A/N: I don't think I've ever gotten reviews that fast! I'm glad you guys liked it and here is the next chapter.

Disclaimer: Don't own…

On with the story…

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Chapter 5: Hardcore Heart

"What are you doing here Brent?" Lorelai hissed.

"Where is she?" Brent asked again.

"Justin!" Tabby yelled as Lorelai yelled, "Jess!" at the same time.

"What?" they yelled back.

"Get out here," Lorelai answered.

"What?" Jess asked as he reached the front hall, followed by Justin.

Tabby pointed to the doorway and Jess moved his gaze in that direction. When his eyes locked with Brent's his fists clenched, his jaw tightened, and his eyes burned.

"What the fuck do you want Brent?" Jess asked through gritted teeth.

"I'm not here to see you, Jess. Now, where the hell is she?" Brent asked once again.

"You don't need to see her. She's finally doing better," Justin seethed.

"I do need to see her, now tell me where the fuck she is!" Brent raised his voice slightly.

"Shut the hell up you jackass! Your child is in there sleeping and you're going to wake her up," Lorelai hissed.

"What's going on?" Rory asked confusedly as she walked to the door.

Jess put a hand on his chin and threw an arm towards the door. Rory looked that way.

"What do you want Brent?" Rory asked with narrowed, icy eyes.

"I want to see her," Brent answered.

"She still in the living room?" Tabby directed towards Rory.

"Yes," Rory answered shortly.

"Let me see her," Brent said.

"No," they answered together.

"What are you? The Brady Bunch?" Brent scoffed.

"I wouldn't be giving us attitude right now," Justin said, stepping forward.

"Not yet," Jess said as he put out an arm in front of Justin's torso.

"Where's Kevin?" Tabby asked as she entered the living room, finding Lo curled up on the couch by her lonesome.

"Putting Stevie in bed," Lo answered numbly.

"Hunnie," Tabby started with a sigh, "everything is going to be okay."

"I don't know if it will," Lo sniffled and wiped her eyes, trying to stop her tears before they fell.

"It is going to be okay, it's just going to take some time," Tabby reasoned, sitting beside her and pulling Lo to her in a hug.

"She's sleeping," Kevin said as he came from the hallway, "Who was at the door?"

"Oh, yeah," Lo said, sitting up and facing Tabby, "who was it?"

"Uhhh," Tabby said uneasily.

"Tabitha Marquette, who was at the door?" Lo asked sternly.

"Brent," Tabby whispered almost inaudibly.

Lo didn't start to cry, no, not one tear thought about falling. You could see a flash of fire in her eyes before they closed slwoly, her jaw clenched unimaginably tight, and her body started to shake.

"Like, Stevie's father, Brent?" Kevin asked incredulously.

"Yes," Tabby whispered, looking down in her lap.

"No fucking way," Kevin muttered.

Lo opened her eyes and stood up, rapidly moving towards the front hallway.

"Lo…," Tabby sighed, slapping her thighs as she stood up to follow her.

Kevin stood stock still in the hallway entrance, surprised beyond belief, pretty much about to pass out from all the drama that this one woman could bring to him. After getting over the shock, he too followed the women to the door.

By the time Kevin got out there, Brent was inside the apartment standing just in front of the door, so that they could close it. Lo was being held back by Lorelai as she yelled at him.

"HOW DARE YOU! HOW DARE YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT COMING HERE AFTER WHAT YOU DID!?" Lo screamed, fists clenched, angry tears freely pouring out of her clear blue eyes. There were things that transpired between them that Lo hadn't told anyone.

"Lo, come on baby, I know you love me and I love you too," Brent tried.

"NO! If you loved me you wouldn't have left me and your unborn child!" Lo roared.

"I HAD TO!" Brent yelled back.

"NO YOU DIDN'T!" Lo screamed.

"Lo, you're going to wake the neighbors," Tabby said reasonably. While everyone was angry beyond belief at Brent, they didn't quite understand Lo's rash behavior…but that was because they didn't know. No one did.

"I DON'T CARE!" Lo screeched.

"Lo, come on, settle down," Brent tried again.

"NO! TELL THEM! TELL THEM WHAT YOU DID TO ME!" she screamed at him.

"Lo…," Brent trailed off.

