A/N: Well, we all seem to be in agreement that Liz sucks but Rory & Jess are awesome. Works for me, peops! ;) Thanks for all the fab feedback, and now back to NYC where our beloved Literati are having a real nice time...

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 26

Jess wasn't sure that life got better than this when he woke up in the hotel in New York with Rory curled into his side. It wasn't the first night they spent together, though it was the first where she wouldn't feel the need to rush to get up and away in the morning. They were alone here, and yet in a larger sense, surrounded by more people than Jess had ever known in one place.

Finally, Jess had seen New York City, or at least all the main parts of Manhatten that he really wanted to hit. This weekend, he and Rory had done it all. A trip to the East Village to see CBGB's, then Times Square, Central Park, Lincoln Center, the Chrysler Building, the Empire State, the Flatiron, Rockefeller Center, plus a whole lot of old book stores, crazy record shops, and specialised cafes. It had been incredible, and the most amazing part was her. His Rory.

Jess looked down at her sleeping beside him still. She was beautiful, inside and out, and she loved him. For the life of him, he didn't know how he got this lucky, but he couldn't be more glad that he had.

"Morning, Sleepyhead," he said as she stirred then, leaning down to kiss her before her eyes even opened properly.

"Hmm, I never get tired of that," she said, smiling up at him. "Good morning. I can't believe we did this," she said then, stretching her body against his and taking in the room around them. "This is so not how I saw this weekend going, but it's been a lot of fun so far," she admitted happily.

"It's been unbelievable," Jess agreed. "I really hated what happened with Liz, I thought... I don't know, everything just seemed so messed up, but you made it work. You turned this whole weekend into something special. You're incredible, Rory Gilmore."

"You're pretty incredible yourself, Jess Mariano," she promised him, reaching up to kiss his lips. "This weekend, everything we're doing, it's your dream, your plan. I just helped make you see you could still have all that, that you shouldn't let Liz spoil it for you. I feel like you would've done the same for me if the situation were reversed."

"Huh. I don't know. Maybe," Jess dead-panned.

"Oh, maybe?" she echoed, laughing at his gall. "Well then, maybe we should get out of bed and go home already."

She moved to do just that, but Jess grabbed a hold of her, pulling her back and kissing her soundly. Rory didn't protest at all. He never expected her to. She had been about as serious about leaving as he had about 'maybe'.

"You really wanna leave?" he checked, holding her body close to his still.

"Not right now," she admtted breathlessly, initiating another kiss.

It was early yet. They had time to kill, and Jess couldn't think of a better way than this.

Rory was really into one of the books she bought in New York, and she read it almost the whole way home on the bus. Jess was supposed to be equally enthralled by the book in his own hand, but quite honestly, he hadn't turned over a page for miles. His brain was buzzing, at first with how great most of the weekend had been with Rory in New York, and right now, with the fight he and Liz had gotten into in the those first couple of hours. When they got back to Stars Hollow, they were going to have to tell Luke what happened, and he was going to be disappointed. Jess was pretty sure he wouldn't get the blame, but it really didn't matter. Somehow, Luke being let down by anyone just made Jess feel bad. He was a good guy, trying to do his level best for everybody else, and yet, there were still problems.

"You okay?" asked Rory, finally tearing her eyes away from her book. "You sighed pretty loud just then," she told Jess as he glanced at her. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he replied, like a reflex, immediately regretting it.

She knew he was lying, of course she did. In six months, she had come to know him better than anyone, and Jess didn't even know why he was pretending otherwise.

"It's... Luke," he admitted then. "I don't know, I just... He's going to be disappointed that this weekend wasn't what it was supposed to be."

"He'll be disappointed in her," said Rory deifnitely, her hand covering his on his knee. "Jess, you didn't screw up. When Liz invited you to New York, you said yes. You went there, you tried. Nobody could've done more than that. She was being unreasonable and... and I'm sorry, but more than a little crazy," she said, shifting awkwardly in her seat. "There is nothing you could've done to make that situation better. Luke knows what she's like, and he knows you. It'll be fine," she promised.

