said. She had to know what she meant to him, because Sash was the best mom he ever could've asked for. That didn't mean he was going into this determined to hate Liz. He didn't love her, because he didn't know her, and what he knew of her wasn't exactly stellar. Still, whether he liked her or not, Liz could never replace what Sasha was to Jess. Nobody could. Any more than Luke could replace Jimmy, or any other kid in the world could replace Lil. Jess winced a little when he realised to make the metaphor play out right he would have to put Rory in Lilly's role as his sister. That was unpleasant to say the least, but he was just going to have to get over it. Once again, he reminded himself that for all that his uncle played the part of Rory's dad, he wasn't biologically related - Thank God!

"Hey, munchkin!" he called, knocking on Lilly's bedroom door. "I thought we were headed to the book store."

She was by his side in three seconds flat, hugging him for maybe the fiftieth time in the past few days. Jess hugged her back without complaint, despite the fact he was usually kind of limited when it came to affection like that. He understood that Lil was determined to get in as many chances to show him how much she loved him as she could before it was too late. Jess couldn't hate that at all. In fact, he kind of loved it, just like he loved his little sister.

"So, this is it," said Jimmy, leaning on the porch rail with Jess beside him.

Sasha was getting one very sleepy Lilly into the car, which was already packed solid with Jess' luggage, and they were about to begin the journey to LAX. The whole family was going, it was too cruel to leave anyone behind, but Jimmy needed a minute, just his son and him, before they headed out.

"Yup, this is it." Jess nodded. "Feels pretty weird. All the planes trips, boat rides, train journeys, hours and hours trapped in cars on the freeway... it was always you and me."

He looked sideways at Jimmy and watched his father smile through the pain.

"Yeah, it always was," he agreed with a sigh. "And now you're headed back to where it all started, more or less anyway."

"Jimmy-"

"Look, Jess, I want you to know that I'm happy you're doing this."

"You are?"

"Yeah, I am. As much as I know I did the right thing leaving the way I did and taking you with me, you do need to know your mom, and your uncle, and the place you come from. It'll be good for you, and hey, I gotta get used to you being gone anyway, right? College is calling a year from now and then you'll be grown and... We can't be joined at the hip forever, man, y'know?"

He was putting a brave face on it, but Jess knew it was breaking his heart to have him leave like this. Jess understood so well, because it was the same for him. Three or four solid months away from a guy that had been all he had since he was a baby, at least until Sash and Lil came along. Even so, this would be the first time he had been away from his dad for more than a couple of days, and it hurt, more than even Jess had expected.

"I appreciate this, y'know?" he said, clearing his throat to hide the fact his voice was cracking with emotion. "The money you're laying out and the trust you're putting in me... everything."

"Hey, you earned it, Jess," Jimmy promised him. "You're a good kid and you're growing up into the kind of man I always hoped I'd be."

"Hey, you are," his son insisted. "You're the best dad, Jimmy, and... and I- I love you, man."

"I love you too, Jess."

Pulling his son into a hug, Jimmy held on tight a moment, making sure he wasn't going to blub like a baby before he let him go.

They piled into the car then, the embarrassing part over whilst they were still at the house, so they could at least pretend to be men at the airport.

Jess got a text from Rory half way to LAX, counting down the hours until she would see him again. It made him smile and caused an ache in his heart at the same time. He was going towards someone he loved, but at the same time, leaving others behind. Jess wasn't sure he had ever had this many mixed emotions in his whole life before.

At LAX, he hugged Sasha, making her promise to take care of Jimmy for him, which of course he knew she would. Then Lilly clamped onto him and cried into his shirt, telling him she loved him and would be counting the days until he came home. Jess was on the verge of tears himself by the time she was done, it was impossible not to be.

Getting onto the plane at last, Jess stared out of the window and took one last look at LA. A few hours from now and he would be landing in Hartford, CT, meeting up with Luke, Lorelai, and Rory, who would whisk him off to Stars Hollow, the place one half of his family hailed from, but that he had never seen in his life.

"Hold it together, Mariano," he told himself when he noticed his own hand shaking when he reached to fasten his safety belt.

"You a nervous flyer, son?" asked the older guy beside him.

"Not really," he said, shaking gas head and facing the window again. "It's the destination that bothers me."

Not that he was scared to go there, or worried about seeing the people who would meet him at the airport. Meeting Liz, that did give Jess pause for thought. He really wasn't sure how she would react to seeing him, and moreover, how he would like meeting her. It seemed he was about to find out. Not long now.

To Be Continued...