A/N: With two new fics now running and one more still running with a long way to go, I'm desperately trying to get this one all tied up. Just a few more chapters to go, peops. Three or four maybe? Not that I don't love it still, but I feel like I've been working on this one forever! lol Thaks for the continued lovely feedback :)

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 25

"You know you're moving so fast in so many directions, you're going to meet yourself coming the other way eventually," said Luke, watching Jess toss things into an overnight bag.

"Who am I? Marty McFly?" his nephew checked, unable to keep the smirk off his face.

"Hey, nobody calls him chicken," said Lorelai as she walked in right at that moment. "Door was open," she noted when they both turned to stare at her.

Jess shook his head and checked his bag one more time, not paying any mind to Luke and Lorelai's bickering about the fact she should have knocked in case somebody was naked. She said that was 'dirty' and it turned into a whole thing that was equal parts amusing and nauseating. Jess took himself off the bathroom on the pretext of hunting down his hair gel. Quite honestly, he figured he was safer in there given how sick he was feeling, and not because Luke and Lorelai were making with the cute either.

He was going to New York today, and that was amazing, but he was going there to spend more time with Liz. If it were any other place, he might've begged off. Quite honestly, his mother hadn't really impressed him so far, and her attitude didn't exactly encourage Jess to make an effort either. When she did see him, she made such a huge deal about him being her baby and loving him to death, but when they were apart, he never heard a word from her.

It was four months since he came to Connecticut, and Jess had seen Liz all of four times. An average of once a month was fine for some people. For those that were grown and/or lived far from their parents, that was probably way more frequent visiting than they usually got, but this was a very different situation. In Jess' opinion, a parent who missed out on eighteen years of their kid growing up ought to want to make up for it the second they got the chance. Liz didn't.

Luke was all for being a genuine family member, doting on Jess as much as an uncle ever could. Even Lorelai was eager to get to know him and welcome him into the fold, and she wasn't even blood. Liz only wanted Jess around when it suited her, confirming what he had long suspected - she was not mother material.

"Hey, Jess?" Luke called then, tapping on the bathroom door. "You coming out of there any time soon?"

"Yeah, give a guy a minute," he replied, sure he sounded more pissed than he really should.

Leaning on the sink, Jess stared at himself in the mirror. He looked like Jimmy, and maybe a little like Luke sometimes. He struggled to see any of Liz in him and was glad for it, despite the fact she was his mother. Mother, yes, but not mom. Even if she wanted to be, he wasn't sure he could betray Sasha like that. He didn't want to try. Liz hadn't earnt it, and he couldn't see that changing over one weekend in the city.

"You get to see NYC," he reminded himself. "Focus on that part."

Taking a deep breath, Jess painted on a smile, made a big, noisy deal of flushing the toilet and washing his hands, and then emerged back into the main room of the apartment.

"You all set, kid?" asked Lorelai.

"Pretty much," he told her, nodding his head.

"Well, Rory's all set downstairs. She insisted on staying where she could see the bus stop out of the window." Lorelai rolled her eyes. "I told her you guys had plenty of time, but she gets a little intense about timekeeping sometimes."

"I know." Jess smiled, double-checking he had everything and then reaching for his jacket.

It was hard not to spot the big grin on Lorelai's face then. She was so, so proud of the Christmas gift she picked out for him, and Jess didn't exactly hate that she had. After spending more than three months getting progressively colder in Connecticut, Jess had been thinking he should really get some warmer clothes, particularly a jacket that offered more protection against the low temperatures and biting winds. Now, he didn't have to bother. The biker jacket, that Lorelai and Luke had presented to him on his return from California as his Christmas present, was nothing short of perfect.

"I have good taste," said Lorelai proudly, echoing what Jess had told her when he first received the gift a few days ago.

"We know," her husband agreed, rolling his eyes. "You said it several times now, after Jess had said it, and Rory agreed. I'm not sure there's anybody left in town that hasn't heard the story."

"Hey, if I left it to you, you would've bought him a video game or a skateboard or something," she said, making a face. "I thought of a gift that was practical, stylish, and in keeping with the personality of the giftee. That is a skill, husband."

"I never said it wasn't," he reminded her, kissing her cheek. "And you know I think you're very skilled and absolutely amazing."

"Get a room," said Jess, smirking hard.

"Hey, this is my room," Luke pointed out to his nephew. "I own it."

"And I'm out of it," Jess countered, swinging his bag onto his shoulder. "Try not to miss me too much, okay?"

"Be safe, nephew."

"Enjoy the city, Jess, and keep my daughter out of trouble!"

"I'll do my best!" he called over his shoulder as he headed down the stairs.

Rory was by the door when he got into the diner, bouncing around like a bug on a hotplate.

"The bus will be here any minute," she told him urgently. "Come on!"

Jess didn't even have time to say hello or claim a kiss before she was out the door. All he could do was chase her across the square to the bench by the bus stop when she flung herself down on the seat with her bag beside her.

"I don't remember you being this intense when we travelled to California," Jess noted, sitting beside her.

"I probably was," Rory admitted. "You were just so excited to see your dad and everybody again that you didn't notice."

"Huh."

Jess didn't know how to argue with that, mostly because he completely believed that her theory was true. She probably seemed more jumpy about this trip because Jess felt as uncomfortable himself.

"So, you've been to New York before, right?"

"A few times." Rory nodded. "Mom and me went for window-shopping, and for real shopping once when we were feeling wealthy," she explained with a smile. "Then there was The Bangles concert."

"The Bangles?" Jess checked, one eyebrow raised. "When was this? 1985?"

"It was only a couple of years ago," she said, sticking out her tongue. "And they still rock."