"TELL THEM!" she screamed once again.

"No," Brent said firmly.

"Tell them!" Lo yelled, breaking free from Lorelai. She ran up to Brent and started to punch his chest. He grabbed her wrist and held her back from him.

"Where is she, Lo?" Brent asked angrily.

"You will never see her!" Lo told him adamantly.

"I think we should all go in the living room," Lorelai suggested.

"Let's go," Tabby agreed.

"We're just going to leave her with him?" Kevin asked.

Lo heard him over the yelling that was transpiring between her and Brent, "I'll be fine," she said with a shaky smile.

Kevin sighed, but followed the others to the living room.

Lo whipped her head back towards Brent with fire in her eyes, "How dare you even think about coming here," she said with a slap to the chest.

"I want to see her," Brent said evenly.

"No," Lo said as she crossed her arms, "After what you did to me, to us, you think I'd let you anywhere near her?" Lo was incredulous.

"She's my daughter, Lo," Brent reasoned.

"You lost that privilege when you walked," Lo hissed.

"I had to leave and you know it!" Brent insisted, his voice strained.

"No, Brent, you didn't. Just because your father said that you had to leave because he didn't want you raising a kid doesn't mean you had to go! If you loved me or Stevie you would have stayed!" Lo yelled.

"Stevie?" Brent asked quietly.

Lo sighed, "Yes, Stephanie Leigh Gilmore Mariano."

Brent smiled slightly, "Another Gilmore girl."

"Don't change the subject jackass," Lo spit.

"Lo…," Brent trailed off.

"No Brent! Don't do that to me! You shoved on the ground! When I was pregnant Brent! I was carrying your child!" Lo all but screamed.

She may not have said it as loud as a scream, but everyone in the living room heard her. The men jumped up and the women gasped.

"You know I didn't mean that! I was drunk, Lo!" Brent explained.

"That is no excuse, Brent! I didn't deserve that! Stevie didn't deserve that!" Lo yelled.

By now, Stevie had awakened, the men were on their way to the front hall, and the women were on the verge of tears. Leading the line to the hall was Jess, followed closely by Justin, then Kevin.

"I'm going to fucking kill that asshole!" Jess spat.

"Right behind you," Justin growled.

"I can't believe the nerve of that guy!" Kevin said; he wasn't as violent as Jess and Justin, but he was still pissed.

"He's dead," Jess stated.

"He's in hell," Justin said.

"Yeah," Kevin added, not sure how to act.

"Lo, come on baby, I love you," Brent insisted and tried to pull Lo to him. Lo looked disgusted and wound her fist back. She sprang it forward and punched Brent in the jaw.

"Don't touch me," Lo hissed.

"Damn," Brent said as he rubbed his jaw, "I thought girls were supposed to slap, not punch."

"Yeah, well I'm just different aren't I?" Lo spit at him.

"You always were," Brent muttered.

"You need to leave, Brent," Lo said firmly, arms crossed on her chest.

"Why?" Brent also crossed his arm.

"Because they know now, Brent! This apartment isn't small and my father and Justin and probably Kevin are on their way in here right now," Lo yelled at him.

"Great," Brent drug a hand down his face and sighed.

"Okay," Jess started, "Justin, I want you to go in there and punch him in the face somewhere and Kevin you grab Lo and keep her away. I'm going to grab him after you punch him alright Justin?"

"Yes, sir," Justin said seriously.

"Yeah, sure," Kevin said sheepishly.

They walked through the entrance to the front hall; Brent's back was to them. Justin walked up to him and tapped him on the shoulder. Brent turned around and Justin punched him hard in the nose.

"AH!" Lo gasped, jumped back slightly, and covered her mouth with her hands as Kevin pulled her to him.

"Fuck!" Brent yelled.

Jess went up to Brent and slammed him against the wall, right forearm across Brent's throat.

"Don't you ever even think for a second that you are welcomed anywhere near my daughter or granddaughter. From this moment on, you will not even think about my family. If I find out you're anywhere in the vicinity of anyone in my family including Tabitha, Justin, Alexis, Mike, Tara, and Stacie, I will have the cops after you so fast that you won't know what's hitting you. Do you understand me?" Jess said in a deadly serious, calm voice that Lo had never heard before.

