Disclaimer - A pipe dream. I lie awake dreaming of that kind of power. If only...

Summary - Jess, the best man, is back in town for Luke and Lorelai's wedding...with his 6 month old son. How will the town react? How will Rory react? RJ. Post Season 5. R&R!

A/N: Thanks for the awesome reviews. Sorry I haven't updated in so long. I've had the worst writers block. Everything in italics is a flashback. Enjoy.

Luke took a sharp intake of breathe as a another person on a gurney wheeled by. His phobia of sick people was still strong. Lorelai had gone to see what she could find out.

Luke had only just noticed that Jess had yet to return when Lorelai began peeking out the front window every five minutes after putting Jacob in Rory's bed. He vaguely remembered answering the phone.

"Hello."

"May I please speak to Luke Danes?" The unfamiliar voice answered.

"This is him." Luke's heart began to pound.

"I'm calling to inform you that we have checked in Jess Mariano here at Hartford Memorial Hospital." Luke froze. He knew it was something bad. They always sound so impersonal and official when they called. It reminded him too much of when his father had died.

"W-what...uh," He tried to form words, "What happened?"

"He was in car accident. He's in surgery right now, but he should be fine."

"Thanks. Uh...I'll be there as soon as I can."

Lorelai had quickly called Sookie to ask her to watch Jacob. After a quick stop at Sookie's they made their way to Hartford.

He jumped when Lorelai placed a hand on his shoulder. He wasn't really paying any attention to what she was saying as she led him to Jess' room. He was too on edge for any nervous quirks like wringing his hands and adjusting his cap. He realized that he wasn't even wearing his cap. They found his room quickly. The doctors, Lorelai informed him, said he wouldn't be awake yet. His right arm that had been operated on had been put in a white cast up to just below his elbow. The left side of his face was scratched and bruised. One nasty gash had been stitched up and a large bandage placed over it.

Both Luke and Lorelai let out a sigh of breathe they had been holding. It wasn't as bad as their imaginations had led them to believe.

Jess did everything but run after his fitting with the crazy tailor, Frank. He was pretty sure Lorelai had chosen him because she thought he was funny. After being chewed out by the man for ten minutes about punctuality, he finally began making finishing touches on the suit. Jess was sure that the man was purposefully pricking him with the needles every once in a while to keep him awake. For Jess had felt his eye lids droop while standing in the back of the small stuffy shop.

He made his way back to Star's Hollow. A part of him hoping he would catch a glimpse of Rory when he would pick up Jacob. Even though he trusted Luke and Lorelai with his son, he still didn't like being away from him. He thoughts drifted off into nothingness until he felt a searing pain in his arm.

He lifted his head and groaned.

An old woman that distinctly reminded him of Mrs. Grier told him to sit still until the ambulance came. He tried to remember what had happened but he vision faded just as soon as the paramedics pulled up.

Jess' eyes slowly opened as he came to. He looked to his left to see a sleeping Luke and Lorelai. Only a little light trickled from around the curtains on the windows. He glanced to his right and saw the IV in his arm, leading up to the plastic bag. His right arm had an odd tingling sensation, as if it, too, were just beginning to wake up. His neck felt stiff and he let out a small grunt, trying to work the kinks out. He saw Luke stir out of the corner of his eye. He stood up, careful not to disturb Lorelai, and made his way to the side of Jess' bed.

"I called your mom." Luke said quietly. "She's on her way down from Maine."

"What happened?" Jess asked. He told Luke about the small bits he remembered, like leaving Frank's and the old woman.

"The woman and the paramedics said you must have fallen asleep. There was a curve and you didn't turn. Then your car and a tree got into a fight."

"I take it the tree won?"

Jess looked up at Luke. He looked scared but relieved at the same time.

There was a sharp knock on the door and Liz peeked in. She quickly went to Jess' side, coddling him and inspecting his injuries. He held back his protest when she absentmindedly licked her thumb to tame one of his many cowlicks.

"Is there anything we can get you?" Lorelai asked.

"Real food?" He eyed the dinner tray that had sat cold and untouched beside his bed.

"We're on it. We can stop by Luke's and stock up. Do you want us to bring Jacob?"

"Jacob? Is he a friend of yours?" Liz asked Jess. Lorelai mouthed a 'sorry' to Jess.

"Sort of. Um..." He glanced towards Luke and Lorelai.

"Right. Well, me and Luke will be back in a hour tops. And you can talk to your mom, ok?" Jess nodded. Liz still looked lost.

An hour later, as promised by Lorelai, the two pulled up to the hospital, food and baby in tow. They both hesitated when they reached the door.

"You think it's ok to go in?" Luke asked.

"They've had a while. I'm sure the smoke has cleared by now." But Lorelai's voice lacked the confidence it needed.

Their ponderings, however, were interrupted by a voice behind them, causing the two to jump.

"I'm sure everything's fine." Liz said nodding her head.

She laughed as Luke glared and made his way into the room. Liz's eyes quickly wandered to Jacob, who was now wide awake. She took the baby boy, fixing a very familiar piece of hair sticking out.

"Who's Jacob?" Liz asked after Luke and Lorelai left.

"My son." Jess' voice was very quiet. It seemed, to him, as if the entire world had gone quiet, waiting for the response from his mother. He expected there to be a long and tedious talk, but his mother only smiled and leaned down kissed the top of his head.

She didn't ask him anything else. Only watched Jess as he fell asleep. Her only fear had been that Jess would turn out like his father. She thought he had until now. But now...now she knew he'd be just fine.

Rory came by in the afternoon, offering Chinese food.

"Courtesy of Al's Pancake World." She smiled and pulled out the small containers filled with food. Lorelai, Luke, and Liz had gone to get some sleep and clean up. Jacob sat in Jess' lap, chewing on a teething ring. The two sat and ate in silence for a few minutes.

"You still going to school?" Jess asked after a while.

"Um...that's a good question." She looked down, finding her Kung Pao chicken very interesting all of a sudden.

Jess' eyes widened and he set down his food.

"What happened?"

Rory hesitated.

"I don't know. A lot of stuff. I got arrested for stealing a boat."

"Nice."

"Not quitewhat my mom said."

"Okay, so, you got arrested...what else?" He asked.

"There was this guy I interned for, he's really good at what he does. He told me I didn't have what it takes to be in journalism." Rory went on, "I know it's probably not true, but it kind of shook me and I flipped."

"Geez." That was all that Jess said. For a moment, Rory could genuinely appreciate his reply. No words of caution or sympathizing looks. Just an acknowledgement of her crappy situation.

"What are doing Friday night?" Rory had no idea why she was asking this. Well, she had some idea.

Jess looked almost taken aback by her question but recovered quickly.

"I'll probably be back in New York, why?"He was intrigued.

"Perfect. The band finally got a decent gig in a decent club. They're opening for a band that's opening for a band, but Lane promises a kick ass show." She waited for Jess' response.

"Only on one condition."

"That being?"

"Please refrain from ever saying 'kick ass' again in your life." He laughed, Rory threw a fortune cookie at him, and the countdown to Friday night began.

A/N:So I mixed it up a little in this long awaited chapter. Tell me what you think! And I still don't know if they ever gave Lane's band a name. Help!