"I'll take your word on it," said Jess, reaching to put his arm around her shoulders and pull her close. "Thank you, for agreeing to come with me this weekend," he told her softly, kissing her cheek. "Means a lot."

"Of course," she said, smiling widely. "I'm where you are."

Jess smiled, moving in to kiss her lips when suddenly the bus showed up.

"Hold that thought," said Rory hopping to her feet and racing to get on the bus.

Shaking his head, Jess got up and followed her. He really was grateful she was coming along on this trip. When it came to California, he just wanted her there. Jess had a feeling that this time around, he was really going to need her.

"Jess!" Rory yelled behind him, hurrying down the steps into the streets of New York. "Please, wait!"

Only because she asked like that did he actually make an effort to stop walking. He was so mad he could scream. Why he thought it was a good idea to come here, he had no clue. It was such a mistake. Everything about Liz Danes was one giant mistake, as far as Jess could tell. Forcing the cool city air through his lungs, he fought to be calm and found it almost impossible.

"Jess," said Rory, her hand on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault," he told her, aware that he sounded mad still, despite trying his level best to be kind to her.

None of this was Rory's doing. If anything, she was the only person keeping him sane right now. If she wasn't there to stop him, Jess was sure he would've done something very stupid just now.

"Why'd I think, even for a second, that this was gonna work?" he asked no-one in particular. "It's ridiculous. Liz couldn't care less about me when I was a kid, why would she start now? The last few months, she already proved she wasn't going to make an effort. I should've known better," he said, kicking a stone down the street with way too much force.

"You wanted her to try. You wanted to give her another chance, because you're a good person, Jess," Rory reminded him, yelling to him as he paced up and down the sidewalk in front of her now. "This isn't your fault either."

He heard her and he agreed with her for the most part, but it didn't take away any of the messed-up thoughts and feelings swirling around inside of him. Jess always wanted to come here, see New York, for all kinds of reasons. A part of him had actually believed that one of those reasons might be his mother. She was supposed to be sorry for the way she had been when he was born, have real good excuses for why she never came to find him, and then become this great figure in his life. Liz was a crushing disappointment on all those points, and Jess hated that. He hated that she just couldn't seem to bear to try.

"I did not come here to play happy families with her new boyfriend, and I sure as hell am not going to sit there while she tears lumps out of Jimmy's name. My dad raised me by himself, for twelve years!" he yelled angrily. "He has been the best guy in the world, my entire life. At least he wanted me around!"

Jess hated how easily he was losing it, because it only proved more and more that he did care about Liz, what she said, what she did, how she treated him. He didn't want to care, but it was impossible to shut it off. When he turned to Rory and saw tears in her eyes, Jess just felt worse. To bring her here like this, to bear witness to the wreck of a relationship that existed between himself and his mom. He got this so wrong.

"I am so sorry," he told her, all the fight going out of him in a second.

"I'm not mad at you," she promised, moving to hug him close. "Jess, I wanted this to work out for you. I really thought Liz was going to try."

"Yeah, me too," he agreed, hugging her back, so glad she was here.

God knows what he might've said or done by now if she wasn't. This day would have been an even bigger disaster without Rory to tell him it would be okay. The fact was, he couldn't really blame Liz for bringing along her boyfriend. Jess had brought his girlfriend, so fair was fair, but this guy she called her 'lover man' was a real piece of work, and apparently not willing to let 'Lizzie' take her son sightseeing or anything. They were expected to stay home, holed up in some rat-infested apartment that smelled like damp and weed. When Jess made the mistake of mentioning home a couple of times, Liz started to lose it, ragging on Jimmy and everything about him. Jess raised his voice in anger and the meathead boyfriend started to threaten him. Liz never even tried to stop whatever potential fight was bound to break out, so Jess had got up and walked out, making sure he took Rory and their bags with them. They were not coming back.

"I guess that's the weekend blown," he said sadly, pulling away enough to meet Rory's eyes. "We should probably head back to the Hollow."

"But we just got here," said Rory, looking practically heart-broken. "You've dreamt of seeing New York for so long, Jess."

"I dreamt of meeting and getting to know my mom, but look how that turned out," he said with a look. "Maybe it's just not meant to be."

"Or maybe it is," said Rory firmly, holding onto Jess when he tried to turn away. "Come on, we can do this. We can turn this whole weekend around. Look, I have Luke's credit card," she said, scrambling in her pocket to show him. "He said we could use it in an emergency, so we'll get a hotel room tonight. We'll see all the things in New York that you want to see, and then we'll go home tomorrow afternoon, as planned, and pretend the first part of this weekend didn't happen. We can do this, Jess."

He believed her. Every word out of her month, he believed, and he wanted to do this. Experiencing New York with her would be a million times better than spending time with Liz or allowing her to ruin his weekend. They could turn this around.

"You're amazing, Rory Gilmore," he told her honestly. "You know that, right?"

"You've said it before, but I never get tired of hearing it," she said, smiling up at him.

She didn't object at all when he kissed her, and Jess sure made a big deal out of doing so. He wished he could better explain to her what she meant to him. Even 'I love you' didn't seem enough right now.

"Okay," she said breathlessly when they finally parted. "Now, top of the list must be CBGB's, right? Lane would probably kill me if I didn't go, and I know you've always wanted to see it."

She was still rambling, but Jess had stopped hearing the words. All he could do was stare at her in wonder as she grabbed his hand and dragged him towards the nearest subway station, eager for him to have some perfect day to treasure. She was right, he shouldn't let Liz ruin his trip to New York, she wasn't worth it. They could have a great time yet if they just tried, and Jess fully intended to give it his all.

To Be Continued...