"Yes, sir," Brent whispered, scared out of his mind. Jess through a left fist to Brent's cheek and then a right fist to his gut. Brent doubled over in pain and fell to the ground with a thud.

"Mommy! Daddy!" Stevie cried as Lorelai tried to hold her from going to the hall.

"Hunnie, no, you can't go in there," Lorelai tried to reason, but Stevie kept squirming. Stevie finally broke loose and sprinted to the hall in a mad dash to find her parents.

When Stevie got there Lo was crying heavily and Kevin was holding her. Brent was still on the ground and Jess and Justin were still beating him.

"Daddy!" Stevie screeched, scared as she ran to Kevin and Lo.

"Oh, come here baby," Kevin said and went to pick up Stevie. He held her head tightly against his shoulder so that she wouldn't see.

"Is that her?" Brent asked weakly.

"Yes," Lo squeaked.

"Daddy, huh?" Brent smiled ruefully and looked up at them from his position on the floor. Justin and Jess had stopped for the time being.

"Yeah," Lo whispered.

"Fine," Brent shot and unsteadily rose to his feet. He slowly limped his way to the door and silently walked out. The front hall was eerily silent except for the soft sound of sniffles from Stevie or Lo.

"I'm going to bed," Lo finally said, giving each man a look.

"Lo-," Kevin started and reached out to her with one arm.

Lo jerked her arm out of his grasp, "No," she held her hands up in a surrender and walked backwards down the hall, finally turned around, and headed straight for her room. She walked straight past the questions and the confused looks from Lorelai, Rory, and Tabby. She briskly walked into her room and slammed the door shut. She changed out of her dress and into a pair of loose, gray sweatpants and a hot pink tank top. She shook out her hair and then threw it up into a loose, messy bun. Holding tears back, she crawled into bed and pulled the comforter up to her chin and it was then that she let the dozens of tears finally fall.

"What the hell did you guys do?" Tabby exclaimed as soon as she saw Jess enter the living room.

He jumped, then sighed loudly, "Beat the shit out of him," he answered truthfully.

"Good job," Rory said sarcastically as she got up and went to give him a kiss to comfort him: he looked exhausted.

"We didn't mean to actually beat him up; we just wanted him to know that it wasn't going to be tolerated. I can't believe I ever trusted that guy," Jess sighed and let Rory put a hand to his cheek. He wrapped his arms around her waist and she leant in to kiss him.

"Everything's going to be okay," she said quietly.

"She probably hates me," Jess said.

"She doesn't hate you," Justin said.

"How do you know?" Jess asked.

"Remember the last guy? Tray?" at Jess' affirmative head nod Justin continued, "I beat the hell out of him when he left and she was mad for like a day and then came around."

"I don't want my baby girl mad at me at all," Jess stated stubbornly.

"Go," Rory said with a sigh.

Jess jogged his way back to Lo's room and knocked. Lo was faking sleep and Jess new it, so he walked in.

"Lo?" Jess whispered, "You awake?"

"Do I look awake, dad?" she mumbled.

"No, but I know you are," Jess stated as he climbed into bed, on top the covers, her back facing him, "I'm sorry."

Lo turned over, "You have nothing to be sorry about. I'm sorry for not telling you about what happened," Lo said ashamedly.

"I'm sorry for freaking out."

"I'm sorry for loving him."

"I'm sorry for trusting him."

"I'm sorry for letting him in."

"I'm sorry I couldn't be a better father," Jess choked up a bit at this and tried his hardest to hold back tears: he wasn't supposed to cry, he was the father.

Lo snapped her head towards him and sat up on her elbow, "You were the best father I could have ever asked for!" Lo insisted, tears piercing her perfect blue eyes.

"If I was a good father, you would have never gotten hurt like you have," Jess replied firmly.

"Dad, I'm going to get hurt and you can't do anything to stop that, but I can handle it. I love you so much Daddy, please, don't be upset with yourself on my account," Lo begged as she threw herself across Jess' chest to hug him.

"Okay, okay babe, I won't be upset," Jess said as he stroked her hair and hugged her tight.

"Is Stevie okay?" Lo squeaked sheepishly. On her little march to her room she hadn't checked on her.