Jess nodded because he knew she had a point, turning his hand over to squeeze her fingers. Rory was usually right, he had learnt that pretty fast, but she also had this great faith in people that Jess didn't always share. He knew Luke was cool, that he would probably be fine with them ditching Liz and running up a bill on his credit card. He was almost certain, and yet a little wary. There was no way to shake the uncomfortable feeling of heading into the unknown, until they finally got back to Stars Hollow and broke the news.

They were supposed to switch busses at Hartford, catching the local service into their own hometown. It came as a surprise when the bus pulled into the station and Rory gasped, pointing out of the window to where a familiar green truck stood waiting. Lorelai was waving like a crazy windmill from the moment she spotted them until they finally disembarked. She grabbed Rory and hugged her like she hadn't seen her in a year, and Jess couldn't help but smile.

"Geez, we went to New York, not 'Nam," he said, laughing openly when Lorelai stuck out her tongue.

"I miss my baby girl when she goes away, twice in quick sucession. So, sue me," she told him. "I guess we kind of missed you too."

"How was New York?" asked Luke, looking at his nephew.

There was something about the look on his face that put Jess on his guard, made him feel guilty. Luke knew something about what happened already. Since Jess hadn't called him, and he knew Rory hadn't either, that only left Liz.

"New York was great," he said honestly. "Other stuff was not so great," he admitted.

"Yeah, I heard something about that." Luke nodded.

Jess felt that old familiar itching in his feet. He wanted to bolt. It would've been easier to, but he couldn't do it. He owed Luke an explanation, and he would be a man about it, or at least he would've, if Rory would've given him the chance.

"Oh, I don't know what Liz might've told you, Luke, and I know she's your sister and you love her and everything, but she was really mean to Jess, and unreasonable, and we just couldn't handle it. Not just Jess, me too," she said quickly, practically standing in between the two guys as if she expected them to physically fight if she didn't.

Somehow, Jess couldn't imagine Luke taking a pop at him for something like this, or for anything, truth be told. He wasn't even sure he expected him to be mad, just upset, hurt, let down. Those things were so much worse than anger.

"I'm sorry, Jess," he said at last, shocking his nephew to the core.

"You're sorry?" he checked. "For what?"

"My sister. Your mother. For Liz," he decided on eventually. "She's... She's Liz," he said then, shrugging his shoulders.

It was the only explanation he had to offer for her behaviour, and even after so short an acquaintance, Jess knew just exactly what he meant. Their shared relative was certainly a law unto herself, and not at all easy to explain.

"We kind of have a confession to make," said Rory then, reaching into her pocket and producing Luke's credit card. "Since we didn't exactly spend the weekend with Liz, we had to get a hotel for last night," she admitted, handing the card back and looking as awkward as Jess had ever seen her. "It was my idea."

"It wasn't just Rory," he said immediately. "We went sight-seeing and a few things went on the card, but I'll pay it all back, I swear. We were not trying to take advantage of you."

"Hey, you're both fine," Luke promised them. "I don't want any money back."

"Seriously, Luke..." Jess tried to argue, but his uncle wouldn't hear it.

"Seriously, Jess, no," he insisted. "You deserved a fun weekend in New York, and that's what you got, despite Liz and her... being Liz," he said, with a vague gesture of his hand. "I'm glad you enjoyed yourself, you and Rory, so forget about the money, okay?"

Jess didn't know what to say. Just when he thought his uncle couldn't be a better guy, he stepped up and proved him wrong. For every screw up Liz made, Luke not only righted it as best he could, but went above and beyond in every possible way. Jess wasn't sure why his uncle cared about him so much when his mother couldn't seem to manage it, but he appreciated it, a lot.

"Thanks," he said, more softly than he meant to. "That means a lot."

"To me too," Rory chimed in. "Thank you, Luke."