"She's fine," Jess said as he pushed himself of the bed and to the door, "everything and everyone is going to be fine," and with that he left.

Lo flopped back down her bed and sighed. This night was not proving easy at all.

One night with this woman and I'm becoming a father, fending off her ex that got her pregnant and sitting around talking with half her family. Maybe she's not worth it, Kevin thought and then looked down at a sleeping Stevie, nah, it's all worth it. Everything tonight is worth it if it keeps this precious little girl safe and happy.

"So, why don't you put Stevie down…again…and then go talk to Lo," Lorelai suggested.

"I don't know…maybe she needs her space," Kevin hesitated.

"Nope, she needs to know you're still here," Tabby insisted.

"You are still here, aren't you?" Justin eyed Kevin carefully.

"Of course, I wouldn't be sitting here with this little girl in my arms if I wasn't," Kevin answered.

"Okay, then go talk to her," Rory smiled slightly and urged him on.

"Okay," Kevin stood up and walked back to Stevie's room.

He opened the door to the little girl's room that was painted a light blue with white clouds all over and books painted variously over the walls. There was a little wooden bed with Barbie comforters and pillows and a nightstand next to it. On the nightstand was a digital alarm clock, even though Stevie couldn't tell time yet, the book, Oliver Twist, and a glass of water.

Kevin gently laid Stevie into the bed and under the covers. He pulled the covers up to her chin and tucked her in. He reached a hand down and brushed some hair from her face then leant down to kiss her forehead. After smiling slightly and turning out the light, Kevin retreated back to the hallway and closed the door quietly. Silently, he made his way to Lo's room, or at least the door he saw Jess come out of.

He opened it slowly and found Lo on her back on the bed with her hands covering her face.

"I hope I'm not that ugly," Kevin joked.

"Not even close," Kevin could hear the smile in her voice; he just wanted her to smile again.

Lo uncovered her hands and motioned for Kevin to join her on the bed. Kevin slipped off her shoes and climbed up next to Lo. She was still lying on her back with one arm behind her head and the other entwined with the fingers of the arm that Kevin had laid across her stomach. His other hand was propping his head up on his elbow. They smiled at each other.

"You know, you're daughter is calling me 'daddy' and we haven't even kissed yet," Kevin stated with a joking smile, trying to lighten the mood on a dramatic night.

"That is true, maybe we should fix that," Lo accepted the lighter mood and leant up a bit to meet Kevin in a kiss.

The kiss started out slow, each of them trying to get acquainted. Soon enough, the kiss became more heated and Lo pulled Kevin down, half on her, half on the bed, one of his legs between her two legs. He slid his tongue along her teeth and lightly bit her bottom lip. She eagerly responded by parting her lips and allowing entry. He easily slid his tongue into her mouth and used it to memorize every crevice. She decided that it was her turn and switched up the positions so that he was straddling him, never breaking the kiss. She ran her nails down his chest and up his sides then broke the kiss and started on his neck. She left open-mouthed kisses from his jaw line to his neck and up to his ear where she tugged on his ear lobe. He groaned and pulled her mouth to kiss him in a breathtaking kiss. Finally, they pulled apart.

Panting slightly, Lo smiled down at him, "I could get used to that."

"Oh," Kevin was also breathing rapidly, "I don't think I would mind," he stated, his hands holding her hips.

"My family is out there," Lo said sheepishly.

"I should go," Kevin said reluctantly, but showed no sign of moving.

"I don't want you to," Lo pouted.

"I don't want to," Kevin stated, rubbing up and down her arms.

"Then don't," Lo said she leant down and captured his lips in a soft kiss.

"I promise I'll be back tomorrow," Kevin said sincerely.

"Okay," Lo whispered.

Both Lo and Kevin had had plenty of sex before, but nothing had ever been this intimate for either of them. This moment between them set the tone for their whole relationship. That night made their relationship what it was. It strengthened before it really got started and that was what kept them together.

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A/N: Wow, well that wrote itself. I was going to update yesterday, I really was! But as I said before, I had lots of homework and my brother also had a playoff game for basketball that I went to. We won! So I probably won't update tomorrow because it's the championship game, but you never know. So, continue? Stop here? Like? Hate? Give me feedback people! Press the pretty little button!