"No problem," he assured her, pocketing his card. "Okay, so, how about we get you guys home? I've got leftover pie from the diner if you're hungry."

"I always have room for pie," said Rory, hurrying to get into the truck when Luke did.

"Jess? You okay?" Lorelai checked, when she noticed he wasn't following them.

"Sure, yeah," he told her, moving to get into the vehicle.

She must have known he wasn't telling the whole truth. If Jess hadn't realised then how smart she was, he found out hours later when he left the Crap Shack to head home to the diner apartment. Lorelai caught up with him on the front porch, reminding him of Thanksgiving when she had chased him down to the same spot. He didn't mind at all. He had meant what he said before about her reminding him of Sash. It helped him not to miss the only mom he had ever known quite so much as he otherwise might have.

"So, shall I call this meeting of the Crappy Mother Club to order?" she asked with an over the top grin.

"Knock yourself out," said Jess, smirking because he couldn't help it.

When Lorelai sat down on the porch swing and gestured for him to join her, he went without hesitation.

"So, Friday night I go to dinner at my parents' house," she told him. "Obviously, same every week, right? Except, not this week. This week is different. This week Emily tells me she needs me to give a deposition because she's being sued by a former maid for wrongful termination."

"Wow."

"Oh yeah, and I'm supposed to say what a wonderful, kind, caring, excellent boss my mom is. I mean, seriously? I know how to lie when absolutely necessary, you know? The little white ones to get out of parking tickets, or to not insult a friend that looks awful in their new outfit, but this is beyond me. Telling someone in authority that my mother is just a lovely, reasonable, gentle soul? Hello, you'd have a better chance of convincing people that the Pope is not Catholic!"

Jess laughed at her rambling and her phrasing. It was impossible not to be amused by Lorelai in full flow. He had a feeling that though the story was almost definitely true, she was telling it to him in order to make him laugh, as well as to prove that he wasn't the only one with a mother he'd rather not deal with.

"Still better than Liz," he told her anyway. "At least your mom insists on seeing you once a week. Mine can barely manage once a month, and she missed the first eighteen years too."

"Yeah, you win on that one, man," said Lorelai, with a great heaving sigh. "I'm sorry."

"Why?" asked Jess, shrugging his shoulders. "It's not your fault."

"I know, but the whole situation makes me feel bad. Liz is hurting you and that hurts Luke. If you guys are sad that affects Rory, which also hurts me. It's a whole big cycle of hurt feelings and pain, and quite honestly? I could do without it."

"Preaching to the choir," Jess agreed, nodding his head. "But you know, you don't have to be hurt on my account, and neither does Luke or Rory. I'm not saying it thrills me that my mother couldn't care less about me, but I've got plenty of other family that's there for me. Jimmy, Sasha, Lilly, Luke, you, I guess."

"Absolutely," Lorelai insisted, patting his arm. "You're my husband's nephew and my daughter's boyfriend. Whichever way you want to slice it, I think we're stuck with each other, kid," she said with a grin.

"I can live with that, Aunt Lorelai," said Jess, grinning right back.

"Aunt Lorelai," she echoed, giggling. "I feel like I should be buying you candy and patting you on the head."

"I'll take the candy, but please don't mess with my hair," he urged her.

"You got it, tough guy," she said, smirking still. "But seriously, Jess, if you ever want to talk, and you need somebody who gets the whole mother issues thing or whatever, I'm here."

"Thanks. That's cool of you," he told her, nodding his head.

"That's me. Cool mom, cool aunt. Got the whole cool set right here."

Jess laughed at what he knew was supposed to be a jokey comment, but quite honestly, he thought Lorelai had described herself just right. She was certainly a much better person than his biological mother, and though she would never be his mom so long as Sasha was around, he appreciated her being the aunt that she should be. He had a feeling that once in a while she might be exactly the person he wanted to turn to when Liz screwed up one more time.

To Be Continued...